Dragon Tea Shop 🐉🍵 - Process + Ideation Process (Patreon)

Hello Patrons 🤍

I finally finished my latest painting! This one took quite some time to finish because I wanted to challenge myself with rendering new materials such as glass and ceramics and adding more characters to the composition. 😊🫶

This painting is definitely more detail-oriented since I wanted to capture the classic ornate elements of tea shops. 🍵

🎨 IDEATION PROCESS 🎨

I recently got a question about my ideation process for my paintings so I thought I should share it here if anyone else is interested! 😊

Whenever I think of an idea or story for a painting I try to combine things that already exist in our world whether it’s a tea shop, coffee shop, castles, etc. That way I already have a base to expand on.

I try to bring in another element to make the story more compelling. So for this particular painting, I wanted to center the idea around a tea shop. I’ve always loved the tea shops in Kyoto, so I began my search by gathering references from Japanese tea shops. However, since this tea shop will have magical elements, I try to broaden my visual library by gathering references from other shops with quaint and fun decorative elements. When I gather references, I try not to focus on gathering from one source (tea shop), I try to look at other shops too such as cafes, bakeries, etc.

When you have a clear idea for your painting, it’s easier to create items and objects by referring to those themes. So for this particular tea shop, the designs will always reflect those two themes since I’m combining the magic element: dragons and the classic tea shop.

When thinking of ideas, I try to focus on things, images, and paintings, and determine why I enjoy looking at it. So for example, if I wanted to paint a wintery scene, I try ask myself questions as to why I’m drawn to it: is it the snow from the winter wonderland? Is it the warm cozy fire by the fireplace? Is it the cool palette from the winter skies? From there, I break it down to what I want to focus on.

Remember, always try to broaden your visual library by looking at things outside of art! Try to determine why you’re drawn to them! If you have more questions about this process let me know! I can probably try to create another write-up with more detailed examples! 🥰

Thank you so much for your support! Have a fantastic weekend! 

Love always,

Maxine