Many artists won’t reveal "trade secrets."  Others, like myself, see this as essential to the job—a way of generating excitement about the powers of creativity, educating others, and learning along the way…  

I do hope the tips, techniques, and examples my DocSusan blog and website can  share will encourage you to pick up your own brushes and experiment and/or better appreciate individual artists whose work you admire.  

Generally, each painting I do goes through a minimum of eight stages

When a still life/model is involved, I usually:

1. Find or decide on the subject matter, including shopping for it.
2. Decide on size, scale, and media.
3. Arrange the subject matter.
4. Organize the easel/palette/model set-up.
5. Prepare hanging hardware suitable to the media (and attach it).
6. Paint the subject matter, in layers:  under-painting, mid-painting, final painting—and all stages in between.
7. Glaze the painting.
8. Paint around the painting’s edges in acrylic, by color-matching from the oil painting.

The whole production process is usually a six - eight week process, from start to finish for 24in x 24in whimsical works (stages five - eight taking three of those weeks).  Larger pieces take me significantly longer to produce.

When I’m working on a series, I often have three pieces on the go at once—each at a different stage.

For larger abstract pieces, I usually:

1. Come up with a concept, color scheme, or style as a "jumping off point."
2. Decide on size, scale, and media.
3. Consider the colors and applications with which I might want to begin.
4. Organize the easel/palette/room set-up—especially if I’m working on several pieces at once and want to give them each similar treatment.
5. Prepare hanging hardware suitable to the media (and attach it).
6. Paint  in layers:  under-painting, mid-painting, final painting—and all stages in between.
7. Glaze the painting.
8. Paint around the painting’s edges in acrylic, by color-matching from the oil painting.

The whole production process can take months, allowing for spontaneity, randomness, and surprises.  Also, I don’t like to waste paint, and this type of work provides me one way to use up paint left over on my palette from other (non-absract) pieces.

Depending on the size of the pieces, I can have up to a dozen works on the go at once—each at the same stage.

For series of paintings, I usually:

1.  Consider the bigger whole before the individual parts.
2.  Work on each individual part as though it is an only part.
3.  (Re)arrange the individual pieces that make up the greater whole  in Photoshop.

The media I use:

1.  The oil-based colors come straight out of the tube, no medium added—except odorless Turpenoid by Weber, when necessary.
2.  Once the painting is dry, a layer of Liquin Fine Details by Winsor and Newton brushed over the top.
3.  Turpenoid Naturals my brush cleaner of choice (also by Weber).

PLEASE NOTE, retailers selling Weber products are quite hard to find in the Toronto area…  And "flammables" can’t be shipped across the border by Dick Blick, my (US) art supply retailer of choice.  Above Ground is my art supply retailer of choice in Toronto, but their product range and special order possibilities are more limited.