"Paz" (draft 3)

(draft 3)

Almost there. The script and Spanish Round Gothic is to come. The lettering you see today is "paz" (peace) written with black enamel paint from a bottle with a tip.

I must say that I am quite in love with enamel paint now. When it dries, it is very shiny and smooth. Of course, now I am anxious to add white to my repertoire. It is a wonderful counterpoint to the lettering written with gouache or Fluid Acrylics. The surface was prepared for lettering with (1) part gel matte medium to (2) parts water mixed together with a palette knife and applied to the surface with a chip brush.

You can also see that I altered the edges of the fiber and adhered the silver leaf to the canvas. Edges are very important in any piece and the edges you see today are far more interesting than having the same amount of silver leaf coming down the entire length of an equally straight piece of fiber. By removing some of the fiber on both sides, I created some interesting shapes with the silver leaf peeking out rather randomly. And random is a word that is closely aligned with spontaneous. To quote myself...."It takes a spontaneous technique to create a spontaneous result."

The edges created by the chevron stamp are also important. By sanding part of the stamped image, I have created lost and found edges and a gradation with the color of the fiber with a "fading in" and "fading out" effect. The other random technique used was painting black gesso on the back side of this fiber. The sanding produced a deconstruction of part of the fiber and that black gesso then seeps through to the top side. This is much more effective than trying splatter specks in a random fashion.

So the "take away" for today is a study of edges. Try looking at lots of other artwork and see how different artists deal with their edges. It can truly make or break a piece. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Paz" (draft 2)

(draft 2)

You are viewing the deconstructed fiber piece laid over the support which is a 16" x 20" canvas. There is also some silver leaf behind the fiber peeking through. The final will contain the text from Psalm 29: 11.

Today, I will set this piece on an easel where I can see it from across the room. It also looks good in a horizontal format and viewing it from a distance will determine that decision. There is also silver leaf that has yet to be adhered, and my decision now is whether to tear the fiber a bit more and have some silver showing around the edges as well.

Since yesterday, I applied Super Heavy Gesso with a palette knife. The same chevron stamp was used, but I applied a thin layer of the gesso so you don't see a solid imprint of the stamp. Another little trick about stamping into this type of "gooey" texture is to spray the stamp with cooking oil with each stamping. This keeps it from pulling the gesso up and creating an ugly texture. Once it's dry, alcohol will remove the cooking oil and then you can proceed to paint. This also works if you want to imbed a texture like a "key" just to get the imprint into the medium. Once the medium is dry, the key or other object can be removed. Clean the surface and paint.

Another tip if you want the first layer of black gesso to show when lightly sanding the final top layer of paint is to mix the black gesso into the Super Heavy Gesso before applying to the support. You will then see nothing but black when sanding the top layer to reveal some of the texture.

Again, I made a sample of this fiber with the color mixtures to go into my journal.  The color vibration is particularly appealing to me and I know I will need to jog my memory by looking over my notes should I ever want to do this in a different format.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Bienvenidos (draft 2)

Things have calmed down since yesterday with a few less stripes and dominant color. A line of "scripty" lettering will take the eye right to the fiber. I am also planning to change the title to "Bienvenidos". The quote will be on the piece by tomorrow.

As you can see, I added another piece of fiber and painted out a few stripes with black gesso followed by black fluid acrylic. It is important to paint over the black gesso with acrylic to have the high gloss contrasting with the fiber.

The existing stripes were taped off with painter's tape and painted with two coats of fluid acrylic. When that dried thoroughly, I hand sanded (with very rough sand paper) those stripes to reveal some of the texture from the first layer that was inscribed into the Super Heavy Gesso. This particular gesso is a Liquitex product. It is expensive, but I found some at Hobby Lobby. I like the feel, the texture, and the way it receives the paint. It is also very sandable without the "rubbery" texture of some texture mediums.

The fiber has yet to be adhered until I finish the lettering. I will be preparing the surface the same way I do for paper by brushing on (2 parts water) to (1 part gel matte medium). And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Su Camino" (final)

($180.00......12" x 12"....Mixed Media on Stretched Canvas)

"Wait for the Lord and keep his way." (Psalm 37: 34 NIV) The Spanish Gothic and Spencerian Script combination remind me of lettering on signage and labels in Mexico. This is also one of my favorite chapters from the Psalms.

