1 - Big to Small Shapes
Always start with the big shapes and work toward the small shapes. You should be able to reduce your reference to no more than 5 major shapes. If you can’t get it down to 5 shapes or less you have too much going on. Once you have your major shape broken down you can then break those shapes into three smaller shapes. From there you can break those three shapes into even smaller shapes as needed. You can’t, after all, paint the fleas on a dog before you have painted the dog.
2 - Big Brushes to Small Brushes
When you get the little brush out too early, before you know it you will have a myriad of leaves on the canvas before you can even see the tree. Try to use one brush size bigger than you feel comfortable with to keep loose and stop yourself from getting into the details too early. Move to the smaller brushes as you transition to the smaller shapes, reserving the smallest brushes for the very end of the painting.
3 - Dark to Light
It’s easier to lighten a dark than it is to darken a light. Start with your darks in any area of focus. Once the darks are established move to your mid tones, then add the reflected lights, the highlights, and finally the accents (both light and dark). Working this way will help you keep your colour’s fresh.
4 - Warm to Cool
It’s easier to cool down a warm colour that it is to warm up a cool colour. Whenever possible, start with the warm colours in any one area and move to the cool colours.
5 - Dull to Bright
To make colours to sing they can’t all be signing at the same time. One of the ways to make a colour pop is to place it in a surrounding duller area. As Rembrandt once said “Give me mud and I will paint you the subtle skin of a princess. Just let me paint whatever I must around the mud”. Start with duller versions of the colours in the big shapes and move to fresher less dull colours in the medium shapes. I save the brightest colours for the end of the painting when the details go in.
Here is a little 20 minute painting to demonstrate my process...
1. Working from large to small, break the reference into three large shapes.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
2. Break the three large shapes into smaller shapes.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Working from large brushes to smaller brushes and from dark to light, place your darkest values.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Move to the midsize shapes with a smaller midsize brush.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Going from dull colours to brighter colours, midtones to lights and from big brushes to smaller brushes, place your details and the sparks of colour.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Put it in a frame, pour some wine, put on some Romi Mayes and enjoy the rewards of following your plan.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.