An Artist's Sketchbook

Painting sam...

My brother was checking my blog the other day and was asking about my process for the "Sam" painting I did(posted 8/19). It so happens that I photographed the process as I went along. It has been several years since I painted this so I will do my best relate my thought process as the painting progresses.


First I sketched out Sam on the canvas board. Its a pretty detailed contour sketch with some marks to indicate highlights and other notable features. (sorry about the photos) looking back on it now, I should have paid better attention to the composition of sketch.









At this point I lay down an oil wash of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna. This will be my body color. I am guessing at the actual tube colors I used being that I did this some time ago. I then took a Q-tip and a rag and began to "pull-out" the highlights to reveal the canvas below. I then took a darker mix and layed in the shadow and darker areas of the body.







Here I begin to build up my dark areas while defining some detail and highlights. I tend to build up to my dark/light tones, sneeking up on a balance that I like. I do this more out of fear than anything.










I continue to build up my color and detail. Working the larger areas first.