Establishing Or Copying A Process

 One Way Or Process.........

First take a picture that has an interesting subject. If the background has contrast, lights and darks, that is ideal. Upload the picture and place it on a grid. 

       Pencil in a grid on your canvas. Now you have the photo divided into smaller sections and you can see where to start with the darker colors. Just looking at one square of the whole image provides me with the information to see color, shape, and lines. I can let go of the right brain concept of 'the mushrooms'. 

As I add paint, the details relax again and become more just marks of light and dark. The lightest shapes are added last. This is just one process I learned from an artist I've observed many, many times. Following her process gave me structure I needed to get over the anxiety of the blank canvas.

Every artist has a process that can be magical to observe. In my experience copying a process is a way to finding my own style. If I have done enough paintings with this process it doesn't mean I'm going to throw out the grid over a photograph step, it just means I will move move naturally and add something that is intuitive to the moment. Maybe I'll observe a new process by a different artist and practice that for a while. I welcome the idea that I can never run out of inspiration. 

Process is just dividing inspiration into smaller steps.

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