Painting Process: New Beginnings

Since January is a month of beginnings, I thought it would be a good opportunity to show off some of the beginnings I have on my easel coming into this new year. I hope to have all of these done by summer if possible, maybe even sooner. So enjoy this compilation of paintings in the works!

This first piece is a continuation of a series of paintings I have been creating since 2024 of tondos (circular canvas design) highlighting the beauty of the Plitvice National Park in Croatia. I was so struck by the colors of the landscape and the water that I felt I needed to explore the place in paint. I felt that doing them all on round canvases would be a unique challenge and tie them all together in an organic way.

This is the final tondo for that same Croatia series. I am excited to finish these two and show them to you!

Not going to lie, this painting feels like it is never going to be finished. It is one I have worked on and off on for at least three years now, and I keep getting to points at which I feel like I am finished, but then something else comes up and I realize I still have a long way to go. I hope it will be finished someday, but I fear that I will never be able to quite replicate the vitality in the plein air study I am using as initial reference and inspiration. Capturing the Swiss Alps has turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated.

This castle tower can be found in a nondescript neighborhood in Geneva, Switzerland. Its air of magic and fantasy drew me in immediately, and so working from this plein air study that I painted in person, I am attempting to replicate it. Architecture is quite difficult in oil paint though.

This famous mountain peak was veiled in clouds when we visited Zermatt. But I just managed to get a study of the majestic view and the canyon walls before the mountain became completely ensconced. This is one I have been wanting to finish for ages now. I think it is high time I prioritize it.

I don’t think this painting needs any explanation. Though the city surrounding the tower will probably turn out to be a bit of a challenge, or a nightmare. I will just need to commit to it and push through to find out.

This final in progress painting is a bit different, and fits my goal for the year of painting more figurative work, aka more people. I want to graduate to doing full figure in the landscape, but for now I am attempting a couple stylized portraits to ease myself into them.

I hope you enjoyed a glance into what’s in the lineup for the next couple months. I hope to be able to share the finished products with you soon!