Dana Brown

Slow and steady

I only worked on this painting for a couple of hours today.  I worked this wash from the top down and when I was finished, there was nowhere else to go until it was very dry.  I want this to dry overnight so there is no chance of muddy areas.  Mud is created when a wash “picks up” from the previous washes and the layers mingle.  At least, that is what mud is to me! 

I know this large shadow shape will be as big a compositional component as the mechanical shapes, so I wanted to get it in there early.  More shadows will be defined along the way but this shape is major and helps me decide what to do with the other areas.  I want a painting to be interesting at each step of the way — I don’t know exactly where I going with this but if it intrigues me at each punctuation point along the way then it will probably arrive at a good place in the end.  That’s the hope. 

Beginnings

I fin

I finished the fire escape today and switched to machinery.  I actually began this drawing a few days ago and started painting today.  Carmela insisted on walking all over my painting for the first thirty minutes and finally went to sleep.  Thank Goodness.  This type of subject develops slowly — this wash only took 30 minutes or so to do but it needs to dry overnight.  So I may work on two pieces at the same time so I’ll have less wait time.  If both subjects are in the same series then it doesn’t feel like two paintings to me - there’s continuity of thought. 

I plan to do a lot of layering and I want each layer totally dry before continuing.  I may pull the shadows over the whole composition before adding any more local color — or maybe a few more hoses in warm colors before the shadows.  Not sure yet.