To try something new, that is.
I started this painting at the farm a few weeks back and spent many a happy hour with a fine bristle brush, gently daubing short horizontal strokes in acrylics to build light, texture, and a bit of depth on the flat surface. This piece started with a photograph of a couple guys in sport shirts. First, I sketched out the scene in graphite, then decided that it should be rendered in a series of colored bands; primary colors. As it unfolded I realized that it looked a bit rainbow-flaggy, and opted for a metallic copper (my favorite paint color!) in the top quarter instead of red...eventually, I also replaced the blue background with black.
Don't get me wrong, I love this piece...painting these two guys made me very happy.
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| I've stopped here, and will leave this piece unfinished for the time being...I'm excited to explore big brush painting! |
Throughout the piece, I maintained the short dashed strokes that I began with. Then it dawned on me, as the faces of these tow fellas took shape...this piece is a wonderful exercise in regaining my skill with acrylics, but it lives in a safe space. Its similar to my recent self portraits, lovely but limited. This simple, small piece has inspired me to step out of a comfortable, controllable space, and try something quite different.
This week I grabbed only larger brushes and canvases, and a new piece is the end goal...this one will be built without fine bristles, or single dashed line work...gawd help me! Here is the start:
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| So far medium-large brushes and fingertips have been used to start this self protrait...I have also skipped the graphite sketched lines and will just go where the medium takes me for this piece. There's a full pot of Earl Grey for the drinking as this unfolds! |
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