I’ve been wrapped up in painting and in preparing for and teaching my first workshop of the season. The first of the Explore Acrylic Painting series of 3 classes went well. The group went away loaded with information and excited yet exhausted from an afternoon of preparing a variety of painting surfaces and a flurry of painting experiments. Alas, I failed to take any photos. There’s always next Monday for that, as long as I remember.
Here are several photos of the progress I’ve made on the painting commission. My last blog post showed the beginnings of the work–please have a look.
I’ve painted in the reeds, taken them out, put them in yet again and taken them out again. Now they’re back in and I’ve made them a bit larger than they were before. I think this time they’ll stay put. I’ve also added more contrast to the colors over the whole painting and more details.
I took this photo yesterday, right before calling it a day. What you see is the result of about a week of work (maybe more). I didn’t realize until I saw these two photos together how much the color has changed. And I’ve been hard at work on the reeds–with layers added on top of each other to increase the feeling of the density of the reeds.
At some point between the last photo and this one, I also did a pour of Golden Self-Leveling gel over the whole painting, except for the reeds. I taped them out so they’d maintain their texture and matte finish. The clear, glossy layer of self-leveling gel smooths out the surface of the painting. As I add more over the top of the layer of gel, the feeling of depth increases.
I think I’m making progress!
And while I paint on the commission, I’m also working simultaneously on the painting below.
Depending on my mood, I bounce back and forth working on the two paintings more or less equally. Sometimes I get absorbed in one or the other. I like the flow of working on at least 2 paintings at once, especially if I’m feeling stuck on one of the paintings. By the time I get back to work on the “problem painting” I’ve usually figured out a solution and am able to move forward.
I shot this photo yesterday just before quitting for the day. Hmm, not sure if I’m making progress or going backwards on this one!