After a quick tidy up and shift around (mainly to accommodate a couple of new large paintings I’m working on) I managed to get a great session in at the studio. Readjusting to life (almost) back out of lockdown, is a process but hopefully it will be a smooth transition from here on. Now that my space feels more organised and I have a few new pieces on the go I feel like I’m off to a good start.

This painting started out as a quick charcoal sketch, drawing from a life model which I later redrew and played around with in Procreate. My commissions are usually relatively small so I felt compelled to go big and bold with this one. I wanted the freedom and intuitive gestural movements which come more easily to me when I’m working at a larger scale.

My prep consisted of making a few colour, value and composition choices in advance. After priming the canvas, I lightly sketched an outline of the head to establish the correct size to allow me to get the entire figure in the crop. I paid particular attention to the angles and directions of lines rather than details and form. It was important to me that I keep this one loose and undefined from the get go. I want to work it all out in paint as I go. It’s really easy to get caught up in making sure everything is in the exact right position and before you know it, you have a detailed drawing which just needs colouring in. Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely a place for that approach and it can be equally enjoyable (I often adopt it myself for commissions) but this piece is for nobody but myself at this point and her purpose is to allow me to paint from the inside out. My painted meditation if you will. By that I main paint from my own imagination, intention and intuition. Almost like a trust exercise. I need to believe in myself and my own ability to find the correct placement of that eye, those key features and my ability to conjure them up when the time is right as I paint my way through the piece. No pressure, just quiet confidence and enjoyment!

That’s all for now. Thanks for taking the time to read my musings. I have a few process videos in the pipeline which I’ll be sharing over on my YouTube channel in the next week or so. Please hop over and subscribe (and hit the bell icon) to get an alert when new videos go live.

Take care,

Nat x