Painting for breakfast

There was no alarm to wake me up this morning. Just the way I like it. No place to go. No things to do. A genuine day off. Nice! 

I overslept by about an hour. But I stayed up late last night reading. I'm currently reading God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert. The further I get into the novel, the more enthralling it becomes. 

Back to this morning. I take a few minutes to stare at the ceiling while I wake up. Then like a cat I poke my head between the blinds. Yep, a beautiful morning outside, which will heat up soon. After my morning necessaries, getting dressed, and a glass of water, I decided to postpone the morning coffee. I decided to paint first. 

It started with a landscape concept sketch that I made a few days ago. The painting itself started the day after. Working in short bursts of about 15 to 30 minutes, I have been slowly building the image over a few days. This seems to be my usual way of working with acrylic paints. Completely different to how I make oil paintings, which I typically make in one sitting which lasts no more than two hours. 

My fragmented acrylic painting process suits me well. When working with acrylics I tend to think about an image in stages, almost like it's a puzzle. After the composition is established, I tend to work from background to foreground, and I often layer the paint in a way that lets a little of the colours underneath show through. For example, if there is a field of grass. I will often paint the dirt first, then the average green colour for the area, then perhaps some highlights on top. All while letting a little bit of that dirt show through.

Here are some photos demonstrating the process. These are not from the painting that I have been working on. They are of a quick demo completed in a sketchbook.

First layer - earth and sky. 

Second layer - grass (single colour).

Final layer - grass (highlights).

While this is a mere fragment of how I work with acrylics demonstrated simply, it represents my method. If anyone is interested in the colours used they are: 

• Earth = burnt sienna + ultramarine blue. 
• Sky = titanium white + cobalt blue. 
• Grass = cadmium yellow + cobalt blue. 
• Grass highlights = Grass mix above + more cadmium yellow.

Starting the day by doing something like this can almost feel like a luxury in our busy lives. Many of us have developed the habit of reaching for our smartphones immediately upon waking. Once the scrolling, checking, and notifications start capturing out attention it can be difficult regain any sense of deep peace and mindfulness. But if you find simple activities which keep you away from the online world, and build them into brief morning habits, then I'm sure you will agree that your day gets off to a better start.