"Forge Your Process"

($40.00.....6" x 6"......mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)


"Forge your process on the anvil of experience and prayer." Forge is an interesting word with several meanings. It can mean to move forward gradually or steadily. A forge can also be a furnace for melting or refining metal or fabricating hot metal with a hammer. In either case, a person can accelerate the process by choosing the right experiences for growth and giving up everything to God in prayer.

Almost anyone can produce a decent piece of artwork at least once in their lifetime. But the person who wants to continue creating must eventually come to grips with process and how things are done on a regular basis. It requires analysis, practice, keen observation while working, and a lot of experience coupled with prayer doesn't hurt either.

If you have acrylic paint, a brayer, gesso, and alcohol...you can create the kind of texture you see in the background of this piece. Applying paint with a brush will create one kind of background, but if you want erratic texture, I highly recommend applying the paint with a brush and then going over it with a brayer and alternate by dipping your brayer into alcohol. Alcohol breaks up acrylic paint and will produce lovely texture.

More subtle and raised texture is created by applying gesso first. You can even stamp into the damp gesso and create other texture. Let it thoroughly dry and then apply paint followed by brayering and you will have very pleasing results. Of course, there is no need to stop there. You can keep adding different values of color (followed by brayering) and define your shapes for an interesting painting. It's a fun thing to do on a Sunday afternoon so I encourage you to give it a try or at least think about these things.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.