Commission-a homage to Joan Miro (stage five)

The next stage of the process was a gradual blocking in of composition elements and objects, emphasising some and placing them so that the composition remained coherent.

I felt that at this stage things looked too spacious but once built up and nearer completion I would have achieved my aim.

Having filled in most areas and made small adjustments to some objects – fading some and delineated others I felt that the composition now looked too busy. So back to scumbling over unnecessary line work, fading back other linear elements and painting over other objects and simplifying others so that I could stand back and re assess the composition as a whole.

Still too busy so let it dry. I am finding that this style of painting without my usual textural passages of various paint thickness and viscosities is such a change and seems more contemplative, less emotional and not as energetic as control of paint application consists of careful rendering as opposed to sweeping layers of paint with a trowel across the canvas. There’s something more relaxing about having this much control nothing left to chance here.