The Painting Process

A few weeks ago I finished a painting of an intersection on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The painting was done from a photograph I took on one of my trips to Hollywood. I enjoy painting the unexpected or the mundane over the “touristy” spots. In my mind this painting represents the “real” Hollywood over what most people see in the media.

The medium I use currently is oil and I paint on stretched canvas or panel board. I begin each painting by coating the blank canvas with a color medium in tone. This assures that none of the canvas will be left blank and it makes painting much easier to have a base coat.

I then take a paint brush and a darker color and sketch in only the main shapes to assure that the perspective and dimensions are correct. I can easily paint over any mistakes at this time.

I then begin filling in some of the shadows or darker colors.

Slowly adding color elements of the painting begin to come into view. At this stage I usually paint the sky and some of the main objects of the painting.

Continuing to work on the main shapes, I fill in colors without worrying about detail yet.

Once the main colors have all been places, I work on the details of the painting until I decide it is finished.

I had a lot of fun on this painting. It took me about 4 days working several hours each day. I like to let some of the layers dry before continuing on, especially once I start on the details.

If you would like to purchase this painting it is available at Wendybsstudio90264 on Etsy.