This piece has a certain duality that is quite different from my normal style, yet still piques my creative interest. I started this canvas painting with layers of spackling paste, to obtain the thick texture-ridges and valleys. The spackle was spread with taping knives, which are bigger and sturdier than palette knives, the kind that contractors use on drywall. I then added two layers of gesso to seal the spackle, once it was dry. After that was finished, I added water-thinned washes of acrylic paint, alizarin crimson and primary blue. The strange thing that happened, is that when I added the liquid paints, the gesso started to move and pinch together, in little wrinkles. It added a new creepy dimension to the painting, which stayed this way when dried. This creepy texture fits into my dark, grungy style, while the light, colorful washes contradict that feeling. I love how the beauty and deformity of this painting flow together, similar to how good and bad flow within everyone.
