{"id":660,"date":"2010-07-13T08:52:05","date_gmt":"2010-07-13T13:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/?p=660"},"modified":"2026-01-23T17:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T22:26:09","slug":"creative-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Creative Process"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are so many ways to create paintings. As an Artist who has been creating for over 35 years I have developed a variety of methods to arrive at my finished work. Sometimes it is interesting to get a peek behind the process, so here is one style I enjoy.<\/p>\n

\"Snapshot

Snapshot of some Orange Tulips I used as the basis of this series of Art works<\/p><\/div>\n

Since I\u2019m not a photographer, I take snapshot of flowers I either buy or grow. I usually select them for color or just for form. I find myself attracted to large bold shapes rather than the more frilly inflorescences. I then decide what mediums I will work in and whether there will be one finished Art work in one or more mediums or whether the work will be part of a series.<\/p>\n

I love creating tonal drawings so I often do a finished piece in graphite before I start a painting just because I like the feel of drawing. It also is a great way to work out values of highlights and shading.<\/p>\n

\"Tonal

Tonal drawing of a tulip. I use a pair of magnifying lenses which I hook onto my bifocals to help me see the details<\/p><\/div>\n

If the work is part of a series, I need to imagine the size of each piece and the total overall impression I\u2019m looking for. This ups the level of complexity considerably and actually makes for quite a nice challenge to my visual imagination and my technical consistency.<\/p>\n

For a series of work I need to choose the size of each work and the size of the overall series.<\/p>\n

I also need to create a composition that stands alone as well as works for the series.<\/p>\n

\"I

I used my altered snapshots to help me come up with my composition in this series<\/p><\/div>\n

My work must not only be accomplished to my own standards for each piece but it must be consistent across all the work. This can be tricky if you don\u2019t create all the work during the same or close to the same period of time.<\/p>\n

______________________________<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are so many ways to create paintings. As an Artist who has been creating for over 35 years I have developed a variety of methods to arrive at my finished work. Sometimes it is interesting to get a peek …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[172,32,49,182],"class_list":["post-660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-technique","tag-art-technique","tag-drawing","tag-pencil","tag-traditional-art"],"yoast_head":"\nCreative Process - Art Naturally<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creative Process - Art Naturally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are so many ways to create paintings. As an Artist who has been creating for over 35 years I have developed a variety of methods to arrive at my finished work. Sometimes it is interesting to get a peek … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Art Naturally\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-07-13T13:52:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T22:26:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mary Ahern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mary Ahern\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mary Ahern\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b\"},\"headline\":\"Creative Process\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-13T13:52:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-23T22:26:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":375,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/07\\\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Art Technique\",\"Drawing\",\"Pencil\",\"Traditional Art\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Art Technique\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/\",\"name\":\"Creative Process - Art Naturally\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/07\\\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-07-13T13:52:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-23T22:26:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/07\\\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/07\\\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/creative-process\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Creative Process\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Art Naturally\",\"description\":\"The Musings of Being an Artist by Mary Ahern\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b\",\"name\":\"Mary Ahern\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/MaryAhernArtist.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.maryahernartist.com\\\/art-blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Creative Process - Art Naturally","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Creative Process - Art Naturally","og_description":"There are so many ways to create paintings. As an Artist who has been creating for over 35 years I have developed a variety of methods to arrive at my finished work. Sometimes it is interesting to get a peek … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/","og_site_name":"Art Naturally","article_published_time":"2010-07-13T13:52:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-23T22:26:09+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Mary Ahern","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mary Ahern","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/"},"author":{"name":"Mary Ahern","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b"},"headline":"Creative Process","datePublished":"2010-07-13T13:52:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-23T22:26:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/"},"wordCount":375,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg","keywords":["Art Technique","Drawing","Pencil","Traditional Art"],"articleSection":["Art Technique"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/","url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/","name":"Creative Process - Art Naturally","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg","datePublished":"2010-07-13T13:52:05+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-23T22:26:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/DSC00729-orange-tulips2.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/creative-process\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Creative Process"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/","name":"Art Naturally","description":"The Musings of Being an Artist by Mary Ahern","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a7f5ed8309ff99d121288dc7d5dcc28b","name":"Mary Ahern","sameAs":["http:\/\/MaryAhernArtist.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2637,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660\/revisions\/2637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maryahernartist.com\/art-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}