Idea to Image: Housewarming

 From my sketchbook to canvas, here is a look at the process behind my latest painting titled Housewarming,  24" x 30" x 1.5" acrylic on canvas.  I began sketching grackles back in February-those birds are EVERYWHERE in San Antonio.  They have such personality, constantly talking and puffing up their feathers and flapping their wings when you near them.   Like seagulls to Youngstown, these grackles immediately bring to mind the city I now call home.  They are not the most attractive or beloved of avian wildlife, but I really love to watch them.  I chose to paint them in shades of blue, as a reference to a little 'bluebird of happiness' pin that belonged to my Grandma.  There are origami birds flying above the scene, one for each place I've called home.  The succulents from our wedding and roses from our backyard served as visual resources for the garden.  The birds and garden drawings from my sketchbook were transferred to canary paper, arranged and overlapped within the picture plane.  Once everything was in its place, the sketches were taped down and transferred to the canvas using carbon paper.  Next, I blocked in the background and painted in sections over the following few weeks. The painting came to life, layer by layer.  The flatness and repeating patterns in this painting, like my drawings, are obvious constructions, an allusion to memory. See below for the progression of idea to image...