I've been asked before why I prefer to paint the backgrounds of my paintings first. In creating an animation recently, I found the perfect visual representation of my explanation!
Did you notice how the shadows on Tess looked so much darker when I was only working in the grey underpainting, and how they appeared so much lighter after the layers of brown were added in the background?
Colors, and values (the lightness, or darkness of an area) are influenced by the other colors, and values around them. If I were to paint Tess first, and add in the background later, I'd run the risk of washing out her color, and shadows. That's not to say that painting the subject first can't be done successfully! There are certainly lots of artists who do is successfully. This method is what I was taught, and what has proven to work best for me. I've definitely rebelled against the method, I can be stubborn, and each time has cemented the lesson.
I do have to admit that there's also a much less rational reason why painting the background first works best for me. Painting the background is so much less fun than painting those much more interesting, and engaging pet faces!
There's a neat combination of creativity, science, and process to making art. I hope to share more insights with you in the future! Sign up for my e-mail list by clicking the button at the top of the blog post for notifications of new posts. I promise not to overload, or spam your inbox!
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