Lots of artists make drawings and studies before they start to paint, but because of the ease of using acrylics I’ve developed a style that usually allows me an abbreviated way of working. I just read today about an artist who does detailed drawings and composition before they begin to paint, and for some people I suppose that is the ideal way of working.

I usually just start with a sketch on canvas and build up from there. This method usually works great but for some reason on this particular painting it didn’t work well at all and I ended up with a composition that is a bit off kilter from what I wanted originally. I started this painting, (which will probably end up at the Hopkins Salon show later this month), with a photo I took at a local outdoor concert.

From there, I sketched it on canvas and did a preliminary painting. The mother and daughter were the “stars” of the photo so they were in a prominent position. I thought after the preliminary painting that they were too small. So then (not pictured here) I made them fill most of a 24″ x 30″ space on the canvas. That painting was nearly done before I second guessed the whole thing and thought they were too large. So I painted white over the whole thing and started over! I ended up with a crowd scene sketch done in paint. As you can see it was quite messy at first.

I thought about that for awhile and then decided that the mother and daughter needed to be bigger, so I moved them down and enlarged them and added more people in the background. I still wasn’t quite sure where I was going with this. This was, at this point, not a scene from just one photo but from about 6, and from two separate events this summer.

Eventually, after many long hours I finally finished the background and the crowd behind the main figures.

The final result was both not as abstract and/or not as realistic as I intended or wanted, but somewhere in between. I’m not completely happy with the final result and if I had to do it over again, I would start with a better plan and composition.  (and I’d start a week earlier).

The main thing this painting has going for it are the main two figures, the concept (which always looks terrific in my mind before I start) and the bright colors.  I think there is also an overall feeling of happiness and being social with your neighbors at a summer event.

The main issue with a painting like this is that it takes so much time to do and is anything but spontaneous — so I worked on other things at the same time to break up the monotony.

The moral of the story of my working method — well there isn’t any. Everyone has their own style, and everyone has a process that evolves over time. My working process is definitely still evolving and changing, especially now that I have a real place to work.

The painting is titled “Holding on to Felicity”. The felicity referred to is not the name of the little girl (these are people I don’t know) but the meaning of the world felicity itself, which means, “the state of being happy, especially in a high degree; 2. an instance of this. 3. a source of happiness.”

Holding on to happiness in these dark and uncertain times (notice the sky) is tough, but a lot of people are managing to do it, and that has a lot to do with their hopes for the future, or their hopes for their children.