"The Apex" (sold)

(sold)


"Good books are at the apex of a wise person's life." The apex is a place where important things come to a point or good conclusion. I have a friend who has more books than me and she is a very wise person. It is a blessing to have a large library on your bookshelf or on your iPad.

This piece was cropped from a larger version of gestural strokes created with acrylic paints, glazing medium, and applied to the support with foam brushes and shaper tools. The entire process is all about laying down paint and then removing some.

It does help to spray the paper with water first and then use a concentrated amount of paint mixed with glazing medium to dip your foam brush into. The removal of paint was done with shaper tools and old credit cards. To achieve the solid smooth background first, the paint was brushed over the entire surface and then a brayer was used to smooth out the paint and also remove the excess. Wipe the brayer frequently and keep going in all directions over the entire surface until it is even and smooth. There are a few faint gestural makes created in this background before drying it completely.

After the background is dried, spray the paper with water again and create the bands or block of color and remove portions of the paint until you're satisfied. (Google Carol Pickle for tons of inspiration applying and removing paint.)

I did add just a bit of collage from some practice lettering I did some time ago and a portion of an old book page. With this type of background especially, it is important to use removable tape and play around with the placement of the collage until you are totally convinced you have it in the right place. I knew the collage element was in the right place when the corners were touching the background color in two places which totally grounded it to the background. There is also a lower case "b" in the upper left hand corner that fit in with the color and provided an echo of the main collage element. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.