Peek in My Studio This Week – Edgy Painting and Finishing Up

In my studio this week, I started a new painting using one of the source photos I created using Affinity Photo 2. I consider this a win in that I was lost in using the photo editing apps but am learning and managed to create something that inspired me to paint it. I also spent a little time finishing up the mosaic dragonfly tile I had made the week before. I also painted more on the previous week’s hummingbird painting to bring it more out of the background.

Edgy Painting – “Sitting on Top of the World”

I’ve been striving to keep to a theme and develop a style unique to me. I was pleased with the painting I did of the happy, older couple sharing a glass of wine and surrounded by hummingbirds. I was seeking something to paint along a similar theme.

I spent some time learning how to use Affinity Photo 2 to create source photos for future paintings. I found a variety of photos that piqued my interest and created the following by combining four different photographs. The penguins were a later addition.

I started in my usual way by applying layers of light washes using acrylic paint thinned with water. I then sketched the subject onto the canvas using charcoal and sealed it with a workable fixative so it wouldn’t smear while painting.

The source photo shows the woman sitting on an igloo. I decided to change it into a globe of the Earth and used collage to define it further. I also used collage for the woman’s skirt. Here’s a close up of the collage:

Here’s a full size view of the painting at this stage:

I asked DH what he thought, if it looked like the woman was sitting on a globe. He didn’t see it, so I decided to apply texture paste over the globe area and push it back. I also added the penguins.

I’m getting ready to move to using oil paint on the flesh areas and to highlight some areas on the penguins and on the goblet. I’m not satisfied with the form that is supposed to represent the Earth and need to work on that area more. Any suggestions?

Dragonfly Mosaic Tile

I finally grouted the dragonfly tile I had created in the mosaic class from last week. It looked pretty blah so I decided to try and outline the dragonfly area with acrylic ink.

I thought it still looked boring, so I used cerulean blue acrylic ink to try and simulate the dragonfly against the sky. I think it looks better, but still not happy with the result.

Hummingbird

Last week I wrote about the hummingbird painting I had painted on a gold-leaf canvas splattered with paint. The hummingbird nearly disappeared into the background when I had finished.

I tried several of your suggestions, and some of my own, to see if I could make it jump out more. I used interference paints, lighter color paints, and finally decided to go with a more stylized version and outlined the whole thing with a black Posca marker. What do you think?

Artist Tip of the Week

I learned about the many uses of running alcohol from Elie Milan. Keep some in a spray bottle (90% alcohol at least) and spray it on acrylic paint while still wet to get interesting effects. I do this frequently when making backgrounds.

Another genius use is to use it to clean palettes that have dried acrylic paint adhered to them. It’s amazing how the alcohol cuts through the dried paint! I wish I had learned this several years ago.

I also sprayed it on the dragonfly tile after I had applied the acrylic ink and was able to clean the areas where I didn’t want the ink.