I have previously posted beginning sketches and finished paintings, so I thought it would be fun to show a painting in progress from beginning to end. Because I am neither a graphic nor illustrative artist and have no background as such, I tend to start my paintings by laying down paint and pushing it around until shapes emerge. This is instead of drawing lines and filling them in. Neither method is right or wrong, it just works better for me to add paint and then subtract to solidify the drawing.
After I mass in the shapes with a dark tone I wipe out the mid tones and lights with my favorite painting tool...Viva! Starting this way addresses a lot of academics up front: solid foundation, setting values, and getting a general handle on the rendering of the subject, but all in a very unconfined fashion. Once that is done I can play! It feels good and is quite liberating. My favorite part of painting is color and brushwork, and this method allows me to let loose my inner expressionist. Fun stuff.
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“All real works of art look as though they were done in joy.”
~ Robert Henri