Blog

You’re not painting enough! This is the self-deprecating mantra that I say over and over to myself in my head. I hear it when I wake up in the morning and take the first hour and half to workout my pointer finger while I scroll through Instagram and Facebook. I hear it when I finally gain the mental energy to transfer my body from my bed to my easel just to stare at my work in progress in disbelief that tiny elfin men didn’t come in the middle of the night and finish it for me. I hear it as I almost subconsciously move through the routine of my weekday that rarely seems to naturally make room for painting at all and during my weekend when I myself rarely seem to naturally make room for painting either. Sometimes I’m at a loss with myself honestly. It’s as if my whole identity has been centered around art that if I’m not doing art, what am I doing? What is my purpose? It’s like I have to not only convince the world that my art is important but also convince myself…And what exactly am I saying?…who am I convincing?…if I’m not painting enough!?

The Underpainting…

It is less of a necessity and more so a personal preference of the artist. Underpaintings are most commonly used to establish values according to a particular light source or to create a warm or cool undertone based on the color used. For me, the underpainting serves as a foundation layer to establish my values as well as key elements of my piece such as my subject of interest which I usually start with followed by the supporting details. Underpaintings can range from very basic and simplistic, only establishing shapes, shadows, and highlights, to very detailed and complex with fully developed forms and features.