How Does An Artist Begin A Painting?
Did you ever wonder? Sometimes you hear about artists who just stare at that white canvas and can’t seem to get started. This is especially true with beginning artists. But to get some insight into the process, we interviewed artist Chuck Rosenthal. Mr. Rosenthal has no trouble at all getting started, and most probably, as is the case with a lot of productive artists, he has more paintings in his mind that there can possibly be time to put down on canvas.
Mr. Rosenthal selects the subject matter for his paintings from life. And that’s the first step – choosing what to paint. He favors still life paintings, which he says give him complete control over the objects in the painting, the placement of those objects and the lighting of them. But since he also paints other subjects – for example, people on a beach – he likes to take a photograph and in this case, the decision that must be made is the position from which to take the picture, and the time of day (which affects lighting). This is the first step – choosing the subject and taking the photograph.
The way light falls on a subject at different times of day is very important in Mr. Rosenthal’s paintings. He is always looking for contrasts of light and dark. When he finds something visually appealing to him, the camera clicks.
Mr. Rosenthal also mentioned things he kept in mind while searching for subjects and while painting: “I am influenced by very good painters when I seek to do anything. I picture the works that they have done and try to keep in mind those really fine works that I have seen when I’m working.”
As for the next step, getting the paint on the canvas, Mr. Rosenthal said that he sometimes varies his methods from painting to painting. But the most usual way he begins is by drawing the large shapes with charcoal onto the canvas. He uses brush and paint to sketch in the larger dark shapes in the painting in the beginning.
He uses a middle-toned canvas, so that both darks and lights will show up against it. He covers the entire painting in stages, not just working on and finishing off one small section. Applying the lightest tones comes last in this creative process. He did mention that sometimes he skips the charcoal step and just begins with the paint, but not too often.
It may seem strange when you think of it, that a painter has to paint light – it’s so insubstantial and airy. When questions about that last application of the lightest paint, the artist commented, “I’m always trying to find what might be called the “homerun” light in a painting, that part of the painting where you can really smush the light on, using lots of impasto and texture.
Chuck Rosenthal’s painting “Construction Workers, Clearwater, Florida” is a good demonstration of what he said in this interview. Now that you know a little about the process, we invite you to view more of his paintings on his website, and see them with new eyes.