Late Bloomers / acrylic abstract

OK. I’m going to seriously get some work done around here now and stop playing around!

nature watching me paint / mono print

In the Marsh

Is something supernatural interested in what I’m doing? That might be my imagination but sometimes I see faces in my paint when I get home.

This is acrylic on my little black sketchbook with oil pastel background. I had an oil pastel the same color as my violet acrylic and I like the two of them next to each other with the different textures.

Can you see that peak formed by the acrylic close to the top of this photo? I was happy to see how that came out kind of like a mountain or volcano or something.

I used yellow and violet and mixed them on my plastic lid palette only slightly with my palette knife. I just scratched back and forth a couple times to drag the violet paint into the yellow. If I mixed them well it would be brown but this way is keeping the colors separated but in one smear. I want that peak to stay there when it’s dry.

If these pix give you any other ideas let me know what you see.

It’s hot and humid again today. Maybe tomorrow will be better for sketching in Plein air.

redbud / oils

The colors don’t show up in the photo exactly as they are but you get the idea.

The flowers are thick paint and I used my modified fan brush again to add texture. You can see the difference between my background glazes which are thin and the flowers which are thick. That’s the traditional way of painting. If you use both thin and thick paint it helps give the illusion of depth and the viewer’s eye has something to compare. The viewer might not realize it but the painting might keep their attention longer with that contrast of paint thickness and texture.

You can see the thick paint of the dead leaves on the ground, the thin paint of my background glazes and the thick paint of the flowers compared to the solid lines of the branches.

Evening after Rousseau by Felix Bracquemond

etching and drypoint

The Winter weather is a bummer even in our normally mild VA.  I hung out at the museum last week and worked on a drawing of a horse. The VMFA has a great new exhibit of etchings by Bracquemond, so I got a shot of my favorite one for you.

When I was in art school I took a print making class and learned the process of etching. It’s more difficult than drawing with a pencil because you can’t erase. My etching from art school looked kind of weak, I must admit.  Strong drawing skill is a necessity if you want to do an etching.

This artist is a master. I hope you can see it clearly on your computer because I was amazed by the depth showing. The detail is so fine. The textures go from sharp to fuzzy. How did he do it?