I’m in painting heaven

Posted on | September 24, 2008 | 3 Comments

ah, painting!

It’s been a while since I’ve really spent an entire day – two days in a row, actually – painting. And not just painting, but painting big, sweeping strokes with my largest brushes… It’s been far too long. The thing about painting is that when I get away from it, I forget the fabulous freedom I feel from it; the fantastic release I get from just playing with paint, brushes, and water on a stretched canvas.

Untitled 1 4' wide x 2' high

Well, this weekend, Dave had suggested that one of our walls needed a large painting. I, of course, decided I could certainly oblige and let my mind roll with ideas. I didn’t do anything with it until yesterday. I woke up and started sketching from a drawing I did in Paris. You might recall that I was quite taken by the iron work on the windows of the buildings in Paris. I sketched out my favorite picture and then created about eight different versions of it. I was excited to start in with the painting.

I went and grabbed two large 4′ x 2′ canvases out of the garage, where they’ve been sitting, waiting for me to actually unwrap them for over a year. (I know. Don’t say it. I’m well aware that having them sitting out of sight meant they were out of mind…) Anyway, I brought the canvases into my studio, where I had cleared off the desktop, and I propped up my art journal to sketch out the general shape of the main image. From there, I pulled out my acrylic paints and favorite brushes. And I started to paint. Four layers of paint later, I completed the image above.

I was on that post-creative expression high. It’s such a great feeling! And so I continued coasting and I drew some more in the journal. I looked at the designs I had done earlier and I thought it was time to try some color. I pulled out my colored pencils and experimented with the designs. By the time Dave came home for dinner, I knew what the next morning’s painting was going to be!

Untitled 2 - 4' x 2'

This morning, I jumped right in and sketched the main image of the iron work and then I chose my colors and started layering color upon color. In-between layers, I kept looking at the walls in the house, trying to figure out where to put them. I’m not sure yet… Besides, Dave needs to like them, too, before any decisions are made! This one looks very much like the actual drawing I did in Paris. I don’t have the same kind of control with the brushes as I do with the pens, but that’s half the fun!

And now, I’m tired, but still a bit wired from all this excitement in the studio. I will probably shower (paint ends up ALL OVER me when I get into it!) and then do some more drawing in the journal while I have my afternoon cup of coffee.

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