03 Nov How I start new art work?

Hello Everyone!

Today I thought of sharing my process of starting a new art work. By the way it is my own process and by no means it is to be taken as a ‘Standard process’ to be followed by everyone 🙂

• Idea/ Theme: As cliché as it might sound, I usually start with an idea.. Voila! So the idea is to have an idea or a theme or a subject that I want to explore. Initially I used to have a single/ isolated idea and I would make a painting about it and that’s it. However, of late I always think about how to further extend the same idea into multiple art works. I will share benefits of this approach in a separate blog soon. Meanwhile I will stick to the topic of how I start my new work.

• Sketch: I keep on exploring various ideas by making sketches, thumbnails. Sometimes these look great  sometimes not. But the idea is not to get stuck anywhere but to just keep on moving. So I have a bag full of sketches, always available for new work 🙂

•  Color Palette: What is really basic is to select my color palette which is of utmost importance. Just because I Love colors, it doesn’t’ mean that I apply them all, which might be enjoyable but could mud up my work. So I have to ensure that I try to stick to a well defined palette while adding a slight variation to it of course, which definitely spice things up a bit.

• Surface preparation: Now instead of staring at a blank canvas/ paper/ panel, I just start making marks usually with charcoal so it no more feel vulnerable to look at. Just a quick reminder, it does not matter how you start, what really matters is that you start preparing the given surface as soon as possible without getting stuck in the very beginning. Those of you who procrastinate like I do, would understand what I mean by this 🙂 So I have to be very fast at this step.

• Transfer the idea: As soon as I am familiar with the surface I am working on, it becomes easier for me to move forward with peace.. Ah, that feeling! First splash of color feels so good, then I cant stop unless I have finished a couple of layers, as I mostly work in layers. But I have to mention that I have to wait for the layers to get dried off completely before I lay over another color on top of the previous one. For drying up I use a hair dryer (easy peasy… especially in humid weather).

Challenge: The challenge remains the same to stick to my initial composition/ idea/ theme. But it is equally important to see if the art work itself is driving me to another path. If it does, so be it. I let it take me wherever it sees fit. For me the process of my art making takes priority. It is because I can always make another painting based on my composition/ theme/ idea again but when I am deep in the creative process, and my artwork starts talking to me, I don’t want to be disturbed by my left brain at all!

So here you go… I have tried to gather the very initial steps that I usually take to start my painting process. I will take it to the next blog for further challenging situations soon, let me know if any specific question on this topic.

Meanwhile would love to hear from you all as to how each one of you start your new art work!

Happy creation!