... but I patiently pushed it off, as I waited for the right time and nerve. Once this day came, I knew a whole new world would be unlocked, which is a scary notion in any context. This day has arrived; I bought my first set of acrylic paints, a few brushes and some canvas board - so my humble journey begins.
In my first strokes I learned that there is SO much for me to learn: everything from how paint spreads with different brushes, how paint spreads on canvas, how it spreads over dry paint, wet paint, the way colors mix, how colors layer... and on, and on. It took me a while to shift my mentality away from the detailed symmetry that typifies most of my work. Painting is exponentially more difficult than any other medium that I have used (colored pencil, marker, etc), which means it is that much harder to get right. I quickly gave up on even considering completing a piece in the way I fist imagined it.
I suppose this is the beauty of painting. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind work of art. In the very least, it is unlike any other painting and cannot be reproduced exactly. Paintings are composed of unique brush strokes, each stroke leaving its own finger print of paint. In making this realization, a weight was taken off my shoulders; the perfection of a painting arrives on a whim.
My first installment is of three paintings, each a smattering of strokes and color representing my very infant phase of painting. They are all done on 6"x6" canvas board using a 1" coarse hair brush. I felt obligated to don each painting with a trite title, while I also included a behind the canvas blurb from the artist.
MAGENTA MAR
This started with a square of magenta,
the same paint used on the framed jigsaw.
I wanted to play around with changing the
hue by mixing black and white paint with
magenta. What you see here masks no less
than seven layers of paint below.
AQUA FLUSH
Similar to MAGENTA MAR, this mixes blue
with green and white. I have always been
drawn to this color combination, and I
wanted to paint it. I really enjoy this
haphazard blending of colors.
PERMANENT DUSK
This is a continuation of my exploring
magenta and her hues. I originally set
out to shade from black to white through
magenta. Instead, I ended with my first
landscape painting.
In Part II I will work my way towards more concrete objects and colors. I hope you enjoyed.
NOTE: Commissions currently run free of charge.
