Start with the end in mind.

Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication

Many years ago a painting instructor said, “Don’t try to say everything you know in one painting.” What he meant by that is, the more you can remove distractions the more clarity your art work will have.

Try to remember this when you are creating art. Too much “stuff” creates chaos and will have your viewer confused on what you’re trying to communicate.

Start with an intention, a mock up and a color palette.

Traditional Painting; Oil and Acrylic

When I’m painting on canvas I create my mock ups loosely in procreate and project it onto my canvas. I transfer the main parts or general idea of the design with a paintbrush, pencil or posca marker.

When I’m ready for paint, I’ll start with acrylic paint and cover the entire canvas. Then I’ll paint over areas of the acrylic paint using oil paint for depth. Otherwise acrylic paint is very flat and lifeless.

Acrylic Paint Palette

Acrylic paint is notorious for drying quickly. To keep my paints moist this is the set up I use. I can paint for many days without my paint drying out.

My homemad acrylic painting palette consist of a sturdy baking sheet, a layer of wet paper towels and a layer of STA-WET “Handy Palette” paper.

I can mix my paints with medium or water on the palette. When I’m done for the day, if I have paint left over, I cover the palette with plastic, I place a small item on the palette so the paint doesn’t stick to the plastic. Or I scrape off any paint I don’t need.

The paper is sturdy, and you have to prep it ahead of time by soaking it in hot water for 10-15 minutes to help the pores open and retain the water. Its worth the time and effort in the amount of paint you will save.

The next day, if the paper seems dry to me, I lift it off the palette and use a water spray bottle and soak the papertowels underneath again. It makes the acrylic paint last a much longer time; days or even weeks.

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Murals

I’ve started adding murals to my unfinished concrete studio walls. I added them by creating a mockup in procreate, projecting the design onto the wall, and tracing the main elements.

Then I used pastels, which are highly pigmented to add the design. Its a bit “dusty” so I used a vacuum cleaner at the end of the sessions to vacuum the loose pastel from the floor. I wore gloves and I also used a dampened paintbrush using water to blend the colors.

I’ll add more information as I have time.