"Wild Applause"

($200.00......9" x 12".....mounted on a 2".00 depth clayboard)


"The music in my heart and the exuberance of the crowd brought me to my feet in wild applause." There is nothing quite like an accomplished musician and a crowd of people filled with excitement to bring you to your feet. It's a moment shared with people you may have never met. Tonight might be a good time to go to a concert!

This piece was created with acrylics and palette knife on Rives BFK. My process began by practicing drawing the cello with gestural strokes many times before committing it to the final paper. After sketching it in with pencil, I mixed up my paints with some retarder to give myself a longer working time. I did consider Open Acrylics which perform much like oils, but I like the full body consistency of acrylics in the tube when working with a palette knife.

There was basically three mixtures of paint. The gray was created by mixing Raw Umber + Unbleached Titanium (Liquitex) and adding some white to a portion of this mixture to create a different value. The second color was Titanium White. The third color was Quinacridone Magenta + White. So if you ever need a very good gray, this combination is quite lovely.

Gestural strokes also played a part in the background by using the corner of a credit card (rounded edges cut off) to make some expressive marks in the background paint. Also notice that the magenta color was repeated in a couple of places which adds a bit more drama and helps the eye "connect the dots" in the painting. Remember that the eye is always looking for connections.

I prepared the surface for lettering after the acrylics had thoroughly dried....for days actually and then wrote the quote with a pointed pen and Moon Palace Ink. Notice the division of space and the slight variation of values in the background that create another color block. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.