Planning a Painting Okay, you've found it--the perfect scene, the one you think will make the perfect painting. What's next? Different schools of thought broach the subject. Some artist go straight to the paper (or canvas, as it were) with brush in hand. The spontaneity of the project is most important. Others will do a detailed sketch, perhaps a small study of the scene. I'm a mixture of both. Once seized by an idea, I will do a sketch, but only the roughest of sketches. The shapes are crudely drawn, just to give me an idea of their placement. From there, I proceed to transferring my idea to my support. I've learned through the years that if masking is involved, it's best just to draw the outline and fill in the details later. Masking may remove my pencil lines. Besides, there's a risk of smudging the lines. A friend of mine who also paints reminds of of another lesson that I've learned. He will want to stick slavishly to a photo or scene. If what he sees isn't right, he looks until he finds it. Other artists have taught me the value of rearranging things, moving objects to frame, point to, lead the eye around in a painting. Try to do that. Notice how your eye moves through a scene, what you notice first or don't notice. A truly excellent book I found on the subject is Barbara Nuss's book, "14 Forumulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes". The book has more info on oil than watercolor, but the information is outstanding. Truly a book to help you see. Another thing you want to keep in mind about your work in progress is your own feelings to the subject. That is the goal, isn't it? Developing your own style and your way of viewing the world around you. Don't lose sight of what attracted you to the scene at first. Was the palette pleasing to you? Did it trigger certain memories for you? Remember that. If it was the color, you'll want to keep that in mind, especially if it is a break from your usual scheme. I've found more than once that I was disappointed with a painting only to recall that it wasn't the composition as much as the color that attracted me, that I wanted to capture. Whatever element is the attraction don't let it stop once the painting is complete. A fitting title will reinforce this feeling.