KevinPrattArt

About the Process

I paint desert and mountain landscapes, and abstracts. Sometimes I paint sketches in the field. Sometimes I find a good black and white photo to inspire me. Sometimes I start with memories. My largest painting so far is 36x36. I paint with acrylics on canvas or paper. The first and most important step is composition and perspective. Second is imaging where the sun sits. Third is choosing a color pallet-at most 5 colors (my wife helps with this because I am partly colorblind). When I start to paint, I decide whether to work from foreground to background or vice versa. I use only Liquitex Heavy Body paint, because it has the strongest pigments. I use anything possible as a paint brush to get the textures I want. Some paintings take 20 minutes to complete; others take weeks. When I am done, I set them aside and re-evaluate them several times over a week. Then I discard about 3/4 of them. I paint flat on a small desk, or on the floor for larger pieces. If they are good enough, I sign and varnish. And, after a while I decide some really weren't good enough and I trash them too. I try to get into as many shows and galleries as I can, so I can learn what insights curators and observers have, so I can improve.