I started a new painting today–one that I think will take me awhile to complete since it is not my usual subject matter (dogs).

I started with a photo and a 12×16 blank canvas.  Based on the dimensions of the original photo (8×6), I penciled a 1 inch grid on the photo, then penciled a 2 inch grid on the canvas.  I then transferred my image to the canvas by sketching what was in each square of the original photo:

 
I decided to begin coloring my painting before finishing the sketch because my pencil was rubbing off as I drew.
This is a painting that will require many layers of color, so at this point the painting is very rudimentary, not much more than the sketch itself.

A bit more color:
 
At this point I kind of lost patience (as often happens) and I began coloring the entire canvas:

This isn’t entirely unjustified, as much of the remaining work is layering color over color, and I felt that painting the remaining base colors was the next logical step.

At this point I don’t have a lot of confidence in this painting, but it has miles to go before it’s completed.  Every painting I’ve ever done has a time when I’m certain it’s not going to come out right and then somehow I usually get it just how I want it.  We’ll see!