Inception
It starts with a memory. I'm sitting in my car under a bright Winter sky. My head is filled with darkness and my heart with despair. I have been anxious and overburdened for months. Down with the Sickness by Disturbed comes up on the radio. With a burning and sudden rage comes the will to fight the darkness within.
I grab a pencil and start sketching.
First sketches
I get this vivid image of a wound filled with a sharp blinding light and as I sketch it's contours it turns into a man ripping his own chest open to let it through. I remember how it felt to finally see a way through the darkness and decide to add an extension to to figure holding desperately to the light, shoving it's heart into the long awaited release.
I jot down a few observation on the composition. The top part should be exploding outward, ripping itself out of the moment while the bottom should be contracting toward the light. I decide for a bright saturated red palette for the top and a muted dark green-blue scheme for the bottom.
Groundwork
I base the canvas with large sweeping motions and brush in a few hints of where the figures will go. I try to keep things loose for as long as possible in order to avoid shutting down new ideas. After the first night of work I get some decent silhouette and an arm that I like but something is missing.
The next morning I use painter tape to fill in the light beam and suddenly it clicks. I get excited and eager to return to the work.
Why this blog
I wanted a place to document the process that goes into the making of each of these paintings in an effort to understand what is going on. Let me know if you enjoy it and if I should keep publishing my notes.