Painting Composition

Around 2006, I started taking a 2-hour painting class on Saturdays just to have something creative to do in addition to writing daily, teaching, bellydancing and later drumming. OK, so I was already pretty creatively occupied; so this was pretty much of a “why the hell not?” move on my part.

Nearly 7 years later, I still find myself painting, but I’ve stepped up my game. I’ve discovered that the thinly pressed frozen food cardboard boxes make pretty good cheap “canvases,” especially given my painting abilities. Plus, for the past two years, I’ve taken those paintings, cut them up and made them into greeting cards. Not only did the little paintings look better, but gave me yet another creative outlet over Thanksgiving break. Besides, most amateur painters need a healthy way to jettison their practice paintings while only retaining the rare few for prosperity’s sake.

The current novel that I’m working on, The Adventures of Infinity and Negativa, is going to be part graphic novel.  Although I’ve reached out to several graphic artists, none have sustained their interest in working with me. I completely understand since I’ve not offered any money. At the same time, I have a feeling that I’m going to be the artist I seek. The thought of having to learn computer graphic design nearly stopped me until I went to a Christmas bazaar where a painter had taken high quality pictures of her paintings and printed them on cardstock to make greeting cards.

I was so impressed by the quality of her work that I felt imspired to retrieve a blank 16″ x 20″ canvas from my storage closet and plot out the opening chapter of Adventures. My writing philosophy is to do a little every single day and I toyed with the idea of doing the same with this painting.  Reality of my usual busy schedule got in the way, but every step of progress that I make, I take a picture of and document the progress.

                                                                                Day 1 was merely getting the canvas out of the storage room.      

                                                                                              Day 2: I plotted out what would go in 9 spaces.          

Day 3: I sketched out how to divide the canvas  into 9 spaces on a post-it note.         

                                                                                                        Day 4: I divided up the canvas.               

                                                                                     Day 5: I outlined the spaces in masking tape.                                                         

    Day 6: I created a simple top-middle-bottom and left-right grid in the opening space.        

                                                                                                        Day 7: I sketched out the bar area.                              

Day 8: I sketched out one of the public dining areas.

I’m really taking my time with the sketching. Since drawing/painting are my strong suits, I’m relying on pictures that I google and I’m basing the two main fantasy characters that are featured in the graphic part on my cousin, Linda.  Getting my family in NC and VA to send pictures of her to help me out has been a minor challenge, but they’ve come through.  Now, I just need to continue taking things one step at a time.