Woo hoo, time to break out the big boy. I got this used canvas from the thrift store and although it wasn’t exactly thrift store prices, I’m excited and a little bit nervous to try out a larger painting. Plus I’ll do some more dirty pouring, which I don’t often do so I’m relishing the challenge on this one.
The last large canvas I did turned out a bit on the busy side, and then I made it even worse by going double or nothing and added extra busy-ness just to be sure that it was going to give everyone a headache to look at it! That’s why it’s called Mesmerizing – see it here.
Today I wanted to try to keep things a little more simple. I had been inspired by a painting shared in our Facebook group by Jerry Osborn that you can see here (you’ll need to be a group member to see it.) Mine isn’t the same, but inspired by Jerry’s for its composition and colors. Jerry did a swipe on his, but I’m aiming for a double dirty pour and hope to get the paint in stripes in the central section. The outer sections I’ll look to create a white and gold marbled effect similar to the one I did for the YouTube challenge here.
In this painting I am using:
Art Alternatives Titanium White, Black, Gold (seller ships Free worldwide)
Liquitex Basics Bronzeand Copper
Martha Stewart Glitter Paint in Fire Opal
Floetrol
Treadmill Belt Silicone
KY True Feel Dimethicone oil
Recipe for the paint mix:
1 part paint
1 part Floetrol
Water as needed
1 drop of treadmill silicone in the white and black
1 drop of dimethicone in the copper, bronze and gold
None in the Fire Opal
Well that’s better. Much better than the last large canvas I did. It still wasn’t quite as expected, I added too much paint to the central section and spread it out too far so there was less on the sides, but I’m very happy with the outcome. It has a nice balance between a more simple composition when viewed from far away, and then a very detailed look when you come in close and see all the cells and interesting paint formations. Of course the Fire Opal glitter paint really makes it for me.
Even my husband loves it and he named it ‘Strata’.
As usual, scroll through the slideshow below for more images for this painting, both wet and dry, and closeups of the details.
After being told in high school that she was so bad at art that she should switch to another subject, Deby didn’t paint again for 35 years. Then a stroke released a new wave of creativity and she began exploring with dot painting, abstract and eventually acrylic pouring, and at last the joy of working with color returned. You don’t need ‘talent’ to be an acrylic pouring artist – just enthusiasm, some basic instruction, and a willingness to try, fail and try again. Paint along with her and learn from her many mistakes, and you’ll soon make great art together.