Been staring at this underpainting for three days. The linen is fighting me — I think that's exactly where I need to stay a little longer.There's a temptation at this stage to resolve things too quickly. To mix a colour that makes sense, to commit to a line because the canvas feels too empty and patience feels too much like procrastination. But I've learned — slowly, and more than once the hard way — that the underpainting knows things the finished surface doesn't. It holds the logic of the whole piece before the whole piece exists.What I'm looking at right now is a warm ochre ground with some loose gestural marks in raw umber. Nothing that would mean anything to anyone else.Read more

Been staring at this underpainting for three days. The linen is fighting me — I think that's exactly where I need to stay a little longer.There's a temptation at this stage to resolve things too quickly. To mix a colour that makes sense, to commit to a line because the canvas feels too empty and patience feels too much like procrastination. But I've learned — slowly, and more than once the hard way — that the underpainting knows things the finished surface doesn't. It holds the logic of the whole piece before the whole piece exists.What I'm looking at right now is a warm ochre ground with some loose gestural marks in raw umber. Nothing that would mean anything to anyone else.… Read more