For those of you curious about how I work, here is a quick look into the way I make a painting.
My most recent body of paintings was exploring perfectionism, and that naturally lead me to escapism. What do people escape to when they realize their life isn't all they want it to be? That was the seed of thought that brought this painting to life.
First, I use larger brushes and block in the basic shapes in the painting. A lot of this is done in fast-drying acrylic. For simplicity sake, I painted the first coat of this painting in black and white and limited colors.
Next, I go back in with oils and paint with more detail and greater attention to color accuracy. In the early stage, I stay focused on larger shapes and gradually move to the finer planes and details.
When I get sick of painting one thing, I usually switch it out for something new and different. I like to be working on multiple paintings at once, so the work stays feeling fresh.
Next, I go flesh out the painting in more detail. In some places, I use a palette knife and glaze over larger sections (see the volcano and the blue dress below).
Once I painted in the figure and background, I mix up a large quantity of transparent paint and pour it over the top to create a veil-like surface. You can see that at this point I am working with the painting on the ground as opposed to on the easel.
With the transparent layer dried, I painted in the flowers with a large brush. When it comes to paintings, I love a mix of different layers and surfaces, the thin veil of transparent paint with fleshy, thicker oil paint on top. Here is the finished painting!
