I’ve said many times before that the first few minutes of a painting is the most important. To practice this exact concept I’m going to be working on a few figure starts the next week.
The process I use is simple in concept. With my brush, I draw the major shape of the figure on the canvas to get placement. In this painting, I began with a simple shape for the head and torso. Then I begin refining the drawing starting with the head and working down. I try not to rush here, the drawing is the most important. If I get this wrong the rest of the painting will fail.
Unfortunately, I think that is exactly what happened today. I didn’t get the drawing correct and I think that was directly related to my focus. Hence the reason for me practicing multiple figure starts. I’m trying to create a habit of starting all my paintings well.
