How I Work
In the beginning of the process, I quietly inquire about what wants to be expressed. As I go about my day, the image begins to emerge. It takes some time for “gentle embodying” of the image.
At some point, I feel the subject from inside start to lead. I become the subject I am painting, and then it’s as if I am expressing myself on paper or canvas. There is a meeting place where I am able to feel what is next. Often, I feel the painting is actively giving back to me, and this interaction is a sign that the art piece is starting to have a life of its own.
Especially when creating portraits, this quiet inquiry is important as it allows me to get to know the subject — then the personality can really shine through. It is a time-consuming process, yet simultaneously outside of the usual concept of time. I feel plugged into flow. It is a feeling of being completely alive, full and taken by joy.
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Though I enjoy working in different media and styles of painting, I’d like to say something specifically about how I work with transparent watercolor in the genre of realistic painting. I use much diluted layers of many different pigments in tiny amounts to build up to the desired color/shade, value/intensity and saturation.
The result? Luminous, rich color that feels alive. The full spectrum of all these layered colors creates richness that changes, moves, and plays with the light in the room as it shifts throughout the day. It’s beautiful and real, just like color acts in nature.
For example, to build up a brown color, I will start with several layers of diluted yellow and then add some ochre or orange, then maybe blue, green and so on. It is essential to for the paint to dry after each layer. Brown which is painted using this technique will have noticeable luminosity. Usually, a painting has around 100-200 layers, but some require as many as 300 or more. Sometimes, I add more sharpness or texture through the use of archival pen and ink. This creates a soul-satisfying complexity of pigment interaction that I find breathtaking.
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And I invite you to choose a piece of my work for your home.