The only thing left to do now is spray the fiber piece with acrylic coating (3x) followed by (3) coats of spray varnish and then (2) coats of brush on varnish. All of this requires drying time, but I have plenty to do since I just created the same background texture on a 30" x 40" canvas. However, it will be a different color.

One of the looks I particularly like is the high gloss of acrylic paint that has also been textured like the background of this piece. It has the look of rusty metal. So sandpaper and sanders are definitely a part of my studio equipment.

If you like this background, all you need for experimentation is a canvas or clayboard.... heavy gesso or molding paste that has been texturized...some black gesso....fluid acrylic...and sandpaper. Finish it off with acrylic coating and varnish and you will have a metal look.

The only other thing that might be noteworthy is the fact that there are actual holes in the fiber as well as some of the background color which create total integration between the background and fiber. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Su Camino" (draft 1)

"Espera en Jehova, y guarda su camino." This verse from Psalm 37: 34 is translated...."Wait for the Lord and keep his way." It is a short verse packed with two specific commands that give guidance in all kinds of circumstances.

This piece is a continuation of a new path I am taking with acrylics and fiber on canvas. If you look closely, you can see texture and writing in the background.

The background was created with Super Heavy Gesso (Liquitex) on a 12" x 12" stretch canvas. I used a strip of grid like mesh used in taping and bedding a wall by laying it in rows on top of the wet gesso and picking it up with a palette knife. This was repeated until the whole piece had this texture. I then used a bamboo pen to write my text in Spanish at the top and bottom.

After all was completely dry (overnight), I primed it with black gesso...allowed that to dry....and then mixed up the yellow orange color from Fluid Acrylics. This mixture was applied with a sponge brush in two applications...drying in between.

After the last coat of paint was thoroughly dry, I lightly sanded it to reveal some of the black and white gesso underneath and cause the texture to be more visible. While all of that was going on, I was also painting black gesso on my fiber followed by sanding, painting, sanding, painting, etc. until the texture you see today was achieved.

It has not been adhered to the support because I like to write on a flat, hard surface rather than fighting with a canvas. Of course, lettering will make all the difference in the world and I will be posting that tomorrow. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

"Corazon" (final)

($60.00......6" x 6".....Mixed Media on 2" Depth Cradled Board)

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (Proverbs 4: 23...NIV) One of the key words in this piece is "wellspring". A wellspring is a source or supply of anything, especially when considered inexhaustible. So whatever is flowing in our hearts (the seat of our thinking and emotions) is very important and charts the course of our lives.

So as far as the look and mood of the piece, I feel satisfied that I accomplished what I set out to do. My desire was to have an extreme contrast between textures which also results in a contrast of new vs. old. By using Fluid Acrylics (3 layers over black gesso), I was able to achieve a high gloss and very smooth color application to the background. It comes across as very contemporary and gives me the vehicle for going into my colorist voice.

The deconstruction of the fiber by painting, sanding, painting, sanding, etc. until it is aged to perfection (to the point of making holes in the fiber) goes to the heart of my artistic voice. That's why antique stores hold such a hugh appeal and this is an aging technique that is worth its weight in gold. You can see the red background peeking through the holes and stray threads veering off from the edges.

To set up a sanding station, I laid the fiber on a large section of MDF board. The fiber is much easier to sand after some paint has been applied to make it stiff. You then must hold the fiber with your left hand by spreading out your hand and sanding in the "taunt" area and this is especially true when going close to the edge. It also helps to have a variable speed palm sander and use medium to course grit sand paper. It takes a lot of grit to deconstruct fibers.

After all of the sanding was done, I turned the piece over and painted with black fluid acrylic and that's why you see the holes and threadbare areas a dark black. It also seeped to the edges in some places.

All in all, it is a very creative alliance with high gloss and dull, threadbare, and aged fiber. This piece is on a cradled board, but the large works are on canvas which gives a range of other options such as stitching the fiber on with several strands of embroidery thread followed by gesso and paint. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.