You know, artists do a lot of thinking. We are always painting in our minds, planning the next painting.  During the time when I was learning, I realized there were certain methods I could not utilize.  There is something about my mind that won’t allow me to sort out information from a cluttered environment.  If there is a sale in the grocery store, I get frazzled just trying to figure out what I really want.  So when planning a painting, I knew I needed to provide as little confusion as possible.  I can make a very complicated sketch but in reality, I keep the procedure as uncomplicated as possible.

There are painting methods that begin with rough sketches and blocks of color. I have watched as an artist paints over and over until all this is unscrambled, becoming a beautiful realistic composition.  If I tried to do that I would be frazzled and exhausted before I got anywhere.  I knew I was looking for a better solution for me.

As I read a lot about different eras, different styles, different artists and methods, I was drawn to the methods of some of the old masters.  They at least started with a well planned, complete sketch and transferred that to the canvas.  I had been drawing portraits since I was a child.  Although they were simple line drawings and not extreme in detail, I believed I could use a good solid basic sketch to get the main information on a canvas.

Then I had to consider my health and physical pain.  I had to find a method that would allow me to start and stop in what ever time frame my daily condition allowed, knowing it would be different each time.  No matter what book I looked at, or what video I watched, the methods just did not fit my requirements.  I had to rely on a trial and error experiment.  I worked on the first few paintings and had no trouble getting from the toned canvas, to the sketch transfer and even the beginnings of the underpainting layers.  As I went along I learned that I could do just an arm or one layer of face or a little of background, coming back day by day to do another area.  I even learned to have several paintings in the works so I could always have something to work on when I had reached a stopping point on the first, maybe when the layer needed to dry before moving on. Over the years I would not allow myself to be satisfied with my process.  I keep looking for ways to improve it.

I always teach my students to not be rigid in their process.  If they need to solve a problem, give it some thought. And always check out other artists.  Even if their methods are completely different, there may be some little tip that will work with your process that will make your painting experience more successful. Shalom, Diana