Sunday, July 24, 2016

Buffalo Skull

Spent the morning painting the Buffalo Skull for my new piece.  Looks pretty good although the photo really doesn't show all the colors used.  Before starting I checked the skull hanging in the Gallery to make sure I indicated all the major skull details, i.e., plates, nerve holes, etc. As that skull was bleached I did a little research to capture the true colors of a naturally sun bleached product.

I started out by removing the horn caps and then painting the entire skull a light gray (mudstone) followed by yellow ocher highlights, followed by brown (asphaltum) and ending with white on the parts that would be mostly exposed to the sun.  I then used straight black for the eye sockets with a little white on the outer edges.  For the horn caps I used black and then dry-brushed on some white highlights which really set off the horns texture.  Once everything has a chance to dry I'll paint on the ceremonial decoration but not too much as I don't want to overdo it.

So far so good!!


2 comments:

  1. Looks excellent both the painting and the horn caps. Looks like the real deal!
    Ron

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  2. As far as I can tell, it looks real. Just smaller. Excellent job. I carved one a couple of years ago and broke one of the horns tips In my move. But I still like it.

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