Have you ever wondered how a painting is constructed over several sessions in the studio?
I usually begin with a first coat of a colour, that I think will help visually, pull it all together. In acrylics, the first coat is often a bit rubbish, being painted directly onto the white canvas, which I can’t wait to get covered up.
In this case, I plan for the background to be dark – probably a dark blue, to represent the ‘smoke filled rooms’ of my youth, in Jazz clubs. So orange is opposite (complementary) to blue in the colour spectrum. The next step is to draw in the main outlines thus and check and double check everything.
Then I begin with the details, this is what takes the time, here it is, this is the magical bit, where three dimensional shapes begin to emerge from the canvas!
Now I continue as before, and when the details are finished, I have to decide on the background colours and textures. Don’t forget how important the shadows are! Here is what I did with this one:
Hope you like it! More details at Charlie Parker
This reminds me of my youth spent in jazz and folk clubs, with 20 Woodbines and half a pint of beer! Q Can life get any better?