"Enjoy"

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


"Linger awhile and enjoy the process." It is often difficult to "linger" over anything because of the schedules we all keep. To really make progress in any area, it is essential to make time and space to linger over the process. My definition of "linger" is to stay in the process as though time were standing still. Enjoy!

The piece today is texture to the extreme. I began with molding paste and texturizing with gestural marks and glass beads dropped into the paste. This was left to dry overnight. This morning, I applied black Speedball printing ink with a brayer. After drying it with a hair dryer, I rewet it and blotted it in areas to create some grays.

The silver leaf was applied over a base of gel matte medium. As I pressed it into the paste, I began to remove small areas with my fingers to break up the surface. After applying the ornate capital, I realized I wanted some color. I used Venetian Red gouache which is brighter than burnt sienna, but not quite a red. It was applied with my finger and water applied to soften the edges and also to break up the surface a bit. Breaking up the surface is important to keep it integrated with the rest of the piece. Also, by placing the color in four corners, it gives the illusion that there is another piece of paper underneath the black.  (Gouache is not permanent when dry and is also opaque, so it is the perfect choice for this type of application.)

This may be too much texture for you, but it is always good to experiment. I learned that the glass beads really do best when painted a dark color and then applying another color skimmed over the top of them such as the upper left hand corner. And there you have it....just a few more things to think about.

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