catfish_charlie

I was trying a different technique for this one; it's basic sgraffito, but my goal was to use layers of acrylic with drying retarder to get a good, clean line when the surface area was scraped into. It turned out exactly as I'd hoped it would. A layer of clear gel between the two color coats allows the under-painting to remain free of color contamination by the top coat.

This painting is a revisitation (sort of an evolution) of the abstract self-portrait I made almost a year ago. The first one is posted a ways back in this journal.

Title: "Burning Through the Mask"
Medium: Acrylic on stretched canvas
Size: 11" x 14"
© Copyright K.L. Turner 2008

This painting is like a spontaneous road trip where you think you are going one place, but somewhere between home and where you planned to go you decide to take a detour and wind up somewhere totally unexpected with delightful results. If you've never done that, I strongly recommend trying it.

My original goal for this painting was something soft and organic, with roundish shapes gently back-lit by a greenish light. Once I started painting in the green patterns for the background, I found myself enjoying them so much that I knew I wanted to do something else instead. I added a splash of red to balance the composition and then stepped away from the painting for a bit to decide where I wanted to go next. This was what it looked like at that point;



I don't know why but the impression of tenement columns (or maybe it was fish bones or bridge supports) was the theme that kept popping into my skull, so I grabbed the knife and roughly placed the forms that were in my head onto the canvas. After that, I just added details and highlights with a liner brush. One of the greatest challenges I have is knowing when to quit, so once it became obvious that any further additions would only change the painting and not necessarily improve it, I decided to call it "done".



"Architext", 20 x 16 inches, acrylic on canvas
As for the name, well, don't even ask.

I had a late night impulse (or early morning rather as it was about 3:00 AM) to create this image. This is NOT a digitally altered picture, this is the unaltered original photograph. I used fluorescing pigments on my face to get this effect. I did use a digital brush merely to black out a few white specks in the black at the bottom of the picture.

Problem is, I like this image both full and cropped close and simply can't choose between them. I think the answer is that I must revisit this concept again with a bit more planning to see if I can make a composition that has the elements of both that appeal to me.

Title: "The Seer, The Dreamer"
Media: Photograph, Kodak digital Z712 IS

Crop 1;


Crop2;

Here are the latest two from my Zodiac series, this makes 8 finished- only 4 more to go! Pisces is up on eBay, Taurus I will list tomorrow.

Title: Pisces
Medium: Oil pastel and colored pencil on Bristol vellum
Size: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Status: For Sale (Click image to go to auction)




Title: Taurus
Medium: Oil pastel and colored pencil on Bristol vellum
Size: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Status: For Sale Soon (Click image to go to eBay store)



And because I needed a break from constellations I decided to paint a blossoming cherry tree (the crabapples around here are inspiring!)

Title: Awakening
Medium: Oil pastel and colored pencil on Bristol vellum
Size: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Status: For Sale (Click image to go to auction)

Two more completed today, I am listing Scorpio for sale today and Libra tomorrow. Next to be finished will be Pisces.


Title: Scorpio
Medium: Oil pastel and colored pencil on Bristol vellum
Size: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Status: For Sale (Click image to go to auction)



Title: Libra
Medium: Oil pastel and colored pencil on Bristol vellum
Size: 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
Status: For Sale Soon (Click image to go to eBay store)