....looking across the winter wheat field at dusk, to the little forested hill in the distance. Acrylic collage painting on archival paper, 10 x 13 inches, image size 9 x 10 inches.
Method is a very interesting part of the whole process. Change the method, and you change the outcome. If I paint on location, the work will look one way. If I make a brief diagram, and work from only that, the work will look a different way. If I work entirely from memory, different again. If I take some photos and look at those while working, different still. If I look at a photo while working and then hang a towel over the monitor so I can't always see the photo, thus relying more on memory, different again. The rules of engagement are a big part of what the artist does.
I do favour the method shown here.....a little diagram made on site....worked from later that day. It requires some memory work, while allowing a whole lot of latitude about specific colours, textures, contrasts. It sets the composition, while allowing most other things to remain in flux, to be determined in the painting process.
