1. Make sketches of composition and painting ideas on scratch paper.
2. Prime the canvas or board with black (or nearly black) acrylic paint.
3. Draw in the painting idea with a pencil. The pencil line shows up nicely on the dark surface.
4.Get an idea for color schemes. (Or begin without a plan and wing it.)
5. Paint in the shapes beginning with the darkest colors, going almost to the edges of the pencil drawing. This gap between shapes will leave a rough black line around everything. I use acrylic paint.
6. Add some white to the color on the palette and paint over the first color, but not quite as far to give the illusion of depth with shading.
7. Keep adding lighter layers in smaller areas until satisfied.
8. Sometimes add a lighter shade in dots or dashes over the existing color for interesting texture. I do this often in the rivers or grass of a painting.
That's pretty much it! If you are desiring to paint, just begin. Remember when we were in the early grades and everyone painted with bravo? I am most inspired by children's paintings, and by artists who reach pure expression without concern of a critic.
Click the "play" arrow to see the video clip of this painting in progress.
The mural I painted at Absolutely Art (below) was done in the same method. Click here to see the blog entry about this mural.
