I took another pass at my Pears painting in class last Friday by adding more layers to the under-painting.
Working with acrylics is such a different experience than working with textiles. Acrylics dry fast! Rendering them unworkable. The first day of class, our instructor Maureen had supplied us with an acrylic retarder which, when poured on top of and blended into acrylic paint, keeps it from drying out so fast and prolongs its working time. We were on our own for the second class and I thought I had purchased the correct product, a blending medium with the word retardateur in the French translation, but it wasn’t the same at all. So, I was at a disadvantage struggling to keep ahead of the drying paint and mixed the colors as best I could. Despite it all I’m happy with the results…
I enjoyed mixing my own colors and layering them to achieve color, shape and texture. It was very interesting. And challenging.
One of my reasons for embarking on this painting journey is to stretch my abilities in how I work with textiles in my artwork. I’m already accustomed to using textiles as a painter uses paint but instead of blobs of paint, I use bits of fabric to recreate my imagery. But, in past work I’ve used an orderly structure of horizontal strips which is wonderful in creating depth as with my impressionistic landscapes like Tranquil Marsh – Wild Iris. It’s a difficult and meticulous process that, if so desired, can help one develop a galloping case of OCD.
Which is why I turned to abstract work as with my Infinity series. It’s still meticulous work but not as exacting. I can improvise more with the color, shapes and lines until it feels right.
So, after my first painting class, I tried a small landscape, 6 x 8 inches, with a looser, semi-abstract feel. I tried layering smaller pieces of fabric in a less structured way, a more painterly way. This piece is Horizon II, the second in a new series which lies somewhere in between my impressionistic landscapes and my Infinity abstracts. I made this one to donate to the upcoming SAQA Spotlight auction during the 2016 SAQA Conference in Philadelphia, PA on April 1st.
I’m liking this direction and want to take it even farther.
How about you? In what ways do you find yourself pushing and stretching yourself and your art?
