ACRYLICS
I work from my own original sketches and photographs to create a design for my work.
I work in acrylic on stretched canvas.
I stretch my own canvases, sometimes building my own stretcher strips, and priming raw canvas from the ground up.
Generally, I tone my stretched canvas, usually with a wash of Burnt Umber, and I draw my general idea onto the dark canvas with white chalk.
When I am satisfied with the drawing, which may be very general, or highly complex, I establish the drawing with the same dark acrylic paint. Sometimes I adhere tightly to the original chalk drawing, other times adjusting the drawing as I work.
As I finish the dark line-work on the canvas, I use umber washes to establish general darks and shadow patterns.
I use the fewest colors that I can, usually only the primaries, white, and the original Burnt Umber that I stained the canvas with.
I rarely work on one spot at a time, moving over the canvas, distributing light and color as I see the need.
Sometimes I allow the brown undercoating and lines to show through the painting, other times, I work hard to cover them. Whichever way I go, I think that the brown undercoating helps to create unity within my paintings.
I would rather leave a painting unfinished, than overwork it.
I work from my own original sketches and photographs to create a design for my work.
I work in acrylic on stretched canvas.
I stretch my own canvases, sometimes building my own stretcher strips, and priming raw canvas from the ground up.
Generally, I tone my stretched canvas, usually with a wash of Burnt Umber, and I draw my general idea onto the dark canvas with white chalk.
When I am satisfied with the drawing, which may be very general, or highly complex, I establish the drawing with the same dark acrylic paint. Sometimes I adhere tightly to the original chalk drawing, other times adjusting the drawing as I work.
As I finish the dark line-work on the canvas, I use umber washes to establish general darks and shadow patterns.
I use the fewest colors that I can, usually only the primaries, white, and the original Burnt Umber that I stained the canvas with.
I rarely work on one spot at a time, moving over the canvas, distributing light and color as I see the need.
Sometimes I allow the brown undercoating and lines to show through the painting, other times, I work hard to cover them. Whichever way I go, I think that the brown undercoating helps to create unity within my paintings.
I would rather leave a painting unfinished, than overwork it.