Thursday, May 28, 2020

So this happened



Remember the abstract from a few posts ago? Well, I'm still on my abstract kick. I call them my pandemic paintings because it seems that these paintings are what's keeping me sane at the moment. Times are stressful and doing the layers of paint glazes, textures, swirling lines and blocks of color are just what my psyche needs at the moment.

So anyway, I've been using graphite and colored pencils (specifically Prismacolor Art Stix) for the linear elements in these paintings.

I've used several different colors for the lines on these depending on the individual piece, all the same brand. I like the idea of a high gloss finish so I've been coating them with a gloss gel and varnish. I use a palette knife to apply it because I like the texture and I don't care for the marks that a brush leaves behind.



Here are two pictures of the same painting. In the top one, you can see some faint lines and circles I made with a purple colored pencil. They're glazed over with a translucent white acrylic. The picture below shows what the painting looks like after applying the gel varnish.


That was quite the shock when I went into the studio the next morning. I guess the moisture in the acrylic did something to that particular color. It wasn't affected by the light layers of acrylic prior to this so my only thought is length of time it took for the gel layer to dry. It stays wet so much longer that it changed that purple color. It didn't do that to any of the other colors I used on other paintings. For this one it really intensified the color and made it bleed through the acrylic layers. Interesting.

So now what do I do with it? Do I go back in and do more layers to tone it down? It'll come down to which way I like the painting better so I need to leave it be for a while and then decide.

Let me know what you think! Which one do you like better?

Monday, May 11, 2020

Looking Forward

Black Thread Woven
11x14

"Everyone needs time to develop their dreams. 
An egg in the nest doesn't become a bird overnight."
Lois Ehlert

Good Monday morning! What are you dreaming about right now? Painting is my dream job so all my dreams right now are about people. I'm dreaming of visiting my children and grandchildren and squeezing them with all the love I've got. I'm dreaming about not worrying about a virus. I'm dreaming of gallery openings and people laughing. I'm dreaming of hugging my friends and sharing a pie over a 3 hour lunch in our favorite pizza place. I'm dreaming of being at the beach, playing in the surf with the kids. 

It's all about friends and family. I'm looking forward to the dreams coming true.