PAINTING A PICTURE

The Art of Painting
by Carol May

One of my favorite things is painting a picture
of the beautiful gifts of God around us.
I love nature, all the flowers, birds, butterflies, critters
and creations from the mountains to the sea shore.

My goal as an artist is to share that beauty with others.

I work with both oils and watercolors. I love the freedom of watercolors and the rich beauty of oils.

That doesn’t mean it all comes easy without any practice. It takes practice just like learning to play the piano.

It takes a lot of time and concentration to do a piece. But it is a great joy to see the beauty growing as you work on the painting.

You learn the scale – composition, values, color, etc. Then you use these notes to share what you see in the world around you.

HOW I PAINT A PICTURE

Painting artwork is fun and fulfilling.


People wonder -
How do I go about painting a picture?

Over the years I have developed
a simple five step process.


First, I get an idea of what I want to paint.

Sometimes God gives me a vision or a dream for doing something prophetic

or I see something beautiful like flowers
or something interesting catches my eye
or I have an idea.

Most times I will think about it for quite awhile to
get the idea clear in my head.

Second, I will do some small sketches to get the composition and values to my liking. By this time I already know what size the finished piece will be.

When I do small things like hummingbirds

or another of my favorites butterflies I usually put them in small-scale paintings.

When I first started painting
I began learning by doing landscapes.
We are familiar with our surroundings
so this was a good place for anyone
to start painting a picture.

After I learned the basics of how to paint a picture
I took on the challenge of doing God's critters.
I am not much for doing people,
but I enjoy doing God's critters and creations
like a giraffe or a landscape,
I put them into larger sized artwork.

Third, After I know the size,
before I start painting a picture,
I do the drawing to scale.
If I am using watercolor
I don’t want erasures on the finished surface.
So I first do a drawing on drawing paper.

If I am using oils, I may sketch the subject directly on the canvas with a thinned,
light color such as yellow ochre.
If there is a lot of detail like bird feathers, I would do the drawing on paper first.

Fourth, I transfer the drawing
to the finish surface with graphite paper.

I do my oils on canvas and my watercolors on archival Aquabord made by Ampersand.
It is a hard masonite coated with kaolin clay.
It has a slight texture to grip the paint.

When the paint is dry I spray it with an acrylic fixative. It can then be framed without glass.

Fifth, After I transfer the drawing,
I start laying in the colors.
I lay in color after color,
until it looks good to me.
I totally enjoy the process.

How long does it take to do a piece?
Actually, it has taken a lifetime of learning.


I have been painting artwork and winning awards for many years.
I sign my work with my first name and my middle name - Carol May,
My full name is Carol May Britton. More About Me

I have original paintings in both watercolor and oils available.
I also have limited edition reproductions suitable for a 16x20 frame.
And open edition prints suitable for your 11x14 frame.
You will find them all in the Art Store.

Link to the other paint pages to see more art pieces.
Please inquire about anything you see that interests you.


Doing artwork is lots of fun and rewarding.
I wish you great success in painting a picture of your own.

Return from Painting A Picture to Paintings