06/30/2026
Every painting I do goes through an ugly phase.
I call it that because that’s exactly what it is.
Phase one: the rough-in. Everything’s roughly in place — the composition, the figure, the background. It looks like a painting the way a blueprint looks like a house.
Phase two: the ugly phase. This is where it stops looking like a painting and starts looking like a mistake. The details aren’t there yet. The face doesn’t look like anyone. If you saw it in my studio during this phase, you’d think I had no idea what I was doing.
Phase three: This is where all the hard work starts paying off. The face becomes the person. The background stops fighting the figure. You can finally step back and see what the painting’s been trying to be.
Phase four: the varnish. The moment that varnish goes on, the colors deepen, the dullness of the dry paint disappears into a smooth sheen, and it feels complete.
Most people only ever see phase four. That’s the version that ends up on a wall somewhere.
They never see the ugly.
My advice: don’t give up when it’s ugly, all artists go through it. Have you had this experience?
