first layer, red ochre
Here you see the painting after the first layer of paint. I work in a “fill in the blanks” style of painting during the first phase. My art professor in university, Ronald Bloore always impressed upon me the importance of “just getting paint on to the canvas.” Think of those old paint by numbers painting kits your mother bought you when you were a kid only I don’t have any numbers. I use a 1mm and 2mm brush to create whisps of colour and line. This layer and most successive layers (below) will take about 2 hours each to complete.
second layer, yellow ochre
The second layer is now complete. I took this picture farther away so you could see the scale of the painting. The work in the right corner is the Angel in the Forest painting.
detail lower middle
This detail shows the bottom centre portion of the canvas. I have begun to add tonal greys through out the painting. Notice the bell with the 2 figures.
This detail is probably close to actual size. If you notice the blank areas of canvas, these will be filled in with different more vibrant colors as I continue to fill the canvas. This to me is the most technical and tedious part of the process. As you will see later, the painting will change dramatically once I begin the second phase.
Another angle trying to show you the scale of the painting. I have probably spent about 15 hours on the painting so far. Now that of cource that doesn’t include the time I would sit looking at the canvas trying to figure out what to do next.