1.
When I have made a digital sketch of the idea I had, I start with drawing the outlines on the smooth whitepainted board with a relatively soft 2b graphitepencil. Next I stabilize the pencil lines by using fixative spray.
  
2.
In the next step I use white gesso, which I dilute with water over the fixed pencil lines, to make the graphite disappear a little and to create a texture to paint on. I also want the texture to show through the oils in the finished work.


 

3.
Now its time to wash the painting with oils that I dilute with spirits. When doing this I loose the strength of the colour but in the end you will not notice any loss of colour-pigment. When I have filled the board with oils I spray water over it to create a reaction that givers texture to the painting.
  
4.
When the oils are still wet I use a paper or anything suitable that will absorb the paint where I want to. This is a way of easily creating the light in the painting. Mostly I just soak up the paint where I cannot see the pencil lines and where I want to focus the light.


 


5.
As you can see in step 5 I am starting to accentuate each part of the object in the painting by using palette knives and brushes with thicker paint. I am careful when using thick paint because I want the colours to have their own life and brilliance when exposed in light. Of course it’s possible to create paintings with rich light by using thick paint but this painting in not painted that way though. In general I work from light to dark to control the light along the process.
  
6.
At this point I soften every sharp edge where I don’t want it to be sharp by blending the colours wet-in-wet. When I have blended the colours as I want them to appear in a general impression and softened the parts that I don’t want be outstanding, I start working with the details.





7.
The final step is to give the painting a nice interesting finish and to accentuate where you want the attention of the beholder. In the final step I wanted the colours in general to appear more harmonic and by using an airbrush at this point I blended the colours more accurately. Before adding more colour with an airbrush I lightly spray water over the entire painting, because when I add more colour, the water will simulate as a liquid mask and will create texture and keep the light from underneath to show through in the end. At this point I also finish the light from the flower with an airbrush by using a mix of opaque white and a little yellow.