Happy Accidents

I've been working on a few experimental textures this week... mainly on top of surfaces that I started and didn't quite like.  This surface was one that just wasn't working for me, it started out as some stains of color (Turquoise Phthalo, Irid Copper Light, Quin Nickel Azo/Gold, and more?) over Acrylic Ground for Pastels, then I applied a textured stencil...but the overall look was still too "manufactured"...the edges were too clean for my liking.  So I sat with the image awhile, then applied a touch of Coarse Molding Paste (with a rubber tool to really squeegee the paste against the stencil texture) and some stains of color which started looking like a rusty metal, now I'm in love.  In a thin layer, Coarse Molding Paste is translucent, so when you layer it over other surfaces, you get a gritty veil of off-white that ends up resembling decay from oxidation.  I finished off the effect with a stain of Titanium White + Teal for a patina effect then some Quin Nickel/Azo Gold and Raw Umber to warm and darken up the shadows.

The effect and colors reminded me of a recent hike I went on to the Dominator wreckage down in Palos Verdes.  I like to photograph rusty metals for art reference, so this place was a treasure trove...

I enjoy how images we see end up working their way into our paintings and creative projects either consciously on unconsciously.  It's fun to use our photos as a point of reference, but always exciting when we arrive upon a surface texture on our own that is influenced by our visual experience.

Fun New (and Older) Projects

April has been a whirlwind of activity with lectures, workshops, and private lessons.  One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is being able to meet and interact with other artists, and the spring has been full of creative conversations with both new and familiar faces! 

I encourage those of you who I've met here in LA or on my regional travels to email me with your acrylic questions and also to be an active part of these blog posts by contributing feedback about your personal experience with any of the projects and techniques I post about!

One of my favorite new projects from this month was a simple floral painting that I embellished with a dimensional muslin flower and burlap stems...

I coated my underpainting with a layer of tinted gel to simulate an encaustic wax look then embedded the muslin and burlap into the gel while it was wet, using it as an adhesive.  After the gel layer was dry, I rubbed some Raw Umber into the valleys of the gel texture to give the piece an antiqued look.

Another project that is (hopefully) close to being done is one of two figures that I started last year.  I have to keep reminding myself that painting takes time...my biggest challenge with this painting is that I'm at a stage where I'm fine tuning everything so I'm not seeing major perceivable change and I feel stagnant...can any of you relate?  Lately I've had a couple moments where I step back and think 'that's it, that section looks "right"' and I feel better.  I also have to turn my painting upside down sometimes to get a different perspective...

I'm having some big ideas and goals for the next few months and I look forward to sharing them with all of my friends, students, and readers as the days and weeks progress!

fun with glazing

Try using Molding Paste or one of the basic gels (Soft, Regular, Heavy, Extra Heavy, or High Solid Gel) to create a textured surface - using a palette knife or other sturdy tool - then glaze over the texture when it is dry.  Tinting the paste or gel will add an extra splash of color underneath your glaze layers!

Illustration project in the works

Most all of my blog posts so far have been based on acrylic painting projects I've been tinkering on here in my studio.  I'm experimenting with painting surfaces all the time, but the last couple weeks I've put forth a considerable effort to do more illustration...mainly for a secret project I'm working on with a friend that hopefully (fingers crossed) will get published as a children's book.  I thought it would be fun to share a bare bones, graphite on paper image with my readers for this post...

I can't say much about this illustration project right now, but I will keep you all posted on the progress if when it turns into something bigger! :)

"New" Painting

 I've been working on a painting that I started sometime in early 2011 at a live art event.  It started as a graphite drawing done over wood that I primed then prepared with a ground made from Titanium White and Quinacridone Nickel Azo/Gold mixed with Super Loaded Matte Medium.  This project started very "loose" and broke away from the typical formula for painting that I'd grown comfortable with.  For some reason I'm less afraid to try new things on this surface...  

All of my under painted layers were created with Fluid and Heavybody acrylics...with sparsely applied Clear Granular Gel and Crackle Paste showing up here and there in the background.

At some point I realized that I would have the need for a slow dry paint, so I switched to the OPEN acrylics for my next layers, and they've really been a dream to work with for creating smooth blends with my flesh tones... while maintaining that meditative painting experience that you would have with an oil based paint.

These ladies still need a lot of work and are slowly "getting there"...stay tuned on their progress!