A painting in progress

I've been working on a new painting for a couple of weeks now.  I thought you might like to see the process I'm going through to get it from inside my head to hanging on the wall. 

I started with the idea of "God making all things new"...in our lives...our church, our community and the world.  I imagined a wildly beautiful...gigantic garden growing around our church...tended by all of us...with a little "living water" sprinkled from above.  There is joy everywhere...people lift right off the ground as they play their ukulele's and sing happy songs! 

My crude little  initial sketch was done on my computer with my Wacom pad.  It's one of the best tools I've ever had.  It's like magic.  I can draw on it with its stylus on layered files that can be turn off and on or rearranged.  I can try out different color combinations in a matter of seconds.  It's a great way to think more creatively.  But it's only a start.

I decided on a 36 x 36 inch canvas and oil paints for this one.  First, I painted the canvas with black gesso because I like the way it makes the colors look.( An idea I got from our daughter, Amy.)  After the gesso dried I sketched the hill and church in with colored chalk.  The underpainting was much darker than the finished version.  It looked very sad and bleak.

This is the side of the church that nobody sees very often.  It's away from the street with only a big rolling yard below it.  I chose this view for two reasons...I like the way it looks...more peaceful and serene...and the painting is about looking at life differently. 

The whole look was so morose I felt like I'd sort of lost my way.  So I did something I don't usually do.  I went back to the computer and painted the rest of my ideas on top of the underpainting photo.  That's the big picture you see below.

The brighter colors made me feel back on track and I started drawing the new details in colored chalk on my now dry oil painting.  Chuck and I are the two bluebirds playing ukuleles and singing!

 

As you can see, things have evolved from my original sketch...several new images have been added.  I'm feeling much better about the emotion and energy of the painting.

Now if only I could have a whole day to paint without interruptions! to be continued.....