March Surf

I am finding that by limiting my time to begin a painting, my finished work has vastly improved.  This painting of waves was begun and nearly completed in three 4-minute and one 3-minute segment.  I started with a drawing and a selection of pastels.  Between each time segment, I pause to review what I have done and plan my next step.  Once I have completed the timed portion, I evaluate the painting, and devote only the effort that is necessary to bring the painting to completion.  

One very important lesson I am learning while working under a time constraint is that I must let each stroke be determined by the previous stroke.  This limits confusion and leads to form, color, and value harmony.

The idea was purely imaginary, and I worked strictly from memory without any reference photos.  My goal was to paint a big white foamy wave in a broken surf.