...into my studio through this progression of photos shows my easel and the process that defines my painting. The first block of photos is the first layer being completed. You can see the black and white reference photo that I used to sketch out shapes which will define the areas of light and dark. Then as I paint, I recorded the colors that I used for each element of the painting, in this case from background to foreground, or from top to bottom. The color study is the tall skinny strip below the painting.
After completing the first layer, I take a break to simply look at what I've accomplished and decide where the painting needs to go (usually while working on another painting). Once I know, I sand the painting smooth to remove the brushstrokes while hopefully leaving as much paint as possible. Using the color study from the first layer, I mix the paint for the second layer, painting it over the first on the color study to see how the change will affect the painting. These shifts can often be minute, but they are extremely important to capture the realism of the scene.
Using this method, I am free to paint the second layer without much of a thought to color, which allows me to focus solely on tightening and refining the detail of the painting. Unfortunately internet colors and low resolutions don't do it much justice, but the details are there, and the shift from one layer to the next is often quite remarkable! I often feel the first layer is tight and restricted, a rough draft if you will, while the second pass allows me to be more intimate and flowing with the extra understanding the shapes and feel of the painting. A light glaze (a mostly transparent layer of paint suspended in a painting medium) adds to the foggy atmosphere of the painting and a varnish follow, which completes the painting in four layers.
I hope you've enjoyed this small glimpse into my process, and thanks for following what I do!