How I start a Blank Canvas: My Approach to a Theme (Part One)

First Stage - canvas, 89 x 79 cm

I stretched my canvas on Thursday, applied two coats of Gesso and let it dry overnight. If I was working with oil paint I would leave the Gesso for a week or more to be sure it was dry but I have never had any problems working with a water based paint such as acrylic the day after priming a canvas.

The photo above shows the first stage of my painting when I brushed in large areas of colours freely. The theme is one of loss; something everyone can relate to anywhere in the world, whether it is a small loss or something life changing. I took as a starting point some plants on my patio and the title of the painting is 'Vestiges of Things that have Gone.' As I cover the canvas I allow forms to emerge through the textures and layers of fluid paint. I wanted this theme to include the process of forms being erased or worked over. I have used calligraphy brushes, house painting brushes and acrylic brushes.

Stage 2

This second stage is where things became really complex very fast as I let my hand move to its own rhythm inserting shapes that felt relevant. I work fairly fast and the problem is that the image can become too complicated but I don't allow myself to worry about this ; it is better to have too much so you can tweak and erase parts than to have too little. Most times my work is a case of trial and error and finally getting into a real mess - and then things start to come together. This can take a few days or sometimes months! I find it very productive to work on two or three paintings of the same theme to allow ideas to bounce between them and this is what I may do.

Since taking this photo I made a few changes to the painting and will post more photos soon. Generally my work can pass through many stages and sometimes I realise afterwards that an earlier stage was better but this is all part of the learning process. My feeling at this point is that I will definitely make another two paintings on this theme which may help me to bring some simplification into this canvas (or not), and to extend the theme and paint ideas. 

To be continued.