That First Coat

Someone once remarked that people assume that a painting is completed with only a single coat of paint, "When actually," he said, "an artist covers the canvas two or three times." This is so true. Right now I'm doing what's called the underpainting; that first layer that establishes the different areas of the scene. As I work I'm aware that the color I'm laying down is not quite right: too yellow, too green, not dark enough, not subdued enough; adjustments will have to be made with the next layer. But it's a start.

Evening Star Café, work in progress, © 2017