Hi ya’ll! Here’s a little bit on my process these days.

I tape a sheet of primed linen to a drawing board along with another smaller piece of linen. I call the smaller piece of linen my “notes.” Below you can see an up close photo of the notes in the video.

The name “notes” holds a double meaning for me: musical notes and writing notes (like with a pen in a notebook).

I had a teacher who compared colors to musical notes. He said that when the colors are in harmony, the picture “sings.” Sometimes when I’m refining a color mixture, I imagine I’m tuning a guitar. The goal is to make a painting with perfect pitch (Corot was a painter with perfect pitch).

The notes also feel like a sort of writing to me. When I became a parent, I realized that I wouldn’t get much done without making lists. Now I’m addicted to making lists. I think these notes are an expression of my obsession with list making.

Now I’ll talk about the actual process. Art nerd alert!

When I mix up a color I start by mixing up my first best guess. Then I place it on the canvas in the appropriate spot. I also make a mark with the color on my notes with a palette knife.

Then I ask the color what it needs and then adjust the color. I scrape off the first best guess on the painting and replace it with the adjusted color. I also make another mark beside the first on my notes.

I do this process 4 times for every color I mix. You can see in the photo of my notes there are four marks for each color.

I make the notes because they help me stay on track— it’s a record of my process and a sort of color map/sheet music for the developing painting.

Thanks for reading! <3