Art class step by step

Tonight I went to art class. I arrived at about 8:15 p.m.,
and had to leave at 9:30 to come home and see my
favorite show, which wasn't on. (Too bad...) So I had
just over an hour to get something started.
I don't usually do something I want to keep in that
short a time space -- but I love the practice and
the company in the class.

Tonight I photographed some of the stages I
usually go through when I'm painting that quickly.
First I do an undercoat in a colour I like. Then
I sometimes start with the brightest lights. I sketch
a bit of a drawing in in charcoal, because it can
be washed off the acrylic if it doesn't look right.
After that I rough in some darks. Then I quickly
build the painting up with more paint, and maybe
more drawing. Our Tuesday night "class" isn't
really a class, because there is no instruction,
just a model and a group of devoted painters.

My portrait commissions take about 12 sessions,
getting both tighter and looser at the same time.
Each session lasts at least two hours.
I see problems and fix them, I learn the person's
visual language and try to capture it. But this
is what I did tonight.

Have a visualizing night.