Trying Something New
For years after mixing paint I’ve been wiping the excess from my palette knife onto my easel. The easel had sustained water damage in a previous life and I thought the best way to cover up the damage was to smear paint all over it. Years of doing this has created a very colorful abstract mess which I find entirely delightful. A couple months ago I decided I wanted to see what would happen if I started that same type of treatment on canvas. So, I took an 8×10 canvas and started smearing my palette knife across it every time I mixed up paint. I did this during the process of creating 3 different paintings and ended up with a pretty cool abstract piece. But, it didn’t feel finished to me and I wanted a mask to be its subject matter. So, a couple nights ago I grabbed my palette knife and started painting right on top of the textured surface I had created on that 8×10 canvas. It was a very liberating experience watching the mask rise from this abstract chaos. I love the way the textures and earlier colors show through the final composition giving it a very organic feel. It was temendous fun and I anticipate more like this will be coming.
“Hermes” - 10″x8″ - Acrylic on Canvas - Completed 9-4-08