Dripping madness

This piece effectively summarizes my passion for texture, and the texture is what caused the ink to drip in such an interesting way. This piece was colored with black acrylic in only, in different diluted strengths.

Persephone Unbound

I have not posted in awhile, being busy with a move across the country and having to abandon 99% of my collection. I am happy to have started fresh and am finally painting on canvas again. This piece was named by someone very important to me, and I am quite proud of how it turned out.

Marbled drips

These pieces were done by marbling the latex paints I worked with on the canvas as they were dripping. The canvas was held up to increase the flow of the paints, which were strung, poured, and dripped in specific ways to create the texture. The fully marbled orange piece reminds me of lava, in the intricacies of the marbling, as well as the colors. I enjoy the latex paints for their self-leveling attributes, and wide range of color choices.

Tape up that texture

This painting is a study in texture, and how one material can deceive the eye into believing it is another material. I created this texture with masking tape, crumpled and piled on top of itself. I then blended the edge lines by using regular matte gel. I gessoed over this piece a few times, to make sure to seal the tape well. I then mixed this particular range of colors with gray, viridian green, alizarin crimson, titanium white ultramarine and prussian blue. I love how the color turned out, and though I initially planned to continue painting and adding straight glazes of alizarin crimson, I have decided to leave it like this for awhile. The larger picture shows the color in more detail, and the second picture shows the texture a little more clearly.

Bubble Bubble Boil and Trouble Abstract

 

 

This is a painting I just finished today using a new technique I learned very recently. I used a heat gun on the paint as it was drying to get the bubbles and boils as a unique texture. I had tested this technique out with gesso yesterday, and am still working on finishing that painting. This cadmium red paint had been sitting in my acrylic box for over a year, since it was too thick and dry to work with when I bought it. It would not come out of the tube anymore, so I cut off the top and added water until it was a more workable consistency. I then used the heat gun for quite a long time, seeing as how the paint was still thick, it took some time to bubble. The nice thing about taking that much time was that the heat gun added all of the tints and shades I needed. The longer I kept the heat on one spot, the darker it would get, and if it was there long enough, it turned an iridescent gold, which looks great with the red. I used the heat gun in multiple stages of the paint's drying process, the more dry or thin the paint was, the smaller the bubbles and boils. To finish the piece off, I used the black spray webbing and heated that as well to add some dimension. Here are two pictures of the painting, one of the whole piece and a close up to show the texture and unique creepiness of the piece. 

Finished disgusting beauty

I added some more washes of the primary blue and alizarin crimson, taking out the light and white parts. I am not quite sure if I am going to add the white back in, but for now, I like it how it is. I love how the colors mix and interact together, and bring out the texture.

Disgusting beauty

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.

Leftover bits abstract painting

I am nicknaming this my leftover bits painting. Sometimes I end up with too much premixed paint, or slightly off color gesso or ink, that cannot be put back into the bottles. This painting was made entirely with those leftovers, in three separate layers. The first was a suminagshi ink remains, then black ink left on my palette. The last was part of the gesso I had also left over from my current texture piece in progress.

Abstract blob paintings

I ordered a pack each of 25 canvas boards of 4 by 4 in and 5 by 7 in. I wanted these to have smaller pieces for practicing new techniques, and to offer something smaller and more affordable at the art shows. These pieces were made with leftover gesso from a textured piece I am in the middle of. I added it in very thick piles, then put drops of iridescent ink on top. I then smooshed and unsmooshed the two boards until I was satisfied with the results. I love the Rorschach type feel it has, and the close to mirrored images.  

Scales texture

I made a new texture on this paper by gluing rows of cut paper circles on a paper. I used an oversized hole punch to get perfect paper circles. I painted the scales with teal acrylic paint, then brushed purple glaze on top to bring out the unique texture. I'm not sure what I am going to do with this paper, either to add new colors, or cut it up into a monster shape, using the scales to add to the monster.

Textured abstract painting

This red and black painting highlights the texture used in it. Here are two views of the painting, to get an idea of how it looks in different lights. I might another layer of red, but here it is so far.