I receive a lot of questions about my artistic process and exactly how I complete my paintings, so I thought it would be fun to talk a little bit about that and share some progress photos that show the evolution of some of my pieces from start to finish.
I have always been really inspired by abstract expressionist painters - I love the movement in their paintings and the visible brush strokes, marks, drips, and layers. I really enjoy painting along the same lines.
When I paint, I tune out everything and just begin painting spontaneously and intuitively, whatever comes to me, letting the movement of my arm and paint brush guide me. These initial spontaneous strokes lay the foundation for the painting. Once I have made some marks on the canvas, I step back and take a break. I evaluate what is on the canvas, and think about the composition and color, and then figure out how to respond next - which areas are working well and which need more attention. I build up layers in this way, painting spontaneously, then stepping back, evaluating, and responding deliberately to the brush strokes on the canvas and to areas in need of attention. It is easy to overwork a painting, which sometimes results in painting over the whole piece and starting over, but it's all just part of the process.
Stage 1: The foundation, gestural brush strokes.
Stage 2: Building up layers and adding color.
Stage 3: Filling in what's missing, adding tonal variations, and perfecting the composition.
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
Stage 1:
Stage 2:
Stage 3:
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