Blog

I have been working on this painting for quite some time. It's a large painting at 72" x 48" so it's taken me a long time to finish. I keep noticing areas that I need to work on. I think I have finally finished but that isn't a sure thing.

1. Here is the first picture I took after blocking in the colors and shapes. At this point in the painting I'm still deciding on the different elements I want to include in the painting. Throughout the process I'll change my mind about what to put in the painting.

2. Here I'm putting in the highlights of the swirling water on the bottom of the painting. I like to concentrate on smaller areas at the start of a painting. I won't completely finish the are because the painting is constantly evolving.

3. I'm working on the top half of the painting here. Painting the underwater areas and adding details to leaves. I want the water to have a silky texture.

4. I'm adding the water highlights to the top half of the painting. Putting in the white highlights will add a huge amount of depth to the painting. It will also make the leave feel more like they are floating on top of the water. At this stage in the painting process I'm stepping back and looking at the whole painting. When I step back it forces me to look at the painting as a whole instead of just areas. At this stage I'm looking for areas that don't "work". 

5. The finished painting.