Today I needed to work on a commission and I also have to get ready for painting workshop I'm teaching this Sat. I decided to combine the two and try break down my studio process and see if I could share it with my class. It is so easy to work on automatic pilot and not pay attention to what you are really doing

First composition sketch

I think this is helpful to set up the space on your canvas. Get control of your composition right off the bat. Make sure you don't have center of focus going in the wrong direction.


Starting to work out a value sketch

Before you jump right on you canvas, do a little value study. Go ahead and start thinking about your light source. What is your compositional design? What's great about this is that you can make quick decisions, change your mind, and make adjustments.

Making adjustments and feeling better with the values

After looking the my sketch, I decided to pull the tree on the right a little more forward, push the one on the left farther back, and add more shadows in the front. Added a few hills in the back and pushed the mountains back a bit. A little more light in the sky.

This is going to give me a good plan to work on my commission. I need to touch on the elements that are important to them. Now I will have a lot of freedom to create the painting, because I won't be fighting the composition and I can just paint.

Until tomorrow, Dawn