Painting class this week focused on composition. We are about to embark on our first large scale painting and so it was important to think about the size and shape of the canvas and the general composition before we start.

I think I am going to paint a face … which is, of course, what I like to do. I’m not sure on exactly how I will frame the portrait. I think I will need to see who arrives on the page. I am tempted to paint a super close up face but I think for this first one I might step back a little. I have done some preliminary sketches … let’s see where it goes from here.

Whilst we have complete freedom on what to paint, we do need to focus on adding texture. I am not a huge fan of texture. I appreciate it but I am usually drawn to pictures that are painted flat – almost gouache-like and not heavily textured. Still, interesting exercise.

Let the fun and games begin.