Why is the painting upside down?
“Oh man!? It freaks me out when you do that.” That’s my mom‘s response almost every time she sees me working on a painting upside down. Personally, I find it hilarious. She doesn’t know how I work even though I’ve explained a few times why I do it. Simply put, sometimes it’s easier to paint a section with the canvas in a different position, i.e. on its side or upside down. This can allow you to make marks to construct an area the way you wish to make them just a little bit easier. It also allows you to see how well the composition of the piece is balanced. I’ve been doing it for I don’t know how long. OK, maybe I do. When I was in high school one of my art teachers saw me working out a piece and struggling to make my marks the way I wanted them. I just remember him saying why don’t you turn the canvas? I looked at him for a moment perplexed. Then he proceeded to grab the canvas and turn it upside down. He reached over grabbed my brush and made the mark that I was struggling to make. So ever since then I rotate my canvases while I work. That was the beginning of me flustering my mother every time she sees me working on the canvas upside down.
