I shared a look into my process on Instagram and thought I should share it here, too:

I'm often asked about my process and there really is a method to my madness. Whenever I work in a series (which tends to happen most of the time), I like to work on 2-3 pieces at a time. This gives the work drying/curing time between the layers and gives me time to process what I'm working on and consider the direction I want it to go (ie. the bottom 2 paintings in progress on the wall behind me).
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Everything begins by adding colour & pattern to a white canvas...I've always been a bit intimidated by blank space. This is where I get to have a lot of fun with brayers, brushes an a airbrush.
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Next, I add an image, whether that is by drawing using white or blue paint or a paint pen directly onto the colourful canvas. This is followed by adding shadows...my favourite colours to use at this stage are prussian or pthalo blue, pthalo green, dioxazine purple, alizarin crimson or a combination of those (occasionally I add burnt umber to the mix).
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This is followed by layers of highlights, midtones & shadows. Throughout this process I hang the work to live with & look at for awhile. This is the stage where it often looks quite flat until more opaque & transparent layers are added. Then, when I've finally decided that I've done enough, I build up my courage & share it.
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It really helps me to work in series so that I can compare & contrast pieces and take time to consider what else might make a difference in the finished work.

I have had a very minimalist wardrobe for many years, which means I only have one pair of heels...but I do love shoes! When I was in high school I wore high heels and dresses almost daily, so in my little art 'studio' (my teacher created a nice space for me in the storage room) I would create a still life with whatever was around me, and that often included my shoes. 

I've been wanting to paint shoes again for quite some time, so I decided to set up my Calvin Kleins and paint them different colours (they are navy). I've been having fun with this, plus it goes well with all of the portrait and fashion paintings I've been creating these past few years. While I've been painting, the 1980s controversial advertisement with a very young Brooke Shields keeps coming to mind..."Nothing gets between me and my Calvins."

She was born in 1939 - on the day that Canada joined Britain in the Second World War. Growing up in small farming communities in southern Alberta she got her teaching certification at the University of Alberta in the early 60's and then began teaching high school.  Once she had children, she continued to teach as a substitute teacher at elementary schools in Lethbridge.  Teaching is in the blood of the family, her mother, Beth Benson, was a lifelong elementary teacher, her daughter, Pam, became a special education teacher, and her granddaughter, Ashlyn, is now teaching elementary school in Minnesota. Her tenacity and strength is a source of wonder for her family and friends -- she has survived inoperable brain cancer, and following that, a brain aneurysm.  She's slowed down since then but continues to be a marvel of recovery and life.

​~ Kevin Konynenbelt

The way I've always preferred to work, even when I take a photo of a place or thing, is from sketches. There is something about simplifying an image down to lines and shadows that helps me to create something that feels a bit more 'painterly' to me. I can get bogged down in details, so removing those details really helps. The final image isn't usually a replica of a place but rather a painting of the feeling of that place. It helps me to loosen up. Whenever I have worked directly from a photograph I find that I become so critical of my painting that I can't get past making constant adjustments. I will occasionally refer back to a photograph, but more often with the purpose of viewing colours rather than replicating an exact image. It's that part of the creative process that I enjoy so much.

Currently I have six CityScapes in progress plus one that is complete and two are on the cusp of being finished. I'm really enjoying this switch in subject matter, though it certainly is more challenging for me. I am extremely organized in my daily life so my artwork is typically a bit more chaotic, which doesn't exactly work with architectural imagery, but I think it's good for me creatively. 

It really is a shift from focusing on people to working on something man-made and I am finding that this 'shift' is working well for me as I'm using a bit of a different colour palette and layering the colours a little differently. This is beginning to show up in my portraiture, which is a good thing. I find that whenever I try something new, it inspires something new. 

It has been a bit of a challenge, too, as I sprained my pinky finger so it's been taped to my ring finger, though I am fortunate it's on my left hand (non-dominant). It's interesting to learn how much I use every finger I use. Funny, actually. I think slowing down is helping me to make conscious decisions instead of just reacting while I paint, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

Last week I joined a couple of friends for a visit to view the Vivian Maier photography exhibit at  the Glenbow Museum. It was fascinating as she was a nanny living in New York and her work wasn't found until recently. She used a Leica camera to take photos of the people in the streets around her, and used reflections in mirrors and windows to create a number of interesting self-portraits. Some of her photographs were difficult for me to look at as she captured personal moments in people's lives, something that I wasn't comfortable with, though she did document what was happening around her. There were four photographs in particular that felt voyeuristic or intruding...a woman in her bra and girdle in a changing room (she captured all her skin folds which is really a testament to how we change and hide our real bodies), a disfigured man on a public telephone (on the side of his face all you could see was a hole where his ear had been), a man sleeping on a park bench (he was in a suit and coat but looked as though he wasn't in control of his situation) and finally, a woman lying on the ground being tended to by police (I think?) and surrounded by onlookers. These were really personal moments and I felt torn because it is important to document life as it is, but I don't think it should be done without a person's consent.  

In any case, I also came across this large painting by Canadian artist Eleanor Bond. I've seen it in the past and it  captured my attention then, but I think it captivated me even more so now that I've been working on cityscapes. I also viewed her work at the Winnipeg Art Gallery many years ago, but just made the connection again. I love the idea of creating worlds that combine cities and nature and the massive size of her substrates has always fascinated me. I remember visiting the WAG and being mesmerized by the interesting perspectives and subject matter. I have always dreamed of painting something that large, something that draws the viewer in like her work does. Maybe someday...

Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to art as a business, which I guess makes sense as that is what I do. Fortunately for me, my focus lies on painting and sharing what I'm doing, but that can come at a detriment to my career when I don't give the same attention to the business side of things. For me many things have certainly changed over the past year, but it's not necessarily bad, just different. A few years ago I wrote a small book titled Sacred Vessel: An Artist's Handbook to share some of the challenges I have experience and some of the ways I found success that didn't cost me anything and also fulfilled something in me. The challenges were the things that I found draining while the successes weren't necessarily financial. I wrote the book because it also shares information that I wish I would have had in the beginning of my career.

When I began painting and exhibiting my work, there was no personal computer and internet. When that began there were heavy fees involved in starting a website and a lot of training required to use it. I took coding (which I don't like...this drag and drop system certainly suits me better) and I had to invest in proper lighting and slides to submit proposals to galleries and other venues. It was great experience but I made a lot of costly mistakes along the way. I hope others don't fall into the same trap. There is no one way of becoming successful, and honestly, I have found that this creative life is filled with ups and downs, just like anything else in life. 

When thinking of social media, I have found that the imagery that I posted which had the most interaction wasn't necessarily the work that sold. And, often the images that don't seem to engage, often lead to wonderful opportunities in any case. That was a huge realization for me as it made me realize that I need to pay attention to the work that I do and not the public involvement. Not that I don't appreciate the input and support I receive, but I learned that in the whole scheme of things, ,y online presence matters so little. In the many years that I have been painting my has seen its share of public attention followed by silence, and that's okay. It is in those times of silence that I often work through creative problems and blocks.

I believe the best way to be successful is to keep working hard, be polite, and authentically connect with other people. Just like any job and like life in general. But unlike any other job, of which I've had several, it is the most rewarding career I could ever think of and I am so grateful to be able to do this.