Coming up with a single painting is a really long process for me. I wish I could just whip up one or two each week. I am constantly thinking of ideas and I can't work them into a finished painting fast enough. I'm often inspired by my kid's artwork. My 6 year old daughter did the artwork above and I really find it quite amazing. Not only do I like her sense of color and design, she also knows what kids her age like visually. I pay alot of attention to things like that.
I have also been learning a little bit about mind mapping. I first learned of it from a marketing book I read recently. The process can be applied to any type of project and there are mind mapping software programs out there you can use on your computer. I just took the concept and started trying to make one in my sketchbook by hand. Before I started mind mapping my thoughts were written randomly all over the paper and they didn't make much sense when I come back to it later. With mind mapping, things are a little more organized on the page and I can come back to it time and again for more ideas -- or to add to it. The book I read about this puts it this way -- it helps you literally see what you're thinking. And you can see the big picture and the small details at the same time. I think that's really important.
In my before mentioned sketchbook is where my thoughts become drawings. This is usually where I either get really excited about a design or where I will decide to scrap it. Most of the time I will work on something for a while and let it sit a few weeks. Then I can come back to it with fresh eyes. Right now I probably have 5 to 8 drawings in the works. The next step is the computer drawing.
Once I start drawing the design in the computer I have decided it's one I really want to finish. That is where the details are refined and the design takes it's final shape. And it's probably the most time consuming part, even more time consuming than the actual painting. I like to do my final drawings in the computer for a couple of reasons. First because my painting style was born from my graphic design background. I like sharp, clean lines, intricate yet subtle details, and I like to work through alot of different scenarios before settling on the final one. The computer helps that process go faster and it saves hundreds of sheets of paper that I would go through otherwise. Another reason is that I'd like to offer my paintings in different sizes and so I can just print out the drawing in the size and proportion I need it without having to redraw everything.
So now you know what it is I'm doing between unveiling each new painting. I hope to experiment with new processes as time goes on. And I'm hoping I even to get brave enough one day to just start painting on canvas without much forethought -- kind of like a stream of consciousness painting. Now that's a pretty good idea!
