Underpainting - Creating Pathways

When I paint an underpainting, I consciously try to leave a pathway of light through the abstract shapes. Later I can decide where to leave those paths and where to cut into them with the superimposed subjects. "Wharf Life I" illustrates the progress from underpainting to finished painting. I think the pathways of light that weave through the shapes of the buildings lead the eye through the painting. This way, the shapes within the wharf are not a jumble of unrelieved rectangles.

It was also a challenge to use a different format. Sometimes an unusal size of paper forces me to rethink compositional habits.