I've been working on a couple of grid paintings recently, but for this new one I decided to prepare a special background. First I painted the whole canvas in a pale yellow and let it dry thoroughly.
Next I divided the canvas into rectangular sections with a ruler and pencil. Then I taped sections I didn't want to cover with painter's tape. I mixed a lighter and medium shade of taupe, painting the outer frame in the darker shade.
After the darker shade dried, I retaped the areas I didn't want to cover, and used the lighter shade for the inner rectangles.
After the painting was completely dry, I removed all the painter's tape. Now it's ready for me to begin painting on it.