I recently started a new commission painting for a client. Generally speaking and depending on the type of painting I like start my process by creating a digital rendering. This becomes the template for me to work from. This is a good way for me to get an idea of composition and colour palette. Once I get the green the light from a client the painting part begins. Paint to this day is a very mysterious media to work with. It changes all the time, and just when I think I have mastered it, it humbles me with a new surprise. Once started the painting often takes on a life of its own. Painting is an organic process, and it acts and reacts in its own way. It is dependent on many environmental factors as well as the substrate I am working on. For this project I chose to work on canvas as the client then has the option of keeping the painting down the road. I will often start out by using washes on the background, and in this case the subject is partly submerged in water which lends to this approach. I also use washes too create atmosphere and gives me something to work with once I get to adding in the individual parts of the composition. I then start to place objects by using paper cutouts, similar to film blocking, or stand ins, this way I can get an idea of scale and placement. Albeit I have the rendering to fall back on, it is always nice to see how it actually looks on the canvas. My process is simple, it involves the continuation of adding layers. Somewhat similar to creating a sculpture I build up my layers with shapes until I start to see the form. The level of detail develops as I fine tune the shapes, and ever so slowly work on refining highlights and shadows on the face. I will then use this as my guide to lighting as I introduce the other elements in the picture such as flowers floating in the water. The direction of the light is important to keep in mind. However I am one who also thinks of painting as a paintaverse. In the paintaverse not all is as it appears in the default world. Unless of course your goal is to recreate reality, such as still life, then perhaps this might not apply to you. It is likely my surrealism side coming out, the day dreamer, and visionary artist. I like to leave room for chance when it comes to paint and a brush, this is the magic of painting that is difficult to express in words, and often comes out once stop thinking about the very idea of magic!
Another part of my process is documenting my work flow. It does add time to the process as I have to set up my shots. Thankfully I have a deep well of film work experience to draw from and a few good tools to play with. As much as the finished work is the goal, the process itself becomes the art. I am also working on a video project and will likely amalgamate some of this material into that called ‘Valley Flow’. Cross pollinating if you will.
Hälts digiFilms Presents…
The first video is a compilation of 3 sequences featuring the initial stages of the painting process. Most of the studio shots were made with a phone camera and a little bit of imagination. I love my cinema rig setup, it just takes a bit more time to set up than a phone camera. The second link is my latest video which I went with a montage style opening sequence, place and space, followed with some dialogue on the topic of painting and process. Enjoy!
Here is an example of the paper cutouts I use to get composition and scale. It is a similar approach to blocking in filmmaking, and stand ins, in this case made of paper.
Mahaloness 