I've been experimenting with technique in my recent painting sessions, working mostly with a palette knife. In this new painting, I first drew random lines with aqua and cobalt green all over the surface. Then I applied white and parchment over the whole canvas with a palette knife, blending the colors together.
Faint lines still showed at this point, though most of the green had melted into the lighter colors. While the paint was still wet, I drew more lines, creating a rough design.
Next, I used the palette knife to add mars black. I applied a few bold strokes, and then used the knife to blend, scrape, and push the colors around the canvas.
The final step was to draw lines in black, outlining some of the shapes for emphasis.
I let this new abstract painting sit for a while before tackling it again. In my first painting session, I used pthalo green and blue as well as emerald green, light blue, and black.
In today's painting session, I obliterated most of what was there before. I began by creating blocks of titanium white with a palette knife. Using the knife, I continued to add light blue, aqua, and Pthalo blue.
Next, I used a brush to paint the pthalo blue out to the edges all around, forming a dark background. Then I drew lines in lime green and white to accent sections. I added some lines in pthalo blue, as well.
Standing back, I liked what I saw. We'll see if I still do after it sits for a while.
I liked the effect I had achieved in this new abstract painting (see previous post)--the sense of light shining through darkness, but felt the composition needed more strengthening.
My first step was to extend the dark gray/black edges all the way to the edge of the canvas. I used a brush for this step, whereas the original painting had been done completely with a palette knife.
Next, I filled in some of the "scraped bare" rectangles with unbleached titanium to make them pop more and to create movement. My next inspiration was to draw lines with cadmium red medium, outlining sections of the composition and adding texture.
Finally, I strengthened the black sections with black lines, and then used my finger to flatten them out. I liked that effect so much that I used my finger to flatten the red lines, also.
I've been working on small canvases lately, composing them mostly with a palette knife, experimenting freely. In this new painting, I began by applying titanium white, parcment, and unbleached titanium over the whole canvas, blending them as I worked.
Next I made some broad swaths of cadmium yellow light, cadmium red medium, and Prussian blue, keeping the paint on the surface as much as possible. I wanted the pure color to be there rather than blending it with the paler shades beneath. I was working while all the paint was still wet, so the application has to be done carefully.
After cleaning the palette knife thoroughly, I used the edge of it to scrape blocks of color off the canvas--revealing the colors underneath and creating blends. Then I decided more white was needed, so I added some back in. As I worked, I stood back periodically to see how it was coming along.
Tomorrow after the paint dries, I'll decide what to do next.
I began work on a new abstract painting today, continuing with my experimental approach. First I made broad sweeps with a palette knife using titanium white, parchment, and burnt umber. Then, while the paint was still wet, I drew lines in white and pthalo blue.
Next, after cleaning my palette knife thoroughly, I used cadmium orange to make several sweeping marks on top of the paint already there. This took a bit of delicacy in order not to make total mush. I did the same with aqua, after again cleaning the knife.
I drew more lines with the white and blue. Then I used the edge of my palette knife to scrape off sections of paint, which revealed the colors underneath, blending them as I scraped. In my last step, I emphasized some of these shapes with white and blue lines.
I've been in an experimental mood lately, wanting to try different techniques in my abstract painting. This time I drew lines in pthalo blue across the whole canvas in rambling scribbles. Then while the blue was still wet, I used a palette knife to cover over the lines in titanium white and parchment so that they blended together.
I used a bit of cadmium yellow light as well, blending that into the other colors. Then I put a big glob of pyrole orange on my knife and made a large curving mark along the top left of the canvas. I did the same for a smaller curve on the right.
Next, I got the urge to add yellow lines, mostly in the center section, to accentuate the yellow and provide texture. After that, I took the pthalo blue and drew sketchy lines to outline and define the composition.
Tomorrow I'll take another look at this and see what I think of it.
This week I've been painting almost entirely with a palette knife, which has a very different effect than a brush. I am using a 5" long knife, with a flat 1/2" surface. I've had this knife for ages, and always wipe it down very carefully before the acrylic paint dries. Otherwise the surface would be ruined.
As I get older, I have to be much more deliberate about cleaning my palette knife and brushes, making sure all tubes of paint are capped, etc. An artist's tools are precious and we need to take care of them. So I always do a final check of my painting table before I leave it to make sure everything has been taken care of.
I began this painting by adding the lightest colors first: titanium white, parchment, and unbleached titanium, letting them blend a bit with the lightest color near the top of the canvas. Then I made a couple broad sweeps with yellow, medium magenta, and Prussian blue, cleaning my knife before each color to keep it pure.
At this point I got the urge to try something, and began to scrape the painted surface with short strokes of the side of the knife. Since the paint was still wet, it came off, leaving a pale blend in a rectangular shape. This result entranced me so much that I began to do it over the whole surface, changing the angle and size of the scrape and cleaning my knife periodically.
As I worked, I regularly stood back and studied the composition to see where I thought another scrape was needed.
I began this new abstract painting with pthalocyanine (pthalo in
shorthand) blue. The canvas is very small, only 20" x 16", which can be
a challenge for me. I'm used to using medium-sized brushes on larger
canvases, and began this one with my favorite brush, which is about an
inch wide.
After the pthalo blue, I added ultramarine, light blue, and prussian blue, blending them with the brush. Then I painted the top and bottom in titanium white, blending that also. Next, I took a Paynes gray and used a smaller brush to apply it, blending it with the other still-wet colors.
Now that the whole canvas was covered, I went back in with more blues, then more white. Finally, I drew lines with the Paynes gray to emphasize sections and add texture. Once the canvas dries, I will take a serious look to decide what it needs next.
In this final painting session, I spent a lot of time staring at the canvas, deciding what it needed in order to call it finished and send it off to my client. Most of the steps I took were small ones: I added a line or two in order to break up a too-large block of color. I extended a color when I thought it needed to be more prominent.
There was still too much brightness near the top and bottom, so I added more dark lines to block out more of it. I added a few more white lines where I thought the painting needed them.
What I was looking for was not to reproduce the original painting my client liked, but to get the same feel and movement. In order to get the spontaneity of the original, I had to paint this one freely, and that meant it would never match the original too closely.
Finally, the painting looked ready to me. I sent a photo to the client, she said it looked great, and I shipped it.
Commissioned Painting, 44" x 64" acrylic on canvas.
I liked the way the composition in this new commissioned painting was coming along, but the color and mood were not right yet. It was too bright with too many pastel colors.
I began this painting session by adding more medium and dark grays, applying the paint directly from the tubes without a brush. This painting is made up mostly of thick and thin lines, so applying the paint this way allowed me to create those lines, which added to the thick "thickety" texture I was looking for.
I also added more raw umber and black, covering over some of the more pastel colors from previous layers. Then I drew a lot of thin lines in Paynes Gray, which looks almost black.
Commissioned Painting, 44" x 64" acrylic on canvas.
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