How an idea changes • • May 7, 2018
When I paint, I don’t start with any underdrawing – and usually have no plan other than to make some kind of first mark and then go from there. Very improvisational. I LIKE working this way – it’s free and uncertain – ideas pop in without my expecting them to. If I get a good one, it can change from one picture to the next.
Wanna see what I mean? Let’s take a look by first revisiting two blooms I’ve already shown you. In this one, bold brushstrokes outline the petals around the edges of the bloom – it’s very straight forward:
In this next one, those big black marks are beginning to wander away from their first purpose! They still sort of establish the outside edges of the flower, but aren’t they also about what surrounds the flower – almost background? And notice how within the liquidy gray in the middle, you can begin to see the shapes of pointed petals.
And here is the picture we were heading towards – – – now, the petals that were just beginning to make their appearance in the last picture, have become their own bloom, while the big outside marks have drifted off into surrounding space! From even a short distance, all of these paintings would look very similar, but now you can see that they’re not so at all!
Here’s a closer look just for the heck of it!
