"Lavender Blues" (final)

($200.00.....11" x 14".....Gesso Work on 140 lb. HP........Presented on a 2" Depth Cradled Board)


"Improvisational art has a syncopated rhythm." By the erratic placement of color shapes and a close division of space between the positive and the negative...syncopated rhythm occurs.

Drama can be created in a piece by allowing the positive and negative to occupy almost equal amounts of space. it also helps if those two space divisions are odd shapes with some of them appearing in a back and forth fashion. For instance, the light colored windows in the dark area and the dark windows in the light area add to the drama and rhythm of the piece.

In making the final decisions about this piece, I tried to preserve textures that were pleasing and made sure that a portion of all the previous layers remained in tact. Other decisions had to do with the treatment of the edges. I didn't want all of the edges to be solid and severe so I broke up some of those by "inching" my brayer into those shapes a bit and creating a transitional value between the extreme dark and extreme light edges.

I also used a break off knife to scratch into the dark shapes and some of the light shapes to reveal the color underneath. In the dark area, the underneath color was mostly white so I painted on a glaze of Quinacridone Burnt Sienna (fluid acrylic) to tie in with the brighter burnt sienna in the center portion of the piece.

You can also see a tinge of lavendar and burnt sienna in the white gesso areas as a result of spraying alcohol and brayering over the surface. The brayer automatically picks up some of those colors and carries them to the white.

My lettering is a mixture of italic and spencerian script written with a Mitchell #6 nib. Of course, the surface had to be prepared for lettering. It is quite impossible to write with pen and ink over this surface unless it is prepared with (2) parts water + (1) part gel matte medium. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.