Oil Painting: 3 Keys to Formulating An Idea

When you are approaching a subject, or deciding to paint experimentally, based purely on feeling, it is often helpful to ground the work in an idea. Most of my paintings have been done from memory, so always the dreamlike quality of memory is one of the subjects of my paintings.
Here are 3 Key Concepts to guide you toward a more powerful and cohesive work of art.

1. Base the work on one set of emotions, but challenge it with opposing emotions.
2. Keep a philosophy in mind.
3. If working from life, remember your subject is only a representation of reality, and in the end will be a symbol.

Take the above painting, "Red Light" as an example. My goal was to paint the idea of walking through a city alone, sometime outside of a normal time of day, a time of tension, like 2 a.m. or something, but my interest was not in painting a 'night' scene, rather I wanted to conjure the idea of reflecting light from all around and create a feeling of 'timelessness.'
The emotions - I'll call them that- I had in mind were a blend of individuality and strength; but challenging those feelings, were loneliness and desperation. I was thinking of all the cities I've walked alone in at night throughout the world just trying to make sense of life. The philosophy I had in mind was that we are all in a sense struggling on our own.
It being a cityscape, another main psychological component of the painting is the tension between man and the city of course - I wanted a sense of power and chaos challenging any feelings of beauty.
Now, if I had painted this scene from a photograph or from life I would have arrived at something completely different, and I often paint that way if I am inclined or studying, but ultimately the feeling of memory and transcendence that is evident in this cityscape is was makes it feel 'real' and alive.

 

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What's Your Painting's Story?
Painting As Music - An Introduction
Developing Your Painting Process Part 1
Painting Infinity and Symbolism

Painting the Dominant Theme-Painting As Music Pt. 1