How do I create a painting – Canvas preparation until the varnish
Preparation of canvas
I take preparation of canvas quite seriously, because if it is not done properly the finished painting might get affected very badly. Firstly I stretch my canvas on my panel, rub it with sand paper to get rid of the bobbles and roughness. Then I treat it with 2 layers of primer and gesso each. Then what I do is, I do one coating of oil painting which will help me during the process of painting, it reduces the friction immensely.
Rough outline of the painting
Before I start with a painting, what I do is I create a grid both on my canvas and on the reference photo. I sell my paintings so I have to be very careful with the shape of my subjects so I take the help of grid. With the use of grid, I create the outline of my main and other subjects in this step.
Creation of color scheme
This is where I create a color scheme. Color scheme helps me to bring whatever light, effect and mood I intend to bring on my canvas. After I apply the color scheme, the layout of colors work as a foundation. It guides me to select values and colors. The demarcation of presence and absence of light zones and the caste shadows becomes quite obvious after the color scheme.
Finish and highlight of the painting
This is step is a honeymoon step for me. It is icing on the cake because after application of highlight zone and the highlight itself the painting comes to life. It is so good to see how the painting would come to life. I am so fond of this technique scumbling with which I create sharp highlights. They help my painting get the soul that it needs. And none of my paintings are short of the glazing technique. I use glazing on all the cloth areas and the shadow parts. This technique more depth to the painting.
Varnishing a painting
Last but not the least. I allow my painting to dry, not touch dry, I mean super dry. Once after it is completely dry what I do is I varnish my painting. Varnishing an oil painting is very important. During the process of drying a painting, what happens is that the paint gets absorbed by the canvas or somehow major values on the painting gets lost in the process. While varnishing a painting all the lost values come to life.
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