Process Post: An Ambitious Commission Inspired by Dutch Masters.

Nov 1

In one of my first big time commissions, I dug deep in my collected inspirations from my trip to Amsterdam, the Dutch Masters and relearning how to work with oil paints.

This project came to me through an old coworker, the kind of dream commission where they let me do whatever I want, within the loose theme of “plant”. In addition to the plant life theme, some other inputs I received were inspiration from a recent vacation to South America and the idea of adding a dark element, to represent the cultural climate of the moment.

I used this commission as an opportunity to push myself and explore a technique with more refined rendering than I usually do, especially after the all inspiration in my bones from my trip to Amsterdam. I also wanted to create my version of Dutch flowers – the feel of the still life or in this case the plant life, looming out of the darkness.

Getting started

I began the process by doing a series of sketches and studies to get a feel of what I was going to paint. Even though I usually like to wing it, to accomplish a more highly rendered look I was going to need a plan.

Making the first mark on such a massive canvas was definitely intimating. Using an oil paint wash, I quickly laid down the base drawing. In these stages I worked to keep it loose, to avoid overthinking - especially with something so big you do not want to get lost in the details up front.

It’s all in the details

The early stages of this painting were fast. I finished the underpainting by blocking out some general color with progressively thicker layers of wash. Then began exploring some different color combinations and methods of brush work. You can see in the photo below how one area is starting to show more detail than the rest.

Once I get deep into the details, it can sometimes be hard to bring myself back out. Which meant I had to practice a kind of self control to make sure I didn’t go down that particular rabbit hole–and burn myself out. So, I did a lot of zooming in and zooming out, moving around the canvas and did my best not to stay in anyone particular zone too long.

The technique I used to create depth involved a lot of building up thin layers of paint, working my way to the final touches with a more loaded brush. It worked pretty well however looking back on this project, there are some things I would do differently, not out of regret but out of the experience I gained working through this piece. One thing I would have done differently would have been to prioritize blocking out the values before the colors.

For the pattern of the leaves I had a little fun with the patterns and tried to be expressive and organic in these areas, exploring different patterns and ways to showcase the texture and form of each individual leaf.

My mediums

My primary paints of choice are the Winsor & Newton Winton oil colors, they’re at the perfect intersection of quality and affordability.

The medium I chose to thin my oil paints with was Gamsol, which is a nontoxic paint thinner that does a nice job. I’ve mixed and matched oils and thinners before, however that can lead to an uneven coating and I wasn’t yet sure if I wanted to varnish this piece.

Final thoughts

All-in-all this painting took close to 6 months to complete start to finish. Working full-time contributed to that timeline, however there were moments where I had to step away to let the piece dry, or give my eyes and mind a rest, more importantly I didn’t want to overwork it. This commission was a really exciting opportunity that I am so grateful for, and I hope to get more like this.

You may need to take a dramamine before you watch this, that being said – here is 6 months of process and pictures condensed into a 30 second bad-excuse-for-a-time-lapse. 🎨

Shalimar Luis