CURRENT WORKS IN PROGRESS

Working Title: "Dining Out" (Sea Otters dining on Clams)

​Day 5 - 7:
After a while away from the painting, I decided that their heads needed to be whiter, with shadowing and some warm tones.  Now they are reading Sea Otters.
 
Here is the finished painting - "Dining Out" (Southern Sea Otters)
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Working Title: "Dining Out" (Sea Otters dining on Clams)

Day 4: I worked on the water patterning and the reflections of the Otters - and messed it up badly.  Needless to say I didn't think it worth photographing and decided to step away from the painting while I needed to concentrate on other art projects - so a couple of weeks passed before I got back at it and got the piece back on track.

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Working Title: "Dining Out" (Sea Otters dining on Clams)
 
I decided to paint these Sea Otters as a tribute to my brother who had sent me some photos of Otters he had been watching (my brother sadly passed away in 2015).
 
Day one of the process starts with me reviewing all my reference shots of Sea Otters and deciding on the placement for this pair.  I knew that I wanted the Otters to be actively doing something (feeding or grooming etc.) and decided that enjoying a meal of clams would fit the bill.
 
A large part of the painting will be focused on the water patterning and reflection the pair create as they gently glide through the water.
 
The first day's work is largely sketching the Otters in and establishing base coats on which to build.
 
Here is the painting after Day 1.

​Day 2 on "Dining Out"
I started lightening up the water and adding more of the water patterning.
I knew that I needed to focus in on what the pair were eating and decided to add a rock balanced on one of them as they often use rocks to open shells.  I also decided that butter clams would be on their menu in the painting - so went off to do my research on butter clams and their shells etc.
 
Here is the progress on Day 2 of "Dining Out"

​Day 3 on "Dining Out"
Here I started the putting things in and taking them out process as I tried out different ideas on how they eat and how their mouths would look etc.  I decided to change the arm position of the closest Otter to better hold the clam as he eat.  I also put in the shell resting on its chest.
 
Here is the painting at the end of Day 3: