In college, I only painted abstracts. I loved shapes and color, but I got stuck there and would just paint over everything (again and again).
Each time I thought I’d intuitively know what to paint next. But I was never attached to the painting, so I’d just keep covering it up.
When I started painting whimsical characters in 2009, I’d often struggle if I didn’t see something that inspired me in the first layers. Again, I got lost and didn’t know what to paint… until I learned to create my characters using simple shapes.
It’s magic when I intuitively know what to do next with a painting. But if I don’t know what to do (which happens all of the time), I pencil in my character using simple shapes. That way, I always have a place to begin.
Happy painting!
xo Juliette