Evolution of a Painting #3
Another painting that I, finally, got over the line.
After my last posts - Evolution of a Painting #1 (The Merry Widow) and Evolution of a Painting #2 (Woman with Flowers) - here’s the companion piece to the latter called ‘Menagerie ’that I’ve recently completed.
Like ‘Flowers’, I spent an age fucking about with it, going nowhere through a lack of concentration before, finally, completing it in mid January this year.
2023
A start…then glacial progress.
Having stretched, sized and primed the canvas, I added a base layer of yellow ochre and began the initial drawing in mid February 2023. I tentatively blocked in some colour, graphical shapes, florals and marks in July and August. I added in the T-Rex before going into a soporific slump with it.
2024
2024 was, like ‘Flowers’, a non-event for the painting and, besides blocking in some colours, adding in spray paint and other marks, little was achieved. There’s a moral in here somewhere…
2025
I wasn’t until September last year that I picked up things again. I was convinced there was a painting in there. With such an unforgivable gap, I decided to go for it with a lot more gusto, introducing new colours, more gestural mark-making and redrawing, restructuring and refining everything all at once.
I was actually beginning to enjoy the painting for the first time especially after months/years of loathing and ennui.
I started to get into a bit of rhythm and a much looser approach to it all by late 25 - go down fighting as it were. I began adding bolder marks, bringing in the florals to add depth and a bit of intrigue. The introduction of violets and fuchsias definitely opened things up more.
I’d barely touched the table, her hands and dress or the background since the painting had started way back in 2023 so I set to work modelling these.
2026 - To Completion
Things accelerated in late December - with an impending deadline for the London Art Fair fast approaching they had to! - through to its completion in early January. An intense period of painting over the festive period reaped rewards.
I added in the Toucan, the small doorway, stencilled shapes, a myriad of different marks and textures, writing and colour abstractions. I modelled the eye a little better and faded back the left side of her head.
I also worked on the hands and the dress and knocked back the bracket graphic to the right whilst tidying up parts of the background.
I worked like a demon and made great progress and I think it shows. There was a large measure of ‘if only’ but, despite there being many faults with the work, it is complete (or as much as it’s going to be!) and I’m fairly happy with it under the circumstances!
A layer of satin Ganvar varnish unified the myriad discrepancies and it dried beautifully.
I’ll never leave a piece to sit there unloved for that length of time again. It, and I, suffered a lot through its neglect. I’ve learnt hard lessons that I’ll take onboard and endeavour to paint with more clarity and focus. There is no other way.
