Technique

Well, maybe not entirely about technique.  Until now I've only posted examples of my works on paper.  I thought it might be a good time to post and discuss a few of my paintings.

I work mainly with acrylic artist paints and sometimes latex house paints  on various surfaces.  I think the support I like most is birch plywood panels which I prepare myself.  I also paint on stretched canvas panels, fiberboard, and canvas sheets (Fredrix brand).  Lately I've been using surface abrasion to take back paint layers.  The hard surface of the wood panels seems to work best for this process.

I have one painting in particular that shows the effect of surface abrasion.  I have one other piece that I haven't yet photographed.  I'll put it in a separate post at a later date.  Anyway here's the one I've completed using this technique.

The Day the Sun Was Square

acrylic on birch plywood, 24"X24"

This painting started with a lot of raised lines (texture) on the lower layers.  After the abrasive process is complete, the surface is very smooth and flat.  Most often I use a small wood rasp that looks much like a fine cheese grater to cut back the layers.  The painting started much like the earlier drawings - with no forethought to subject or direction.  As it evolved I began to be reminded of the scene outside my upstairs studio window.  The scene is a wall of tangled woods with the back porch roof in the foreground.  I added the "square" sun as a kind of rebellion against the paintings seeming representation of a familiar visual image.

The next painting is latex and acrylic on a Fredrix canvas sheet.  For the painting process I mounted the sheet on a drawing board to give it a firm support.  I used mostly a large palette knife to apply the paint.  I may have also used paint markers (Elmer's) for the finer lines - don't really remember.

Blackbirds

acrylic and latex on canvas sheet mounted on fiberboard, 16"X20"

After the painting was complete, I removed it from the drawing board and mounted it to an equal sized fiberboard panel using PVA glue.  The title comes from my own narrative impression of the painting.  In this case I was reminded of a flock of blackbirds or starlings fluttering in a bush or tree.

The next painting uses very traditional techniques.  I used acrylic paints and maybe a little latex house paint applied with brushes to a small square stretched canvas panel.  Again, the process is very extemporaneous with no forethought to subject.

Ghostwriter

acrylic on canvas, 12"X12"

As with the others, the title is my narrative impression of the the final result.  In this case I see ghostly figures and linear marks that appear as impressions of abstract writing.  I'm sometimes surprised at what figures manifest themselves when the subconscious takes over.

I'll be back again with more pieces of art and other discussion topics,

Steve