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How Do I Create A Painting?

1. I make a rough sketch with elements I think are important to my concept.

2. Decide if the painting will be 'attached' to a location.  Some don't need to be, acting quite well on their own. Others are just begging to highlight a special place.

3. Schedule time with my wife/model to pose for photos & gather props.  And as nice as it would be to have a live animal in the shot, sometimes I use a stuffed one as a stand-in (that goes for fish, too).

4. Take pics and yell at my wife during the photo shoot (that's just an unfortunate, normal part of the process).

5. Review the day's shots and decide which best fit my vision.  

6. Print a black & white image to see as many of the values as possible.

7. PAINT!  This is really a critical part of the process. . .

Some examples: