Work in Progress: Woman in a Red Beret’s Paint Spatter and Pencil

Where do you start a project? When I start a painting, I have a theme in mind. In this case, I am painting my version of Picasso’s “Woman in a Red Beret”. I look through a collection of paint spatters and smears that I have created, looking for an image to appear in one of them. So, I guess I lay a groundwork for many projects with randomly created paint spatters, trusting that they will supply me with the needed subconscious matter for future, as yet, undetermined paintings.

Here, you can see the paint smears and spatters, and also, the beginnings of my first pencil sketch for my interpretation of the Woman in a Red Beret. What I focused on finding in the paint spatter for this painting was the red beret. But the girl’s face simultaneously revealed itself.

Also, as I worked, I heard Prince’s song, “Raspberry Beret” playing in my head. Music plays a large part in my creative process, as I sometimes create paintings directly inspired by music, as in the Carnival of the Animals series. (You can see those paintings in my Portfolio.) But I also choose music to listen to while I work. But once in a rare while, music will pop into my head spontaneously while I am working, and that’s what happened here.

You can see a sneak peek of this painting here and the flat lay I created to help me get to know my muse for this piece better here.

Watch for the next post in the process.

And tell me in the comments below: what are your special hacks for starting projects?

You can purchase the original or prints of this painting in my store here (original art), and here (prints) .