While working on a painting, I use my paint left-overs for other paintings. Common practice, I believe. It saves paint, improves the consistency between paintings and allows working on multiple paintings at a time while paint dries.

So when I was working on the sliding doors for the Airbnb location, I had various unfinished paintings nearby for using the left-overs.

Tomorrow Eva, the owner of the Airbnb location, will join me in my studio taking pictures and film me putting the final layers on the sliding doors. Therefor, in the past days I couldn't work on the doors and I had some time to spend on the progress of the paintings.

It thought it would be nice to share some insights on the process of making the paintings.

Painting 1

- Above left: white lines on black background

I really liked the larger (black) border around the white lines, the boxed feel, in this one. Hard to see on the picture but the background consists of a gradient, going from dark blue on the top to black on the bottom. Nice, but it makes improvements more difficult, :)

Painting 2

- Above right: white lines on a red brown and blue background

Is a smaller one (50 x 50 x 4cm / 19.6" x 19.6" x 1.5") and almost finished.

It is exactly what I envisioned for larger paintings, and inspired by the popular 'Drone' painting. Just like many of the other work-in-progress paintings, I started this one with a first layer of white paint on the color background using a Molotow 60mm acrylic paint marker. Because this never gets me solid lines, I added a second layer of the Molotow acrylic paint / ink, applied with a Liquitex brush.

Picture 2 of 4 - Work-in-progress on several abstract paintings by Dutch artist Michiel Nagtegaal in Leidschendam-Voorburg, the Netherlands

Painting 3

- Above left: white lines on a pink and light blue background

I started this painting in portrait orientation but during the painting I decided to switch to landscape. For some reason I have been making portrait orientated paintings since I started painting four years ago. Strange, because people buy horizontal paintings just as much as vertically orientated ones.

Because of the larger contrast in that part, I expected the lines to work better there. But today I re-discovered all the details and all the layers of paint in the right part and decided that right part has way more depth and is in fact much more interesting.

The right part looks more like a recently sold painting, Soft Skin. And I have been trying to repeat the process behind Soft Skin many times since it sold but with unsatisfactory results so far.

Painting 4

- Above right: white lines on a light and dark blue background

This painting is made, exceptionally, on wood. The wooden plate is part of a set of two plates, bought several years ago. The first one was used for the colorful illustration 'Mad men' and this second, blank one has been moved around our house, shed and my studio for years.

The plate already has several layers of paint as a result of my attempts to re-create the process used with the 'Drone' and 'Soft Skin' paintings. I am still not happy with it, so I leave it for now. Inspiration will come.

Painting 5

- Above left: white lines on a blue and purple, toned down background

I really dig the composition on this one. The margins are fine. And I like the layered background. So far so good.

First, this painting had some dark layers of paint on it, before I decided to treat it with a 'white wash' to make the background brighter and lower the contrast with the white lines. It already had a first layer of extra bold white lines but this layer has been partially covered with layers of colored paint. Today I added the top layer of bold, white lines. In the next few days I'll make the contrast of those lines a bit higher, by adding an extra layer of white.

Painting 6

- Above right: white lines on a blue and pink background

The white lines I added today are, in fact, layer 5 or 6. Below the white lines you see, there is a layer of a 'blue wash' with a layer of white lines and a layer of pink lines beneath it. But I like the composition and just the right amount of complexity.

Painting 7

- Above left: white lines on a black background

Painting 7 and 8 are a continuation of the previously made 'Back in Black'-paintings. In those dark paintings I explore a minimum of contrast between dark lines and a black background. Check out the Instagram posts here and here on the subject.

I really like the 'white space' in the painting. And I intend to leave it like this. For months I have had ideas to leave the concept of a 'fully covered'-painting. This way the set of lines itself forms a shape, a composition. And this makes the painting way more interesting. Especially if I add extra layers of (colored) lines to the shape. Can't wait to proceed on this one!

Painting 8

- Above right: white lines on a dark blue background

Although I am not fully satisfied with the result so far I still consider this as a successful experiment. As I said in the comment on painting 7, by leaving spaces open, the painting becomes more interesting. But I am thinking of adding more color to it. To be continued!

I'll keep you posted on further progress, on my Instagram account.