Anatomy of a Painting: Bungalow Porch

I have had a number of requests to write about my painting process--the steps I use to make a painting. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I decided to give it a go with some "progress photos", showing how one particular painting came together.

This one began on a fine, late spring morning. I wanted to be outdoors painting, but I couldn't figure out where to go. Every place that came to mind was quickly ruled out for one reason or another. No room to stand without getting hit by a car; sunlight coming from wrong direction; too far away; you name it. Finally I decided to quit making excuses. I went to the same little bungalow I had painted the afternoon before, figuring I could paint it in morning light, which would look completely different. I was drawn to the shadows under the eaves and the geometry of the architecture.

No sooner had I set up my easel than a pickup truck with a trailer parked right in front of my subject. Sigh. I probably should have moved to a different motif, but by that time I was

already committed to that view of the bungalow, so I decided to stay put. I finished sketching in the basics, using dark paint thinned with turpentine. I didn't want too much detail in the initial drawing, because that often makes my paintings too stiff. In hindsight, I was more specific in this drawing than I intended to be. (Note to self: less is more at this stage).

The next step was identifying my "color universe". See above. I put down some of the sky (since the sky color influences everything else). Then some of my lightest light (the white eaves and pillars in the sunlight). Then my brightest bright, which you might also call the most intense color (the brick stairs). Then my darkest dark (the shadow side of the hedge). I knew that every other color had to fit within that continuum, and that these "points of the compass" would guide me. I would compare every new color I mixed to these colors and ask myself questions such as "Is it lighter or darker?, or "Is it more or less intense?"

Then the paint mixing and comparing of color relationships got under way in earnest. This is the phase when I get completely lost in the process. So of course I forgot to take periodic progress photos! I did get one shot a little more than halfway through (above) and one as I was wrapping up (below). 

I made a few tweaks when I got back to the studio, but I didn't want to interfere too much with the painting as it stood on site. The finished painting is below. So now you know the full story!

"Front Porch Day"
10 x 10, Oil on Linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2016