Art Techniques

[ Stage 1 ] The Grid: This is the most critical stage, for if your drawing is off the painting will be seriously flawed. In order to draw well you have to develop your eye to accurately interpret what you are seeing & then be able to transfer it onto a surface (wood panel). I employ the grid technique because I find it to be a great tool in achieving an accurate transfer. When photographing the models I make sure to have enough lighting so I don’t need to use a flash. The flash can sometimes flatten out the skin tones. It is very important that you measure your boxes carefully so that your photo reference & your painting surface will have the same number of boxes & that the boxes between the two are all in the same ratio. I choose to use thread to construct my boxes (I.E. floating grid), this way I don’t have unwanted pencil lines to erase when I finish my drawing. Make sure you study each box individually and observe the negative space (background) as much as the positive space (figures) when you draw. Once I remove the grid I then further define the drawing anatomically to compensate for camera distortion. Then I idealize the figures to my own subjective impulses.

[ Stage 2 ] The Inking: In this stage I ink a black line over my pencil drawing with a thin brush. In certain cases as in the bound girl’s pink shirt, I choose to use colored ink in order to more accurately reflect the material I‘m to paint. Essentially, I’m still using oil paint, I’ve just diluted it into a liquid consistency by using alkyd resin as my binder & odorless mineral spirits as my solvent. When inking it is important to be conscious of not only your hand but also of your breathing. For instance, if I’m going in to paint an eyelash, I will most likely be holding my breath or exhaling through the entire stroke. Accuracy is essential for the later stages to work.

[ Stage 3 ] The Under-Painting: During this stage I am blocking in with a bigger brush the major forms in the painting. For the background, I’ve laid out a pattern of green & black in an attempt to complement the movement in the foreground. When rendering the figures I prefer to go in with the heavy blacks first before applying the midtones & lights. (I.E. Lady Kayla’s latex apparel)

[ Stage 4 ] The Air-brushing: In applying the lights & midtones I use an air-brush. Whether I’m airbrushing over an unpainted area of panel or softening up brushstrokes from my under painting, the air-brush is a great tool to add atmosphere to your work. I like to paint with at least four airbrushes during a session. This way I can work quickly & don’t have to clean the fluid cup for each color change. It is important to carefully interpret not only the warm & cool aspects of each color but also where the color falls within the gray scale. Remember not to over do it, an over airbrushed painting often lacks hard edges & texture. For the final touches in the painting I use a thin brush to reinforce my heavy blacks as well as applying the white highlights (I.E. Lady Kayla’s eyes, latex, & earrings as well as the bound girls teeth, eyes, and socks). The old adage is true, "It's 99% persperation & 1% inspiration!