Sometimes when I am in a creative slump, the best thing I can do is paint an image from my camera roll. Today I thought I would share how I go about the process from start to finish.
First I find a photo that makes me smile, and then I check to make sure the photo is high resolution and clear.
Next I grab a canvas, I prefer to work in a medium size for the these. Too small and detail work can be difficult, to large and I'll never finish.
Now it's time to sketch the photo onto the canvas, I use a sketching app that projects the photo onto my canvas, but there are many ways to do this, including free hand drawing, gridding, image transfer... etc.
After sketching I seal the drawing in using a fixative spray.
Next I do the underpainting. In this instance I used brown acrylic ink. I start by covering the canvas in a quick wash, and then painting in the darkest shadows. This step is really just to preserve the drawing and get rid of the white of the canvas.
Now its time to add color. I start with fleshtones - variations of orange mostly. Working dark to light really helps keep my Adhd squirrel brain on task. I would offer my biggest piece of advice which is to mix a color, paint it on the canvas and move on. When we hyper focus on any area of the canvas we tend to overwork it. Stay with the idea of putting dark tones where things are dark, then midtones, then highlights. I try to save adding white until the very end.
I finished this with Damvar gloss and called it a day. Excited for this little memory to live on the walls of my studio.
Thanks for reading and let me know if you have questions.
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