The combination of being quarantined and doing an in-depth painting project definitely illuminated a lot about my process. In the past few days, I have been thinking a lot about composition — I have a horrible habit of making very bad compositions. I am discovering that the process of doing in-depth studies definitely allows me to refine my ideas. This is very much in line with another thing I’ve realized in this project; properly doing a line drawing and then underpainting dramatically improves both your painting and your experience doing the painting. This seems very obvious, and of course, I’ve always known it is true, but know I really know because of my experience. A proper underpainting acts as a blueprint for the rest of the painting, but it also is a way to work through little aspects of the painting without having the stress of it being the final layer. If I do color studies as well, I really have the whole painting planned out, and as I paint, I am able to spend less time thinking about details such as composition and color palette and more time thinking about the aspects of the painting unique to what I’m working on. I hope all the work I am doing to prepare for my upcoming painting will pay off.

On a different note, I have discovered what it’s like to paint in my own space. My studio space has gone through a few arrangements throughout this project, but by now I have landed on a rather optimal setup. I have space to paint while standing, though I also have a chair I can pull up. I have a small table with my paints lain across. The table that my little easel is on has space for my computer and my palette. I have a dirty brush and a clean brush jar. And most importantly, I have a trash can right next to me so I don’t throw oil-covered paper towels on my desk or the floor. Having an organized space just makes the process of painting easier for me. The clutter becomes distracting eventually — though I find that as I paint, my space gets messier and messier. It’s important for me to clean afterward, or else it just gets worse and worse… The persisting problem in my process is that I get paint on my hands, without fail, every day. It’s a horrible habit and I really need to figure out some way to fix it.