Modern Aries (idea phase)

A while back I started studying astrology.  While reading about Aries I decided I wanted to paint a picture that showed how an Aries (Sun Sign) might look today.  What a modern Aries might be doing in today's world.  There is so much information out the zodiac sign of Aries.  So many different ways I can take this.  I could take this so many different ways.  There could be up to so many pictures done on the topic of Aries.  One for how each planet acts in Aries and how Aries reacts in different houses.  For now I am going to work on the basic information for just the Zodiac sign of Aries with no other influences.

 

In western tropical astrology, Aries is the first sign of the zodiac.  It is the first of 3 signs in the fire element.  It is the first of 4 signs in the Cardinal modality.  If looking at the zodiac as a yearly clock, the beginning of Aries marks the start of the Spring Equinox (Northern Hemisphere).  It is associated with the direction of East.  How do I want to portray this information artistically?

 

Since Aries marks the start of Spring I have decided my setting will take place in the early Spring. 

 

I am going to look for some pictures of early spring to practice on.

 

From <http://tumblehomelearning.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Cranes-Beach-Feb-2010-320.jpg>

 

It looks like Maine usually still has snow on the ground around Equinox time.  I have never attempted to paint or draw snow, let alone snow melting and the grass starting to show through.  I have saved these pictures to practice on.  As I think the snow melting and the ground underneath starting to show through would be a very good indicator of the time of year my painting will take place.  I have no idea how to go about drawing or painting this.  I recently got a new computer though.  On this new computer I installed an app from Microsoft called fresh paint.  To keep my materials costs low…I think I am going to use this app to practice a few of the pictures above.

 

I found these pictures by searching for images of Maine in March.  I have included the original link I obtained these images from to give credit to the original artists.  I am trying to keep this picture as realistically accurate as possible.  Depending on what else ends up in this picture I may need to search for images of snow melting on those particular items as well.  For now I am going to pick one of the images above and basically practice the ground area where the snow is.

 

This is the image I decided to go with, I cropped it to view only what I want to practice right now. 

The original can be found at <https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYMPBQ2H1YsBN_iuWA6s23aw4F6DHON_edB8MiN7NKXeHPuULQKsBADub1JNQumIJ_1rLwa1qFdgwp1-Wpv6Q5FuEYJ30Vo_MGBSZr5CEGOHhCwJ82b-kwH1YSPYvtW5MnUaOjGGpwbatZ/s1600/IMG_6883.JPG>

 

This is my first time using Fresh Paint.  There are some things I think they could do to improve the app.  When you use a picture such as above you have to set it as flat paint, outline, wash sketch, or brush paint.  You paint directly on the picture.  For practice and originality purposes I would prefer a transparent overlay where I could do a combination of sketching and painting. This way I could sketch my own outlines then add paint.  I would also add share buttons so I could share the progress of the layer I am sketching on without the picture behind it.  This way you would only see my progress in comparison with the original picture instead of the two looking like the same picture.  There may be ways to do this, I just haven't found them yet.  You will see what I mean in my progress picture below.



I thought about using the Google Chrome app Psychopaint but you have to upgrade to the premium version to add different layers.  After I give fresh paint a shot I may attempt this same painting in Psychopaint just to play around with it, learn what options I do have on it, and see what the difference in quality is.

 

This is all I have for today.  Watch for new progress soon.  Comments and suggestions are welcome!

To see my works of art that have already been completed please visit http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/christa-chandler.html?tab=artwork or http://www.artpal.com/MidnightStealth both have prints and they each offer different products such as iPhone and Samsung Galaxy phone cases, or coffee mugs.