I take pictures of my dahlias closeup then use them to rearrange where they are on the canvas till I am satisfied with the layout before I paint them. These are two of the pictures that have the two largest flowers, so you can see what I mean by moving them around.
sketch
I see the beauty of the blooms popping out over a bed full of green leaves and stems somewhat blurry in the background. My eyes see this set of photos this way when I glance at them.
Now the trick will be to decide what amount of detail I want to include in the leaves behind and underneath the flowers. This is the layout sketch for this painting of Dahlias Closeup from our garden before I get the paints out.
Using my reference images I sketch in a collage, changing what I want and keeping the rest. Most of the changes made are because of the desire to show movement in the collage. The way I’m approaching this is changing the singer’s face in a more Hispanic flavor, with hair flowing up and twisting around. Another is to make the piano keyboard dance in a curve around the guitar. I use resist white areas like on the piano keys that I want to reserve. After lightly applying a wash for some of the shapes I am happy with the layout. The next step for me is to wet all of the background very carefully so I can start to apply a loose bright background. I love to drop large bright drops of color in my backgrounds. As long as I keep the wetness to specifically where I want the color to spread, this technique works great.I love to drop large bright drops of color into my backgrounds. As long as I keep the wetness to specifically where I want the color to spread this “Wet on Wet” technique works fabulously.Slowly and carefully adding more of the background details brings out the outlines of the main figures. I am pleased with the promise of the layout. It is getting more interesting as it comes to life. I tend to keep reference images right next to where I am working. You can see the first sketch of this idea original painting resting next to my current painting. I really enjoy the bright colors in this original sketch idea so it sits here to remind me.
Here is the sketch laid out on the watercolor paper with “mastic” or “resist” applied to reserve the whitest areas. With the white areas protected I have an easier time treating the background with free wash layers without worry.
More background area is darkened with washes in blue and purple. Even though his reflection is going to carry the same skin tones, they will not be as light as the in-person skin tones appear.
skin tones
A close-up view of where I am adding skin tones and hair tones along with some of that sweater shading. The yellow that you see is mastic reserving the white areas for me to be able to work with later when I do the details.
the big reveal.
Ladakh-Tibet and Central Asia by A. G. Sheikh, is a textbook that I just finished the design/layout on. The author is a wonderful man to talk with and strikes me as a very kind soul.
The layout of this book is colorful including many beautiful scenic views of the country and cultural artifacts. A must-read, tabletop picture book with cultural information that will assist anyone anticipating a visit to the middle east. It would help to not appear so ignorant when you arrive.
I did not know this area of the world had so many cool landscape views and such rich heritage. I found myself reading simply out of interest as I worked on the layout. At first, the word Ladakh was just a word that was hard to spell, but now it is a land where spiritual and cultural histories astound the mind.
A well-researched book about the history and culture of Ladakh, written by one of Ladakh’s native and most prominent scholars. This book brings together 22 of his papers, originally published elsewhere, and deals with topics as diverse as a new perspective on Ladakh’s history, and interactions with its neighbors, Islam in Ladakh, and contemporary cultural manifestations. It provides a comprehensive overview of different facets of Ladakh’s rich cultural heritage, especially past historical, political, and cultural linkages with neighboring countries.