Behind The Paint

The finished painting. Remove The Mask And Reveal The Real You.

A picture gallery with notes about the creation of the painting, Remove The Mask And Reveal The Real You.

When standing in front of a finished work of art, many people often assume that what you are looking at is what the artist set out to create.

While this may true for some artists, it definitely is NOT true for me.

When I begin I just have a general direction in mind but not the destination. It’s kind of like knowing you want to go West but don’t really care if you end up in Santa Fe, Sacramento or Seattle. You just know you will figure it out along the way.

Works of art are a journey. A creative journey to discover something that I have never made before. A journey of discovering new creative techniques and ideas. And maybe most importantly, a journey to discover something about myself.

At the end of this journey is a finished piece of art. This is what you see. The destination.

But instead of being happy with that, how would you like to come along for the journey? I’d love to have some company.

If you’re up for it, keep on reading.

Candid Photos.

Like all good journeys, I take pictures along the way. Just quick, candid snapshots of that moment in time. So, keep that in mind, the following photos aren’t fancy, photoshopped photos. Just quick snaps from my phone while working on the painting. So, with that said, let’s take a look and I’ll make some notes along the way!

1.
When I began this piece, all I knew is that I wanted to use that dark green color with the teal. I never use this dark green so let’s start with it. I was also envisioning these tall, vertical stripe patterns. That’s it. That’s the direction.

2.
Lately, I have been exploring themes around our relationship with nature. This tends to show up as trees, clouds, grass, mountains, water, etc… It probably has something to do with living through this Michigan Winter for last 4 months. I am so ready to feel the sun and walk in the grass.

3.
As you can see, I wasn’t really feeling that white area that wrapped around the head. So, I thought I would try something completely the opposite. This is where that ended up. Some kind of black, crown shape with +’s and O’s.

Let’s stop here a second.

There is always a point in the painting when I step away for a while. It might be a day, week. month or even a year. When I do come back, with fresh eyes and clear mind, I never know if my perspective has changed.

It usually does. And it did with this painting.

The best part is that I have this change on video.

4.
Up to this point, I was wandering through the painting. The idea hadn’t really crystalized. While I was away, I kept circling around this idea of who we see ourselves to be versus who the world sees us to be.

I settled into this idea and set out to explore that idea to see where it lead. It lead to splitting the painting down the middle and dividing the image into two distinct halves. Who we are vs Who we are seen to be.

5.
Once the ray of sunlight was added to the upper right, I knew almost immediately that the right half of the painting was complete at this point. I liked it just like this. It was exactly what I looking for. Now, what to do with the left side?

For some reason, the teal wasn’t working for me. I decided to just go scorched earth and paint it all black and bring back some of that dark green.

6.
Well, that didn’t work. Completely the wrong the feeling.

Let’s bring back that pink and lighten it back up to contrast and balance the black, right half.

7.
Continuing to work through the ideas on the left, I added the beginnings of an additional face under the left eye. I was attempting to show the complexity and depth found inside each of us. I suppose on some level it may have worked if I continued down that path but I just wasn’t feeling it. It was too much. A distraction.

So, it had to go.

8.
Which led me to this hand. I was working through the idea of trying to connect the left and right side together a little more. To remind us that this was one person and hint at the idea that the right side was some kind of mask.

I wrestled with this idea for a while but just couldn’t ever fully realize it. It was just too forced. Unnecessary. The idea was there without all that extra detail.

So, it had to go.

9.
And away that hand went. I don’t have any photos to show how much I messed around with that area under the left eye. No matter how much I added or subtracted it all felt irrelevant to the underlying idea of the painting. I couldn’t really get anything to stick.

If your head is a mess, give yourself the time to clear it out. I went away for a couple weeks and let this marinate for a while.

10.
After the break, I knew where I wanted to go with the left. Simplify, contain and brighten. Let it work with the right side, not fight it.

It’s usually at this point that I fall in love with painting again. I remember why I spend my life moving colors around and working through all these ideas.

It’s at this moment that I remember that as an artist, painting isn’t always about painting. It’s about working through the things in your head, being open to change and having the faith that everything will come out OK in the end.

Oh yeah, and I might just learn something along the way.

The finished painting.

Details.

Remove The Mask And Reveal The Real You
SIZE: 24”x36”x1.5”
MEDIUM: Acrylic and ink on canvas. Ready to hang.
SHIPPING: Free US shipping.