Update on the “Giant Painting”

Here’s where things stood last time:

And now:

Doesn’t look much different yet, does it? At this stage, I tread softly, slowly “carving” into the whites and lights so I don’t lose the freshness of the washes. You can probably see some of the “underwater” elements I’ve begun to add—pebbles and a mussel shell—and maybe some of the color adjustments I’m making with pale glazes.

I photograph the work as I go, to help me view it “from a distance”. This is especially helpful with large pieces like this. I’d need a studio the size of a ballroom to step back far enough from this one!

This lets me more easily see things that I want to start adjusting. See the white shape pointing out of the painting on the right side? That’s an example of a shape that is breaking the calm flow I want to have in the piece, so I’ll be working on adjusting that shape to quiet it down and redirect it.

Soon, I will have to make a decision about exactly where I will split the piece into the three panels it will become in the end. The challenge is to make each panel a painting in its own right, but still have the three panels work as a single piece of art. It’s always a bit nerve-wracking to actually make the cuts to separate the three panels!

Stay tuned to see how it develops over the next week. 🙂

Did you miss the video showing how I started this piece? You can see it here.