I've decided to create a blog to show my collectors, and others interested in the painting process, how I take an image from sketch to finished work. The average viewer only gets to see a finished and framed painting. Most people have probably asked themselves, "What's under that final layer of brush strokes?" and "I wonder what it looked like in the middle of the painting process?"
Earlier this year, I started taking progressive photos of paintings for my own reference and information because I was asking similar questions. "How detailed was the initial sketch and exactly what color was it?" "How simplified was the
under painting?" "When in the painting process did I begin to develop the focal point?" "What did it look like before I made those final changes?" Having progressive photos helps me learn from my own paintings.
The first image I'm going to show you is one I painted on the Oregon coast when I visited my sister in Eugene this summer. The coast is my favorite because it's wild, and relatively untouched by humans with rocks, cliffs, fine sandy beaches, and wind swept bluffs. This first painting is 8"x 10", on a wooden panel covered with oil primed linen canvas. The photos show the canvas on the easel (an Easy-L easel) and are not necessarily square since they were taken from an angle. The final image in the series will be square, and you can also see the finished painting on my web site.
