I’m here to share my process in creating a painting. Although there can be similarities in the way other artists work, every artist has their own steps, details, and experiences in creating their very individual and original works of art. I’ve decided to share mine in a series of 4 blogposts, broken down into 4 stages, to be shared over the next several weeks. I’ll be focusing on the steps in developing a Canvas-on-Canvas painting.

This will be a general overview of the process, although one size doesn’t necessarily fit all of my paintings. I begin Part 1 of the series by describing what commonly takes place before I even begin a painting.

Before I Begin:

Before I put paint to canvas, I often get an idea… it could be a vision, a title, or concept of something that zings me. No matter what it is that jump starts the creative flow, I am sparked by a desire to express something I find meaningful.

Often, once the concept begins to take up residence within my thoughts, I begin to get a feel for the colors to use in that painting. It’s not that I’m trying to come up with a palette, although that does happen occasionally. It’s more of a feeling sense of the colors that come to me. I guess it’s hard to explain how I might feel the colors but I do believe I feel them first and then get a subtle visual, as if I’m seeing the colors through a mist and from afar. However misty, there’s a sense of clarity on a specific color palette to begin with, and I am able to have the paints at the ready before I get to work.

There have been a few times in which I’ve used my collection of painted color swatches to choose the palette. Although I find it to be fun to play with the many choices, the process feels a bit clunky and awkward. The color flow ends up feeling a bit less natural.

Coming Soon… The Beginning Stage - Part 2

*“Opening to the Next Chapter” 18” x 18” Acrylic Mixed Media on Canvas*

New Year, New Beginnings

I recently completed a painting for the New Beginnings show at Pajaro Valley Arts. I not only want to share images of the painting and it’s parts, but I’m also here to share the words that have been incorporated into the painting. The concept, words, and construction were all created in tandem.

When I first heard about the show’s theme, I immediately wanted to incorporate a book into the painting I would create. That’s when I began to ponder the concept that as a new year begins, we are just starting to write the next chapter of our lives. The painting is titled, “Opening to the Next Chapter” and it is built with a cloth folded open to reveal the place to begin writing that new chapter.

As I began to develop the canvas and the pieces that would become part of the whole, I wrote. I wanted to clarify and understand the concept that I was building the painting around. And in the end, I included quite a bit of text into the work… much of it hidden under paint or cloth. I thought I would share some of it here along with images of the whole and it’s parts.

These are the words that can be found under the piece of cloth on the left side of the painting:

This is your past. You know what it holds. It no longer exists except for the place you choose to give it in your mind, in your memories. And you may add layers to it from a new perspective, from a different vantage point. You may try to hold onto some of the past with a firm grip while letting others fade away. As you stand in your now, with the new pages before you, can a firm grip on the past impede your ability to write your new chapter? Your new chapter begins today. What lies ahead?

Here are some details images of “Opening to the Next Chapter”