(Home) – Studio Painting – 5th Still-life Project – Subtle Additions

I think my usual approach is to put in strong outlines first, then smooth them out with various brushstrokes. This time I wanted a more watercolour feel and tried watering down the Mars Black to give the subtle shadows I saw… or think I saw.

I get impatient when I have to stare at the model while painting. I’d rather go from memory and make some happy mistakes, then adjust after staring at the model some more. Well, that’s not too clear, is it? I mean to say that I look and paint as two separate actions in my process. (Please no guys can’t multitask jokes… even if it’s true… in my case)

I’m still not sure if I’m fully memorizing the folds in the red fabric, or rendering what they feel like to me. The reality is that the more I trust my memory/instinct, the better the outcome. There you go… I’m a watcher, an observer, a looking-creep. I realize that I watch-stare with the focus that everything becomes a potential painting or drawing, or sculpture. There is no other action in my mind when I’m watching. Is that still a little creepy?

See more in my next steps…