Don’t rain on my parade simply because sometimes when you start a painting it feels like it will not work. Transferring an image from head to paper is not always straightforward. The original ideas for the Light Series painting, Ringwald, revolves around the rain and the extra reflections rain gives to the light quality on a set of trees. The first square sketch drawing was of pale blues and cool greys. The image built in my mind from journeys in January and February 2016.
The colour swatch sketch began to pull in the pink that I was seeing as I was driving the route, again, at the same time in 2017. Still with a mind to the rain I did a medium test with silver acrylic paint and pearlescent opaque colours which set to a gloss finish. I was not sure that would translate to a larger piece.
A pattern test using luminescent medium and a collage of newspapers began to look like a possible way to show the rain. Then on a grey dull day, on a temporary, but warm, work-space on the dining table, I started to use a long green flower support from my mother’s house to apply the paint and create the tree trunks.Eureka! I had found the moving image that was in my head. I then changed the shape of the canvas to better frame and give emphasis to the slender tall trees. Translating that to the larger canvas saw more experimentation with paint and layering. Enjoying the mark making the final painting became less abstract in form.
The changing light of the day reflects off the layers of the painting too altering the overall tone of the sky and the ground. Translating that to the larger canvas saw more experimentation with paint and layering. The changing light of the day reflects off the layers of the painting too altering the overall tone of the sky and the ground.
Movement comes from the marks made plus the silver acrylic sheen, and the luminescent medium mixed with some colours which reacts to light and the viewers shadow as they move in front of the final painting.
[See the story behind Ringwald in the previous blog.]
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