To make a painting

Yesterday I posted a picture of my grandparents on the top of the Empire State Building sometime during the 1940's. I get asked pretty regularly how I put a painting together, so I decided to document this one from start to finish. Someday when I have a good video camera, you will get to see pieces in action, but in the meantime photos will have to do.

I always start out with very thin oil paint, and scribble the whole piece onto the canvas. The thin paint is easily wiped off and moved around, until I am fairly happy with the layout. I also try to cover up as much of the white canvas as possible. I will later go back in and add the highlights and light areas back in. For example, the background is fairly light in the photo, but I went ahead and painted it all blue and will lighten it up later.


Next, I use a little bit thicker paint and, starting with the darkest areas, I begin adding in some details. I continue to refine the layout of the piece and move things around as needed.

Check back frequently over the next couple of weeks to see more of how this piece comes together!