Saturday, February 20, 2010

February 20, 2010 - Day 194

Acrylic on 140lb Aquarelle watercolor paper

In today's painting I painted a heavy base coat of dark green with obvious brush strokes. On top of that I pressed a rubber non-skid mat with silver paint. The gold was done with string dipped into the gold paint and then pressed down onto the paper. The little gold dots are a square ended screwdriver dipped into the paint and then pressed onto the paper.

Tomorrow I think I will try a light background with multi-colored string patterns.

Friday, February 19, 2010

February 19, 2010 - Day 193

Acrylic on 140lb Aquarelle watercolor paper

I didn't achieve the effect that I was looking for today but I still like the end result. I was trying to stamp the design of foreign coins into the paint but because of the edge around the coin it wouldn't work. Some of the coins have very interesting designs and it would have looked very cool but I don't know how I would be able to do it. So instead it ended up being the circular design you see.

I also realized that I like this kind of painting but I wouldn't call it abstract because it is not meant to convey meaning or emotion. It is just a simple arrangement of esthetically pleasing colors and designs.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

February 18, 2010 - Day 192

Acrylic on 140lb Aquarelle watercolor paper

OK now for something completely different. I was trying a technique I vaguely remembered where objects are dropped into wet paint to create a design. It was only after I tried the technique with acrylic paint and failed that I went searching for the instructions. It turns out the technique is in "Creative Watercolor Workshop" by Mark E. Mehaffey. No wonder it didn't work.

I had painted my background in thick blue paint with obvious brush strokes and varying layers of paint thickness. I chose various office supplies to drop into the paint but when I drop the first paper clip - surprise, surprise - the technique didn't work. I decided to stamp the designs by dropping the objects into wet yellow paint and then pressing them down on the dry blue background.

If you have been following my blog up until this point you will know that I am less than found of abstract-type paintings. I am not interested in looking at that style of painting or creating it. That being said - I really really really like this stupid little painting. I don't know if I like it because of the contrast of the bright yellow against the dark blue or if it is because the stamped items are recognizable forms. Maybe it is a combination of both. Whatever the reason I am now inspired to experiment more in this area. I want to try different combinations of color and objects. I also want to try textured material like lace or canvas. I think the next 8 days are gong to be interesting.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

February 17, 2010 - Day 191

Acrylic and watercolor on 140lb Aquarelle watercolor paper

This painting looked really good until I added the red then it just became boring to me. I thought the bright red would look really great but I think it over powers the black. I don't know. I just don't like it.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

February 16, 2010 - Day 190

Acrylic and watercolor on 140lb Aquarelle watercolor paper

Thought I would try the Northern Lights tonight. I contemplated putting trees or a howling wolf in the foreground but decided on the city scene because it would be different from what others have done.

Monday, February 15, 2010

February 15, 2010 - Day 189

Acrylic on 140lb Aquarelle watercolor paper

I tried to use the same technique with this painting as I have been using with the nebula paintings but it didn't work out right. I couldn't get the planet to look round either. I think I am going to have to practice painting spheres for a while before I try another planet.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

February 14, 2010 - Day 188

Acrylic and watercolor on 250lb Bockingford watercolor paper

Really like the way the nebula turned out in this one. I don't like the space station but I really couldn't come up with a clear vision of how I wanted the it to look.