Group shots

I often do group shots for study purposes. I'm looking for a lot of things.... how they hold up together, what works, what doesn't - clues on what to do next. I need to know if I'm wasting my time with the horses. 

The little carousel horse in the center grows on you.........not what I'm after. All these paintings have gold leaf. All were oil and gold leaf trial and error stuff done over the last month in an effort to expand my subject range .

Another group shot for a studio visitor put another light on the gold. In person, at 30 feet and different lighting conditions they all work well together which actually surprised me!

There is a very small horse painting in the mix with good counter balance to my Koi. On a larger canvas, "Buttercups", below, could definitely work in my favor. Cropped or not, this is what I'm after. As an old friend would say, "You have your marching orders!"

Buttercups 12x24 oil and gold on linen (1-13-16 canvas 1018)

MY STARTING POINT

Reference cropped and sized to a 44x40

Whenever I get stuck or need a burst of new energy this not a bad exercise. Before jumping back in I'll stretch a few canvases while waiting for comments back on a commission painting......one painting at a time rules here!