Ugly Phase

When working on a new painting, the first part of it is always the "ugly phase". At this time, I'm just laying out the colors and deciding the overall feel of the painting.

With concept paintings out of my head, the shapes aren't real defined. It's just a matter of playing with the colors, deciding where the center of interest is, and deciding the overall feel of the painting. This is truly the ugliest part of the painting.

The next phase is to start defining the value structures that are more in-line with the concept sketch and tightening up the painting. That phase is where I start looking at the shadows and reflections to make some of the landscape objects more realistic.

I still have a ways to go, but I'm happy, so far, with the basic color scheme.