starting a new painting

The first marks of a painting are always some of my favorites. They are the most intuitive and spontaneous brushstrokes in the painting. As I build layers on top of them I try to allow some of the drips and loose marks to remain visible in a few spots. The pencil marks you see here are part of the cicada sketch I did on the blank canvas. The cicada will be painted in next and then pattern layers will be added.

This is a collection of new paintings that I’m creating in June and July. I will share some of the painting process here and on my Instagram stories if you’d like to follow along.