My Art in the Making

The Great Debate

STAGE 1 SELECTING PHOTO REFERENCES

I typically work from reference photos viewed on my ipad. First, I adjust the colour and contrast of my photos in Photoshop to get them to my liking. For this painting, I plan on emphasizing the rich colours and the highlights from the sun streaming in the windows and develop more of a connection between the subjects.

STAGE 3 ROUGH SKETCH

I quickly sketch out some of the important features of the composition and check their relationship to each other. The rough sketch allows me time to thoroughly study the composition before putting brush to canvas so I can hopefully see what will work and what won’t in the composition. I like this particular composition as the light coming in the window will give the painting an interesting dynamic and create good contrast between lights and darks.

STAGE 2 CANVAS PREPARATION

After deciding on the painting size (24 by 24 inches, in this case), I stretch the canvas onto gallery stretcher bars. The canvas then gets three of coats of gesso and a light sand. I paint the edges with black fluid acrylic.

STAGE 5 SECOND BLOCK IN

As I continue to work across the canvas, I strive to mix harmonious colours that give a sense of drama in their values. I try to stay away from the top of the tonal range at this point, saving the brightest whites and darkest tones for the end. I focus on getting the main forms down quickly and accurately, constantly comparing one shape to another and making refinements as I go.

STAGE 6 STAGE 4 FIRST BLOCK IN

Once I’m happy with how things sit within the framework of the canvas, I begin blocking in with a broad brush.

I typically work from the top left corner to the bottom right, zone to zone, so I can keep my hand out of the wet paint. Using a large flat brush, I roughly block in the basic shapes and develop the values, trying to stay loose and not worry about details just yet.

FINISHED BLOCK-IN

Once the block in is complete, I study the overall composition and areas of lights and darks to see if I’m on the right track. Whenever possible, I prefer to get the block-in done in one sitting.

STAGE 7 SECOND PASS

From here, I’m ready to layer over the block-in with a smaller brush. I go back in to refine shapes, add details and hits of stronger colour. I’m breaking up the flat shapes to convey more realistic characteristics, paying careful attention to the tones and colours, building up one area at a time.

STAGE 8 FINAL DETAILS

Working with even smaller brushes, I focus on texture and surface details. Afterward, I let it dry for a good week before going back in to add a glaze of linseed oil, titanium white and a hint of cadmium yellow for the sun streaming in the window.