TEXTURIZING GESSO

I have four applications on my desk for national competitions. The deadlines are varied but one is April 1st, so I was going through my files trying to decide which images to submit to which competitions. It can get tricky at times. I have to be careful not to submit the same image to more than one society. The time frame from submitting the slide to receiving the painting back from an exhibit is around 5 or 6 months, so most paintings can only be submitted once in one year as the competitions cluster and overlap. The other consideration is what is allowed by each society in the way of mixed media. Some of these societies are very traditional and don't allow any adulteration of the surface and no opaque paint, even Naples Yellow watercolor. Some people paint for a specific show but I prefer to paint without pressure to produce. The ones that feel successful are the ones I consider entering into competitions. It doesn't matter what style or preferred subject the judge's work takes. The competitions are always balanced and varied. Pick your best work, send in the forms and pray to the art gods. Sometimes you make the cut and sometimes you don't. I stopped taking it personally a few years ago after Chung Kee Chee didn't make the cut in a show I was rejected. I figured I was in good company and even the celebrated masters don't bat 1000. Almost all of the competitions now allow digital files. In fact, one show prefers digital files sent in an e-mail. They are charging an additional $10 if you wish to submit slides! Technology is making inroads and we better make sure to keep up.

I found this image in my files. Since I talked about covering a disaster of a painting with gesso to salvage the paper, I thought I would post this idea for stamping into gesso while it is wet to create a texture. I did not dilute the gesso. Once the gesso dried, I painted over it. It accepted the paint pretty well. I never did get the name of the person who bought this one.