My New Process

Something I hear often from people who have followed along with my work is, “Wow you’re style has changed so much.” And honestly, yes it has. I began my art business making fashion illustrations. Then I started painting again and made what I called figurative landscapes. I always felt like the figures in the landscapes were awkward and so I abandoned them for just landscape painting out of frustration. But in May, I took a composition class that helped something click for me. I had intended to go forward with one idea, but this current series of paintings just felt right.

Now, if you spend time with me, you might one day find yourself a subject in one of my paintings. The painting I’m working on now is actually from my birthday party in March. I toyed with a couple of compositions, but ultimately, this idea stuck with me.

Before, I tried to take the “perfect picture” and get everything just right, now I’m taking multiple pictures and combining them digitally to make the composition feel just right. The current piece is a mash-up of at least three images I took that evening of these two sitting together.

Luckily, oil paints take up to 6 months to dry, so I have plenty of time to stretch and varnish the final painting.

The latest painting, which is still unnamed, feels close to being finished but needs a few details added. In the coming weeks, I’ll add details to enhance light and shadow, or to fix up awkward areas.

The initial artist study from my sketchbook.

I then do at least one artist study of the composition to get a feel for the color, line, and overall balance of the artwork. For this painting, I only needed to do one, but for a few of the others, I’ve had to redo them multiple times. And even then, for a few, I still haven’t quite figured out how I want the artwork.

A couple of studies still in the works.

Once I’m satisfied with my study, I take my projector and use it to help position the artwork just right on the canvas. Currently, I’m using unstretched, gessoed canvas because it allows me to be more flexible with sizing. Most pre-stretched canvases come in standard sizes and painting this way allows me to make a unique canvas.

In the meantime, I’ve started a new painting. I’ll begin with the underpainting that helps set the tone for the artwork. I’ll be adding basic light and dark spaces that act as a guide for the following layers. My current favorite color to start with is either Raw Umber or Burnt Sienna. Sometimes this color may show through on the final painting which adds a nice touch.

A pencil drawing on gessoed, natural canvas.

I’m pleased with the way that my artwork continues to evolve and grow. I doubt I’ll ever be doing the same thing forever, but for right now I’m focusing on these beautiful memories from beautiful moments in my life.

The painting in progress.