At Epoch looking for a job in the Austin Chronicle classifieds
People ask me if I sketch in with pencil or charcoal before I begin. No, I don’t. So much of painting requires restatement in the process, why start out fumbling from the beginning? I try to say what I mean from the very beginning. Think about the process of painting as opposed to drawing. Rendering usually requires long, fluid lines of strokes, and many times, follows the contours of form. Painting requires the artist to think in a more three-dimensional way. Painting is more akin to sculpture than to drawing. As you follow the planes of the face in a portrait, you will usually be applying the paint in short, more angular passages. Since painting and rendering is so different in how the hand and brain relate to the page, I think that a better approach is to start out with paint. I hope that is making sense!
Now, there is a way of drawing-for-painting that is absolutely necessary for the rendering artist to learn if they are going to paint. I will try and discuss that at a later time, but only if you want to read about that.
Like so many other painters, I usually start out with a big brush, and work my way down to a smaller one. I prefer to start out with a hake brush, because it will provide a nice massing-in and keeps me from obsessing over details. The softness of the brush allows me to work very quickly.
I don’t think that I could work well if I were to start out with pencil or charcoal to begin with. Please keep in mind that my ways of working are a preference, and even I don’t follow the same system every time that I approach a new canvas.
Comments on this post would be appreciated. I would like to know what would be of interest to you! I will be talking about painting by bicycle, and what equipment I have, soon.~Lavanna
