While every project is different, I do have a certain sequence of events I tend to go through from the start of a notion through to hanging a painting on a wall. I’m not going to go into much detail with these, that I’ll do in other posts, but this will serve as an initial guide for my usual process.

  • Brainstorm ideas — This is rarely a single marathon session. Mostly it’s just a lot of musing and very rough, doodly sketches to try to flesh out some workable concepts.
  • References and Studies — When I have some idea of what I want to paint, I start looking for helpful reference pictures and I start doing studies. The studies are generally to get me a stronger idea which of my brainstormed ideas will work. Most of them aren’t intended to echo the final artwork, just the idea and possible execution. If painting directly from references, then securing the rights for any works not intended for private practice is done now.
  • Preparing Support — I’ll commit to a size for the work and select a type of support — in the case of paintings this means either some type of panel or some sort of canvas. Unless I’m very rushed, I’ll put a few coats of gesso on and smooth it down. I’ve been disappointed in pre-applied gesso from time-to-time, so I like to eliminate it as a variable.
  • Transferring Sketch — I very much like having some sketched-on guide when I paint. Sometimes they are very detailed, sometimes not-so-much. How I transfer the sketch varies a lot: from freehand to projectors and all stops in between. To this day I still use whatever seems best at the time. Carbon transfer, either through scribbling on the back of a sketch or via a graphite paper is probably the most common as it’s moderately fast, fairly flexible, and a lot of the time is just good enough.
  • Painting — I basically slap paint around via whatever method I’ve chosen until it’s finished.
  • Waiting and Coating — After the painting has had a chance to dry and cure, I’ll usually apply some sort of isolation coat (especially for acrylic) — usually sprayed, let that dry and cure, then apply a removable, UV-protective varnish — sprayed for textured work, brushed otherwise, and then let that sit around for it to cure.
  • Photography — Final photos. If I can’t achieve a resolution I like with my setup, then I send them off to someone who is much better equipped.
  • Finish Presentation — What I do at this point depends a lot on the painting’s disposition. For sold works, it’s whatever the buyer wants. Otherwise, they can be stored, framed then stored, or, on occasion, framed and hung.

For mediums other than painting, the process is generally the same. The only major difference comes with what’s necessary for support prep, finish coat, and how it needs to be tended to in order to keep it in good shape.