CLOSER AND CLOSER

WHIPLASH finished

This is the final version (I think) of my lastest painting, an acrylic on canvas.  I purchased a book on abstract textures in acrylic and started to play around.  The first instruction was to create a design with horizontal movement.  I put some dark diagonal splotches on top of the yellow ochre and viola!  I saw two eyes, and a nose!!  Can't fight the inevitable, I guess.  I went looking through my resource images to find something that would fit what showed up and found this wonderful face of  actor J. K. Simmons who played the despotic musical instructor in the movie Whiplash.   Great face, almost demonic.  I was able to pull lots of wonderful closeups by stopping the DVD and taking screen shots.    I have been working on this painting everyday and kept painting back into it.  I wanted to try and save the initial texture I created.   Wish I had more of the original but happy with the final results.  I photographed the painting at the end of each day.  Below is how the painting developed.  I wanted to keep it loose and more impressionistic.  I am getting closer and closer to that style.

 

WHIPLASH FINISHED

I will be traveling for a few weeks and hope to bring home some new inspiration for future paintings.

lnspiration for future paintings.

 

TRANSPARENT

While I await my next Immigrant participant, I have been experimenting incorporating images drawn and painted on a transparent material called Duralar.   This is an image I traced from a drawing I did in one of my sketch books.  First, and ink outline and then painted with very transparent acrylics.

This is an old painting I covered over with hand made collage papers.   I like it too much to take a chance putting some image directly on the surface.  I have ruined many good starts and had to cover over the mess and start over.  Using this new technique, I can preview how it will look before I take the plunge.

Here is the finished product.