Lean In

Did you read the previous post?  Did you guess which painting would get the makeover?

When I finished this pour, I was pretty sure I'd be using it as a background or changing it in some way.  While it has an impressive number of cells, it seemed to lack structure or focal point.  So I set it aside until one day I glanced at it, not really thinking about what to do with it, when I began to see something.  Do you see it?

I'll give you a second,

or two.

Okay, time's up.  Here's a hint.

I could have left it at that but I decided I wanted color.

I tried out several ideas on Autodesk.

Using acrylic washes is a bit tricky.  I wanted to be able to see the details of the underpainting, but still have true, even colors. 

I may tweak it a bit more, but for now I'm calling it done.  

Wait, no, I'm calling it Lean In.

I lived in Kansas for about 25 years. 

Kansas, named for the Kansa Tribe, aka People of the South Wind.

I learned the best way to keep your footing in the wind is to lean into it.

Challenges

We all face them from time to time. Sometimes they're welcomed; other times, not so much.

One kind of challenge I welcome is an art group challenge.  It can give direction, boundaries; helpful when the options are vast.

I recently participated in a pouring group challenge:  create a piece, using any acrylic pouring technique, but using only blacks and whites.

First I tried out a technique using string dipped in paint and pulled across wet paint.  A lot of fun. 

Some of the details are so pretty.

Next, a dirty flip cup.  It went mostly grey but I got a gazillion cells. Go ahead, count 'em.

And last, but not least, a puddle pour. Oh the drama!

I'm still amazed at the variety achieved, even when using the same materials.  

Speaking of challenges, this post started out with a different idea but because I find keeping my focus and staying on topic a challenge, it went a different direction.  No worries!  Come back for my next entry when I get back on track.  Hint: one of the paintings above got a makeover.

Test, test, this is a ...

I love it when a simple test swatch produces such fun results. I was just testing some custom mixes for a black and white challenge. I dribbled some of each on a 4 inch square of paper. After a little swiping and swirling, I ended up with this:

I usually take few pictures of the results, just in case. And I'm often rewarded. This time I didn't see it at first. Really.  But once I did, I couldn't not. 

So, I just had to play with it 😉 in Autodesk. 

If only it wasn't the size of a postage stamp!