Secrets Revealed: How to paint like me

Often I have been asked how artists get their ideas and inspirations. Most artists would agree that a concept can come from almost anywhere: a comment overheard on the subway, a line of text in a blog, a picture or painting one sees by chance. The photo of the painting "Raft of the Medusa" by Gericault was given to me by an artist friend, Dee Connors. I was overwhelmed by the image, and knew instantly I wanted to do a painting based on it. My blog today will show you the various stages the painting went through.

Gericault    Raft of the Medusa

If you look closely at Gericault's painting, you can see the face I chose to paint in the lower middle/left. I enlarged it as much as I could in Photoshop, but the working photo was quite pixilated, so I probably didn't get too close to the original. This is fine, because I wanted to make it my own anyway.

The first step is to block in the figure and shape of the concrete blocks, using thin acrylic paint in a watercolor consistency. All the major decisions as to placement are made in this stage. It is important for the mortar lines not to interfere with an important features of the man's face. Using light umber and yellow ocher, I indicate the highlights and shadows. I am not concerned with details yet. The painting is 40 x 40 inches and is painted on silk charmeuse.

Confident that everything is where it's supposed to be, I begin to refine the details with thin layers of paint. I am now sculpting the lips, nose, chin, eyes, and of course the cement block. Both the skin texture and cement texture must be done concurrently. There is always a push and pull to keep the balance equal.

 I begin to introduce colors like burnt sienna, which will glow through the subsequent layers of paint. I delineated the eyes for proper shape and placement. To add interest in the concrete block texture, I introduce a bit of stucco in the lower portion of the painting. I have to commit to this from the first layer, or it'll give me problems later.

 By now I'm feeling good about the piece.  All the problems have been worked out (one trick is to look at the painting in a mirror. The reversed image shows any flaw in the design.) Each layer of paint adds richness, and as the shadows deepen (to both the figure and the concrete block), the textures become accentuated and the drama reveals itself. The drudgery is over and the fun begins.

Voila! The grand unveiling. And then the doubts begin. Did I go too far? (One of the hardest aspects of painting is knowing when to stop!) Did I lose too much of the concrete block? Did it get too dark? There is always a moment when the painting looks good, but you think that with one more push, it can be great. "Do I risk everything and take it one more step?" Every artist has to struggle with that question. Sometimes you lose a piece because it went too far. But it is very important to be willing to take that risk.

Well, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you have any questions, please ask. I'll try to post something new each Sunday, so please come back to visit. Hope you have a productive week.

To see more paintings of concrete block walls, please visit my website: www.AddictedToWalls.com