"Come To The Feast"

($150.00......12" x 12"....Acrylics on 300 lb. HP....Mounted on a 1.50" depth Clayboard)

"The table of the Lord is set with flowers and food. Come to the feast!" This is a 12" x 12" acrylic painting created for the Easter Exhibit. This quote was based on a parable from Luke 14. You might want to check it out for all of the details.

Today I am convinced that artists must have the patience of Job! Trying to wait on acrylic paint to dry is like watching water boil. It simply takes forever...especially when done with a palette knife. Between the hair dryer and a fan, I finally finished this piece. 

You may remember seeing the draft several days ago. The very abstract flowers are a bit more defined and I also made a title change. The thing that kept me going on this piece is the amount of texture and very simple shapes and division of space. The black centers keep your eye moving from one area to another. The blue flowers make one continuous shape and touch three sides of the design space. The two white flowers also touch all four sides.  To have a dynamic painting, the major shapes should touch at least two sides of the design space.

I kept the lettering light and airy to match the mood of the piece. But I must say that writing on this surface was no easy task! If you could see the original, you would see how textural it really is, and it didn't help that with my first try, I thought the paint was dry, but discovered it was still wet underneath. 

If my time constraints weren't so tight, it would definitely have been better to let it dry for a day or two before lettering. Lesson learned! And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Abundance" (unfinished)

(unfinished piece....acrylics on 300 lb. HP)

"I have come that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance." (Amplified Version) This piece does not yet have the scripture inclusion because it is not finished. This is acrylic with a very heavy application with a palette knife and now needs a day or two to dry. I will post the finished piece sometime next week.

It is often quite nice to see the progression of work rather than the finished piece. Because time is of the essence, this works for me this particular week since an Easter Exhibit is right around the corner. However, the past several postings of gestural writing and versals will come into play again as I come closer to the finish line. 

Nothing shows that art is a process like seeing things in steps. It is very instructive to take photographs of your work in progress so as not to forget how you actually did the piece (6) months from now. I guarantee you will not remember what you did unless you record the process with your digital camera and also save actual cropped off piece of the actual paint with notes.  

This is a 12" x 12" painted on 300 lb. HP with acrylic paint and a palette knife. It is simply too late in the game to do oils which have such a long drying and curing process...especially if you paint heavier and with a palette knife. However, for any of you on my art team who have waited to the last hour to work in oils, you will need to go get some Krylon Quick Dry for oil paints and spray your piece every day all this next week with a fan blowing on it 24/7. The Quick Dry allows the painting to continue to dry through the layering of spray.

Since my primary artistic voice includes gestural marks and lettering, the acrylic paint will give me a better opportunity to include any kind of lettering with pen, ink or gouache that I want by preparing the surface for lettering after the acrylic paint has dried. The "take away" from today is to photograph or record your process if you truly want to gain ground with every piece. The quote...."A picture is worth a thousand words."....hold very true in this process of creating art. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.