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.
