Painting in Progress: Pocket Watch

I would like to just let everyone know that this painting in not a result of the whole Alice in Wonderland thing nor is it inspired by the steampunk movement. While both are very fanciful and interesting, this painting is actually part of my Talisman series, which is a series of paintings based on books I love. Stephen King books, House of Leaves, Grapes of Wrath... and this one... the one with the pocket watch... is inspired by the book Water for Elephants. It's a great read, very fast and a lighter read but well worth it. The characters are fantastic, the story-line is graceful, and the mental imagery is priceless.

This is after a second session on the painting. I am currently regretting that I used a cotton canvas for this and also that it's a rougher surface than I normally use. (That's what i get for raiding the clearance section of the art supply store). I know it doesn't look very much different than the first progress shot but I promise you at least 4 more hours have gone into this.

Painting in Progress: Pocket Watch

This was the drawing I had put down on canvas. Yesterday I got a pretty decent start on it. The original photo is from Steam Punk supply. They generously let me use their photo for the reference photo since the actual pocket watch was sold before I could buy it. They have phenomenal photos so with their permission, I am using the photo to paint from. They have an amazing array of watch parts, skeleton keys, etc. Makes me want to buy everything in their shop.

The shade of grey/brown/black I need is going to be difficult but I think with the right combination of layers I can get it.... this is just getting the initial highlights and shadows in as well as placement and lines. The sad part is that I learned something last month in my RISD class that really helps and I am upset I didn't start doing this sooner. The act of mixing up the 2 or 3 colors I would use most BEFORE I start painting seems like a logical idea, right? Yeah well I JUST started doing that now and it makes a world of difference in the amount of canvas I can cover in one session. No one ever said I had a lot of common sense.

Here is the original photo:
And here are pics from after the intial painting session on it. It is 8 by 8.