I’m doing much more planning for my paintings now. I’m developing my methods and technique for making them more real, more based on truth, less interpreted and stylized. The paint quality is now more traditional, because that serves this end.

I will start with a detailed drawing – or drawings – of the subjects, play with positions and elements in a composition study. Then I will do value and color studies, scale up and transfer the drawings with charcoal and then do an under-painting of the shadows in umber – all before painting!

I may still be stuck in the 18th Century, because my paintings often feel like they are coming from another time. One filled with beauty and peace. Or maybe it is a time that hasn’t happened yet.