Behind the scenes this week…
I’ve been using torn bits of my drawings as collage material in my new mixed media pieces. After brushing the back of the paper with acrylic gel medium and placing the paper where I want it, I flatten it with a piece of wood and weigh it down with something heavy – in this case, gallon paint cans. I typically let it sit overnight so that it’s ready to go in the morning. Once dry, I can work on the paper and panel with paint, ink, pastel, or whatever other medium I choose to use on it. With these particular pieces I am not using oil paint. This allows me to keep the paper exposed because I don’t have to prime the paper to protect it from the oil paint.
In 2016, I’ve been making one small watercolor or drawing per day. The watercolors are succinct ways to explore composition, shape, and color. On the left side of this image are 4 of these watercolors, and on the right is an oil painting. While I was working on the oil painting, it went through a progression of shapes and color, and the little watercolors I made during that time helped me make sense of what to do with the larger oil painting. While the watercolors are square and the oil painting is rectangular – the aspect ratio is different – the watercolors still helped me visualize the composition I was working on in a concise way. This is similar to taking a photo of a painting to simulate stepping away from it, getting the distance needed to see the overall image more clearly. Making a small version of the painting has the added advantage of re-creating the composition yourself, and therefore spending more time processing the way shapes and colors relate on the picture plane. I learned to do this – to make smaller versions of a larger painting to help me figure out what to do with it – from my Honors advisor at College of William & Mary, Professor Kreydatus. When I struggled with a painting, he recommended I draw it. It’s something I’ve done ever since. Thank you