The Process

Hybrid Painting

The Student Work Table
This work table was a fixture in my painting studio for over thirty years. My students worked their magic on it each day in class. They painted on it, stretched it, glued on it, and cut mats on it. The table’s surface became an art work in progress. I noted beautiful colors and textures. Geometric as well as flowing lines seemed to hold this chaotic composition together. Looking at the surface up close I realized that it held tremendious potential.

Tabletop Photos
I took close up digital images of sections of the table. By setting the table on its side, I was able to get my lens perpendicular to the surface. I made over two hundred digital images during several shooting sessions.

Initial Hand Work
From these digital images I make 4 x 4 inch or 4 x 6 inch digital prints and rework them using colored pencils, pastels, oil pastels, and sometimes oil paint. These I call, hybrid sketches.

First Generation Studies
The finished hybrid sketches are then scanned and digitally manipulated within Photoshop. I often change the proportions, alter color, and even recompose the images. Each piece is then greatly enlarged and printed onto canvas. The canvas is placed onto wooded stretchers and completely reworked with oil paint.

The Final Steps
The hybrid paintings continue to grow in size and energy. In some cases a final painting may represent the 5th or 6th generation of the original digital image of the studio tabletop.