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I'm always fascinated by the process in which an artist creates a painting, particularly when it involves building layer upon layer of color and materials.  I thought I would document some of the stages of my  painting, "Somewhere Over the Midwest."  (I talk about the title in my Summer 2024 newsletter.)  I don't list every single change I made from image to image, but enough of them to convey the idea.  Here we go:

1. I started by putting down some lines based on the contours I saw in the land, as I looked down from an airplane window.  I'm guessing that we were somewhere over Nebraska.

2. Next I used a spreader used for applying house paint to pull down some black gesso.  It created some interesting and unpredictable shapes.

3. I then added some more lines, repeating some of the contour lines.

4. I experimented with the paint spreader again, this time using cadmium red light, cobalt blue, yellow (hansa yellow, I think) with a little bit of titanium white, overlapping with the black shapes.

5. I applied titanium white and titan buff to mute some of the areas.

6. Using a scraper or a silicone wedge, I applied a mixture of the same red, blue, yellow, and white.

7.  I then softened it by covering up a lot of it with a mix of different yellows and white.

8.  To add some more interest, I added more lines with gel sticks, oil pastels and ink tense blocks.

9.  Time to add purple.  I don't remember what I mixed to make the purple, but I wanted it muted, so I added a little of it's compliment, yellow.

10.  Now I wanted to lighten it up with some neutrals, so I added shades of grey, made by mixing all three primary colors, with some titanium white. Then I splattered on a little burnt sienna, just for fun.

11. Back to being bold, I added a bunch of black lines, mostly with a brush and carbon black paint, but also with gel sticks and inktense blocks.

12. Now it was too dreary, so I warmed it up with some areas of muted yellow.

13. It was still simultaneously too somber, yet frenetic, so I added a couple of large bright yellow areas,with a touch of cadmium red light, applied directly out of the tube. 

14. I turned the canvas 90 degrees, covered up a lot of the black lines, lightened up some of the neutral areas, and modified the pop of cadmium red light. 

15.  Not a lot of changes here, but I covered up some of the black lines and added a bit of warmth with the addition of some muted orange and maybe some burnt sienna.  It still looked messy.

16.  In what became the final version,I turned the canvas another 90 degrees, thickened the yellows, added a few drips, warmed up some of the purples and added a subtle accent of pale pink. I then reintroduced some of the same contour lines that I started with at the beginning, covered up some of the orange in the middle (because it was too centered) and added another small pop of orange on top of the large area.   I finished it up by painting the sides black and varnishing the front and sides with a mix of mat and satin varnish.  

Let me know if you find these descriptions interesting.  I don't document every painting I make, but I try to do so from time to time.