An Artist's Creative Process...
Each artist has his/her unique creative process.
My working methods have changed dramatically over the years with my current process being a much-simplified version of how I used to work.
In other words, as I pared down my imagery in the "Black Paintings," my process quite naturally pared down, too.
One constant is that I have always worked in series with each pastel painting leading quite logically to the next.
Another is that I always have set up a scene, lit and photographed it, and worked with a 20" x 24" photograph as the primary reference material.
In the "Domestic Threats" series I shot with a 4" x 5" view camera.
Nowadays the first step is to decide which photo I want to make into a painting (currently I have a backlog of images to choose from) and to order a 19 1/2" x 19 1/2" image (my Mamiya 6 shoots square images and uses film) printed on 20" x 24" paper.
I get the print made at Manhattan Photo on West 20th Street in New York.
Typically I have in mind the next two or three paintings that I want to create.
Once I have the reference photograph in hand, I make a preliminary tonal charcoal sketch on a piece of white drawing paper.
The sketch helps me think about how to proceed and points out potential problem areas ahead.
For example, in this photograph I had originally thought about creating a vertical painting, but changed to horizontal format after discovering spatial problems in my sketch.
Also, I decided to make a small painting now because it has been two years since I last worked in a smaller (than my usual 38" x 58") size.
I am re-using the photograph on which "Epiphany" is based. Using a photograph a second time lets me see how my working methods have evolved over time.
Comments are welcome!
www.barbararachkoscoloreddust.com
My working methods have changed dramatically over the years with my current process being a much-simplified version of how I used to work.
In other words, as I pared down my imagery in the "Black Paintings," my process quite naturally pared down, too.
One constant is that I have always worked in series with each pastel painting leading quite logically to the next.
Another is that I always have set up a scene, lit and photographed it, and worked with a 20" x 24" photograph as the primary reference material.
In the "Domestic Threats" series I shot with a 4" x 5" view camera.
Nowadays the first step is to decide which photo I want to make into a painting (currently I have a backlog of images to choose from) and to order a 19 1/2" x 19 1/2" image (my Mamiya 6 shoots square images and uses film) printed on 20" x 24" paper.
I get the print made at Manhattan Photo on West 20th Street in New York.
Typically I have in mind the next two or three paintings that I want to create.
Once I have the reference photograph in hand, I make a preliminary tonal charcoal sketch on a piece of white drawing paper.
The sketch helps me think about how to proceed and points out potential problem areas ahead.
For example, in this photograph I had originally thought about creating a vertical painting, but changed to horizontal format after discovering spatial problems in my sketch.
Also, I decided to make a small painting now because it has been two years since I last worked in a smaller (than my usual 38" x 58") size.
I am re-using the photograph on which "Epiphany" is based. Using a photograph a second time lets me see how my working methods have evolved over time.
Comments are welcome!
www.barbararachkoscoloreddust.com
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