Let It Go!

A couple of weeks ago a friend asked if I would help her create a large (48"x36") abstract canvas. I said "of course". So to make a long story short, we got together, figured out a few criteria. The first being, it had to have lots of texture; second, was to narrow down three main colours and thirdly, the painting had to be abstract.
Simple, right!

The pour with fluid acrylics.

 The first major hurdle was to get rid of all that pristine white canvas. We did a pour with fluid acrylics; we used tons of water to move the paint around and then simply let it dry.

Cheese cloth and tissue paper.

 Then after working on the piece with lots of darks, mid tones and lights with layers of paint, we added texture. Simply by adhering the cheese cloth and tissue paper to the canvas using matte medium.

Drips and dribbles

 Now that the texturized portion of the painting was fired we added more depth with the use of darks and adding more blues with mid tones allowing the paint to drip down the piece creating more depth.

We decided it was a good time for lunch. My friend made a lovely spinach/strawberry salad, my favourite along with some fancy cheese, crackers and bread. Dessert was divine...and oh so delicious.

Now it was back to the studio (aka "the garage"). The paint was completely dry now. Onto the next stage - maybe the final stage of this piece, one never knows until the painting speaks to you.

We continued to add more texture by using a spattering technique...not too much. Then the final stage was the addition of an iridescent gold colour.

The finish painting!

I am so proud of my friend to take this risk of trying something totally new, scary and definitely out of her comfort zone. We collaborated together and together created something unique, original and beautiful.

Thank you my friend for giving me the opportunity to share this experience with you. Now all we need to do is to come up with a name deserving of this piece.

Happy creating....until next time!

Nadine