Wednesday, March 19, 2008

New paintings.

I had the good fortune to spend several uninterrupted hours in the studio today. First I worked on a bird journal. Then I put away a bunch of stuff, cleared the painting space and pulled out a watercolor pad to paint on. I just really needed to start some backgrounds to use later. But when my muse, Lolly, saw what fun I was having, she decided to come out and take over.

It is Easter week, so the first one turned into a religious painting. The Crucifixion. Mourners. In this I used my new favorite technique (the one I think I invented). I painted the mourners quickly on deli wrap and then pressed them onto the surface. Much like you would use a stamp, if you had the patience to carve one. I like the spontaneity of this technique. You can change sizes as quickly as you can draw them, or you can reuse the first one by painting over it. Also, it's easy to reverse it as you just paint on the back of your other design. My friend Jackie makes fabulous stamps and uses them very effectively. But, this suits my style of work better and I think it is brilliant. You just have to work really fast because acrylics dry almost immediately.

The second painting used a picture out of "The West". I just tore it out and glued it down and started painting around it. The cactus are done with that same technique described above. The bottom of the painting was getting too busy, so I went back with a light coat of the colors mixed, and then pressed deli wrap into it to lift it back a bit. Some of the background shows through. Then I glazed the top with a blue glaze and the bottom with gold. I rather like it.

1 comment:

Rachel Murphree said...

What a cool idea you have, to paint on deli wrap and stamp it. and I like the layers and textures your achieve. the spontaneity of it really appeals to me too. and the fact that you create it, rather than using a manufactured stamp. very neat.