I thought it might be interesting to document my process all the way through a new project.  I’m starting a new painting, a still-life, based on my friend Leonard Richardson‘s 1998(?) video game, “Robot Finds Kitten“.

I’m working on this painting using the Mische Technique.  Unlike the technique I learned which (I believe?  Amanda, help me out with this one) originated in the Renaissance and begins with a cartoon painted in umber over a neutral, middle ground, paintings in the Mische technique begin with an inked drawing on white gesso.  The ground is applied subsequent to the drawing.

I won’t go through every step of the technique here, but I will post some progress shots of the four general stages of the process: the drawing, the first underpainting (white tempera on a red ground), the second underpainting (more tempera on an ochre ground) and the final stage of the painting in color.  Here’s the completed inked drawing:

First Stage: Inked Drawing

I’m not sure when I’ll be posting the next phase of it, as I’m working on a few pieces simultaneously.  But don’t fret and stay tuned!  There will definitely be more work coming up.

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Update: I did continue documenting this process.  Click here for Stage 2.