Sunday, May 24, 2009

Art Challenge #9: Behind Closed Doors

12" by 16" canvas sheet
I can mount it on foamcore if desired
available $75.00 includes shipping
email me for PayPal invoice

This is the my entry to The Artist's Challenge #9 Behind Closed Doors. This was lots of fun to both compose and paint.

For the composition, I had to think how I could show what was behind the door without showing it. I knew I wanted a dog, you may recognize Erin from her photo on the sidebar!! So, what would a dog want? Companionship! Next was what to name the door, presuming it was an entrance to a store or place. That was the hardest part!

For the painting, there are so many things to decide and there is no right or wrong. Have a door, as shown from a street, half a door; I chose the solid door without other embellishment. The thing I do want to say about painting it is I started with a black canvas. On that, I painted gold interference - Wow - instantaneous results, a chemical reaction I guess. That was interesting. I also wanted clean straight lines, so used an artist grade tape but honestly was disappointed. I'm not used to such precision and they (straight lines) looked out of place. I then used a spatter brush & a funny brush to distress the straight lines. Finally, I was happy with the look of the door. Just took more processes than I originally imagined.

Have you every used a spatter brush? The first time I used it, I was real pleased. I used a soft body acrylic in off white on a black background. It put a very fine mist on the canvas. This time, I used a hard body acrylic in dark colors on dark background & even thinning it with water, just didn't seem to spatter. I'm wondering if the little speciality brush is worth it?

Thanks for stopping by,
Goodnight

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