Day 10 - Painting Over the Finished Underpainting

This is what the Final Judgment looks like in my studio this morning.  The underpainting is crude but done to my liking.  I've never been much of a perfectionist in the under layer.  What the hell is the point of doing something perfect that you paint over?  That's just my personal preference and something that works for me.  Even though this painting will not be something rendered in my normal "realistic" technique of Baroque naturalism, I don't see the need of going any further on it, especially with only four weeks to go on this project.

As per my client's request, the composition will be more of a 16th century mannerist style and much of the composition was decided on before the project was given to me.  There are several references to the great final judgement scenes of that time period and I'm very excited to take on the challenge of doing something this complex in a very short amount of time.  There's nothing better than an extreme deadline to bring out the best in us.

I have, however, decided to be a little more conservative about beating myself up this time.  Since I painted the last commission I've decided to scale back my late hours and I've stopped drinking coffee.  This doesn't mean I won't be giving my all and working some long days but working so many late hours over the last 20 years is going to catch up to me sooner or later.  I fought off about 5 different colds while trying to paint the other commission on three hours of sleep for two months.  My immune system couldn't handle it.  I'm in the best shape of my life today, just a week before my 42nd birthday.  I'm training hard to keep it that way and for my health I need the sleep.  That is where I'm at today.  Who knows what I'll be feeling a week from now but that's how I feel today.

Thanks for following along and sharing this blog with your friends.  It's going to get crazy from here on out.