Behind the Brush

For me a painting doesn't just happen.  There is a process of planning that happens prior to the brush touching the paper.  For instance, my Flame Flowers were inspired by my late Aunt's birthday.  She loved sunflowers and so I wanted to honor her.  This might have been part of the reason this painting took so many tries because I had a higher sense of responsibility to get it right.  

First, yes, the inspiration.  This can truly come from anywhere.  Personally, my inspiration often comes from real life encounters or experiences.  For instance, the idea for Tropical Pitchers came from my mom’s huge pitcher plant that lived in her chicken coop.  Can you get a more perfect place for a fly eating plant?! And like I said previously, the inspiration for this painting came from my aunt’s love of sunflowers. 

I then look for reference photos if I don’t have an in-person reference.  Majority of my references come from Unsplash, a website that provides royalty free images.  Sometimes one image will do the trick but often I combine multiple images or pieces of images to build the idea I’m looking for. 

Next, sketching or tracing.  Yes, sometimes I trace.  No, this isn’t against artist code.  Referring to this sunflower painting, I didn’t trace but did use a reference photo to get an idea for the composition.

Finally, the painting.  That is another post on its own.  I will say, this painting took 4 tries to get right.  Right in my eyes.  Right for what I was seeing in my mind’s eye.