The other day I experienced a happy surprise when a friend's Facebook posting congratulated me for being featured in 4by6's Creative Spotlight before I even knew that I had been featured! Here's an excerpt:
"Art was always present in our house. I enjoyed various projects throughout childhood but didn't take art very seriously until after my freshman year in college. I was a computer science major but spent much of my time painting the dorm walls and friends' doors for free pizza and beer. That summer, I decided to transfer and pursue art as a career even though I hadn't taken any art classes since junior high. It was a big leap of faith. I was nervous, but entered Pratt that fall and pretty quickly knew I had made the right choice."
Standing between two of my underpaintings at an exhibition focused on process. Finished pieces as well as works in progress were on display. I gave a short talk about creating my artwork and answered questions at the opening.
Above, you can see parts of two recent underpaintings. In the Spotlight piece, I talk a little about my process:
"For fine art paintings, I either start with a preconceived image and then go shoot the reference needed, or I find a photo I've already shot that strikes me as a good painting. Next, I work in Photoshop to adjust the cropping and collage together elements from various shots to create a strong composition. At that point, I place a medium wash of gouache over an entire canvas (or gessoed wood panel or illustration board) and complete a three value monotone underpainting by erasing away the highlights with a brush or q-tip and painting in the shadows with gouache. The color of the underpainting varies from piece to piece. I then spray fix it and apply a coat of acrylic medium to seal off the gouache. Next, I apply washes of color to get the basic idea of the color relationships and start detailing in acrylic. Throughout the process, I'll apply washes to set everything back and unify the painting, then continue to pull out details and highlights until I'm satisfied that the image conveys the emotions and mood intended."
You can see additional paintings and read the full Q&A at 4by6.com. Read More >
