"Bridges"

($40.00......5" x 5" ....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)


"Bridges of thankfulness are the connectors to life." A bridge is something that connects one thing to something else. And so it is with thankfulness. Being thankful for every small thing and deleting a spirit of complaining is a bridge to the abundant life.

In this pouring medium piece, I did some very effective "cropping" by placing my mat (with a 5" x 5" opening) on the diagonal over several areas of my larger sheet. This allowed me to have more options than I would have by keeping the mat straight in front of me.

To me, cropping is a spontaneous technique because it is unplanned...meaning you cannot possible know the outcome ahead of time. So it is very important to work larger if you want as many options as possible.

Because of the quote, I was happy to place the ornate "B" over two color blocks as a another bridge or connector in the piece. The large red and black color block is the visual bridge that connects to two sides and slightly to a third side to create a dynamic division of space. This particular red was created with Quinacridone Magenta and Quinacridone Burnt Sienna. These would be two colors to have in your repertoire of Golden Fluid Acrylics. The Quinacridone colors are extremely lightfast and when dealing with reds and magentas, that is important. They are synthetic colors originally created for the automobile industry and they eventually creeped into the fine arts community. (Praise God!)

Some of the other colors that I have as a basic palette in Golden Fluid Acrylics are.....Raw Umber....Titan Buff....Titanium White....Carbon Black....Raw Sienna...Hansa Yellow Light or Cad. Yellow Light...Green Gold...Viridian....Cobalt Blue...Cerulean Blue...Cobalt Turquoise...Napthol Red....Quinacridone Magenta...Quinacridone Burnt Sienna...Light Lavendar...Iridescent Bronze. These are my basic colors and if you keep a "sharp eye",  you can use coupons from Michaels or other sales to receive the best price. Dick Blick is also a good source and often has a good sale. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Amore"

(sold)


"Neutrals plus one hot color equals amore." We could all use a little more love and today it is visually showcased in a sea of neutral color. Brilliant Red Violet is a very hot color and if you add a little gold, it is quite luxurious. It's Friday. Show a lot of love!

This fabulous color is one of my favorites. Fortunately, it is available in Golden tube acrylics, Fluid Acrylics, and Winsor Newton Gouache. It can be fugitive so if you are working on a larger complicated piece that you want to last a long time, use Quinacridone Magenta or make sure the color is encased in a medium or use varnish with UV protection at the end. The permanence of Quinacridone colors has been tested and proven to stand the test of time. (If you google "quinacridone", you can find out all kinds of interesting facts about these colors.)

Raw Umber is a good companion to brilliant red violet and is the perfect choice to make it look deeper and richer. Of course, I must mention for the third or fourth time since blogging that the best raw umber gouache is Graham. Windsor Newton has a rather "wimpy" umber that is not dark enough.

One last note about this piece is the corners and the division of space. It is very important to think about those two things when cropping from a larger sheet. It makes all the difference in the world whether you have a "ho hum" composition or something very dramatic. Just a few more things to think about.