Surprise B'day gift & First True Fire Pic!

[Goldbrush]

Hey everyone! Got caught up in a lot of family stuff recently and
haven't been able to AB much at all, nor visit here as well. Also,
we had a terrible loss as our precious little 6 pound dog was hit
by a car in front of our house two weeks ago. Died instantly.
I was devastated. No children in the house anymore. You can't
believe what a big part of my husband's and my life that little guy
had become. Anyway, my husband decided that we should get
me a puppy for my birthday instead of the Micron AB I asked about
here. (Thanks for all the great input, by the way!) So attached
is a picture of the new pup. She'll only get to 4 or 5 pounds. We
named her Jazzy. She's adorable, but we're still getting over the
loss of our other dog.

Also attached....the True Fire Stencils (mini set) by Mike Lavallee,
and the Com-Art, and Badger paints I used (it's all I had). The
tall curvy stencils I already had, so I made due. And the last
pic is my first attempt at True Fire. I watched the attached DVD
that came with the set.

I need critique so please.....do! I'm wondering how to make the fire
at the bottom more grounded. The black holes are from top to
bottom the same color background--would I fill in with more dark
red flames to give the impression of a thicker fire, or a fire burning
off from something? Maybe add more rows of the front yellow flames
to give the forefront more depth from the front? Please, any tricks
or tips that would help me out would be great! (My husband did
order me the real paint, and he is getting his bike ready for me to
paint. HELP! LOL Thanks -- Goldbrush

[derkdaigler]

gold brush im trying to learn the true fire technique and its more difficult than i thought . lol but i think yours looks great

[rowie]

So sorry to hear about your baby girlfriend, though your new addition looks adorable!

I think the shoes are a tad on the big side though.

Now down to your fire, I honestly think you are on the right track bigtime!

Just take your time with it and try not to structure your fire too much. Not that I am saying you have here it is just something we all have to be careful of.

And for your hubbies bike, I have faith that you will do a stunning job.

[brushbyair]

GB, sorry to hear of your loss, I understand how much your pets become family members, it looks like you have a beautiful new member in yours.
On your true fire, I think you are on the right track, the one thing that really stands out to me is that it seems to directional, all the flame licks follow one another ( as Rowie stated "too structered" ) but I must say your first attempt is much better than most, with more practice, you will be causing fire everywhere.

[yardartnut]

HI ya Gold glad to cya back in here.........
I could say I hope ya had a fantastic birthday, but the pup proves ya did..
Im so proud for you....on all counts in your post...
Ya did the right thing to accept another pup in your life.....so sorry for the loss of your other bud........

As to your first fire........phishhh your on you way with them already....you have some great strong point in them, and tru fire can be done in so many styles.......I also use the big curves you have posted....matter of fact all I use in mine now a days..........

Only tip I can throw in her that I use most is ...* hold the curves back from the project and let the overspray factor work for ya [the overspray can be a great optical illusion in tru fire]......keep in mind real fire is unpredictable...use great refs, and paint what cha see and not what ya think ya see............

Great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lsabourin]

Goldbrush, ditto with brushbyair. Also, you can see too many "U" shaped licks. You have to disorganize those. But amazing start

L

[Neder/Brit]

GB sorry for the loss of your little buddie. Congratulations on your new buddie.

And a big big congratulation on your fire attempt. HOT STUFF

[fyrefight]

Sorry to hear bout yer pup. I know that sux, cause we've all been there. The new one is adorable though.

What can I say about the flames. They're beyond my scope at the moment (haven't done much in that realm yet) but to me they look pretty dang good.

Keep goin and let us see what you come up with.

Fyre

[Goldbrush]

Wow! Thanks everyone. Fire is certainly an interesting and challenging form
to try and capture. Yes, there sure are a lot of different styles of fire. I
was surprised to see the mini stencil set divided into 3 categories: Wild fire,
Inferno, and Diablo. The Wild Fire stencil has no pointed ends, all soft tips;
the Inferno seems to be the busiest stencil with lots of small holes and slashes added to the round and pointed areas; and Diablo seems the most set in its way stencil because it offered three almost birdlike (long beak)
cut-aways and the whole outside edge is long and smooth shaped ovals.
What did I use? All of them!!! And some shaped rulers I had at home. I
did what was in my mind I might see in fire, but know Xzotic made a good
point how important it is to use a reference picture. Good critiqueing about
the overuse of too many of the same shape or direction Isa, BBAir, and Rowie.
Once its pointed out, I can really see it myself. And thanks Yardartnut,
I remember seeing your tip of holding the stencil away from and shooting
the paint to add dimension on another tutorial, thanks for reminding me.

All of your help is great! I thank you for your time. Oh no, I hear my
husband sanding again. He's getting his big bike (Vulcan 2000) with the
hard bags ready for me to paint. I've got to get to practicing!!!!! He's
so encouraging, and supportive. He loves my artwork, all kinds. I really
want to do a nice job for him. He wants to be first. But my middle son called me today, he lives around the corner, and said I could paint flames
on his new riding lawn mower, a much less stressful first project--wouldn't
you say? Thanks again all. Goldbrush