There is a process in preparing to paint on canvas and I thought I'd share some of the process shots here today.
In his wood shop M. makes the frames from pine boards and we cut, glue and nail them together. Then in my studio I cut, wrap and prime the canvas. While stretching, folding the corners, and painting layers of gesso on the individual canvases I get to think about how the actual work will transpire, what it will look like, and how I will fill the space with paint. Preparing to work on canvas is different than getting paper ready for watercolor, at least for me. When I work on paper, even though I work in a series, I usually prepare one sheet of paper at a time. With canvas or panels, as here, there are a dozen or so surfaces prepared all at once. So I look at them all together and visualize how they will function as a body of work. And even though it takes time and I get excited just to start painting, I really do like the craft and method of it all. And that smallest canvas size that I'm holding is 4 in. x 4 in., which I believe may be my smallest canvas yet. I hope they will be as fun to paint as I imagine.
In his wood shop M. makes the frames from pine boards and we cut, glue and nail them together. Then in my studio I cut, wrap and prime the canvas. While stretching, folding the corners, and painting layers of gesso on the individual canvases I get to think about how the actual work will transpire, what it will look like, and how I will fill the space with paint. Preparing to work on canvas is different than getting paper ready for watercolor, at least for me. When I work on paper, even though I work in a series, I usually prepare one sheet of paper at a time. With canvas or panels, as here, there are a dozen or so surfaces prepared all at once. So I look at them all together and visualize how they will function as a body of work. And even though it takes time and I get excited just to start painting, I really do like the craft and method of it all. And that smallest canvas size that I'm holding is 4 in. x 4 in., which I believe may be my smallest canvas yet. I hope they will be as fun to paint as I imagine.
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