Creating a Picture

This a an example of the process I use to make a picture.  In this case, the client has asked that I show, through the picture, the inherent idea of how The Lone Ranger has been a powerful influence in his life. We arrived at the idea of portraying the client as the youth he was when The Masked Man taught him all about honor, dignity, justice, and "to fight for what is right".

A prelimenary sketch was prepared to work out the pose of the figures.  With the client's approval of the concept secured, additional drawings were done to refine that concept into an effective composition.

Here, in the final full size charcoal, the basic elements of the picture have been worked into a much more engaging pose, when compared to the original sketch.  Now, The Lone Ranger is directly interacting with the boy, and Tonto, though in basically the same stance, takes on a much more powerful figure as a partner in guiding the boy's footsteps down the right path of life. The boy literally "looks up" to The Lone Ranger,  his hero, who with a guiding hand on the boy's shoulder, takes his place as  the boy's willing friend, role model,  and mentor. At this point, the charcoal sketch is transferred to a pre-stretched canvas by covering the back with charcoal and going over the picture with a ball-point pen.  The resulting image will not be followed exactly, but will serve as my "roadmap", now that the basic elements are set.

After establishing the light source and the over-all tonal quality of the picture, color is roughed in. Working all over the canvas, the whole thing progresses at more or less the same rate. this helps me keep everything in balance, and keeps me aware of the whole piece as it comes along, avoiding the possibility of overworking anything as I go.          .

Where's the boy?  This unretouched photo suffers from the fact that I'm working quickly in oils, and using retouching varnish as I go, so the flash glare makes the client disapear in a flash!  It does show my technique, though. By covering the picture periodically with the  retouching varnish as I go, I can work over previously painted areas and if anything needs to be changed, the present work can be wiped off down to the varnish. Here, the entire canvas has been covered in paint. The color choices (the palette), have been settled on,  and the  overall tone and mood of the piece has been established.

Up till now, I've been concerned with the overall look of the picture, with little thought given to "getting a likeness" of the principles.  Now its time to turn  the rather generic "figures" of the piece into three specific people, namely, the Little Boy, Tonto, and The Lone Ranger!

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Now, working full size, the picture continues to develop toward an arrangement that will both tell the story of the little boy who is fostered by The Masked Man, and that will show each subject in an effective pose. This version was soon discarded because The Lone Ranger came across as rather disconnected with the boy.  Anything but what we want, I kept plugging.

Finally, the picture is worked up to the level of finish that I want. As I hone the miriad little details such as gunbelt silver and hat shape, the boy's admiring glance atThe Masked Man, and his own similar garb, the picture comes together to the point whare I can call it "finished". Once the client recieved the picture, the best part came - his reaction! Mr. Jim Warren's kind testimonial appears below.

Randy, I got my picture today.  I can't begin to tell you how much I like it. The colors are brilliant and it is so lifelike I feel as if I have Tonto and The Lone Ranger with me.  You are an accomplished artist.  The coloring and detail is magnificent.  My wife was amazed and very complimentary.  She seems to like it as much as I do, if that is possible. I will treasure this always. Thank you for giving me a little bit of my childhood back and for fulfilling a dream. Jim Warren