Monday 15 July 2013

Two Paintings, one competition and much experimenting!

I've been experimenting again!
These two are the results.

The Fisherman

15 x 11 inches
Saunders Waterford 140 Rough

Toward Skye

15 x 11 inches
Saunders Waterford 140 Rough



The first of the two to be created was Toward Skye.
I poured some blues and blue-greens onto wet, stretched paper.
(I do use a paper stretcher when I know I'm going to use a lot of water. The  one (five!) I have came from a UK seller on ebay, called Arthur, whose page you can find HERE, should you wish to buy one.)

Then I used a spray bottle, with the nozzle set to fine jet, to move the paint around the paper in various patterns.
How do I know where I want to spray the paint? In this case, it was random, because the whole object of this exercise was to make something up from the result of random spraying!
When I'd had enough playing with squirting paint - which by the way - is immense fun, I left it to dry in the sun. (A mere 92 in the garden at that point!)

When the painting was dry, less than five minutes later, I took it inside and propped it against the TV cabinet. I retired to the sofa to contemplate. The whole painting screamed to me 'sea'.
It still needed something, so I decided the something would be seagulls. Two in the top left and one lower right, flying across the ocean to be where his friends were flying. Once the gulls were in, I was satisfied. The painting felt complete.

Because the sea looked good to me, I decided next painting had to be The Fisherman.
This time, I wanted a recognisable face. So firstly I drew him lightly on the paper. Just enough lines to give me a feel for the face. Then I masked the pieces I wanted to stay white. I use a fine needle for applying thin lines of mask. When they were all dry, I wet and stretched the paper.

Once the paper was ready, I poured paint and sprayed it again, this time lighter blues and blue-greens to give the man the feel of the sea. When I was happy with where the colours lay, I stopped spraying.

When that part had dried, I darkened up a few areas, using a damp brush to fade them into the surrounding area. Satisfied, I removed the mask - and the resulting painting is the one you see above.

I quite like pouring and spraying - it's fast, frantic and great fun!
Give it a go - you might enjoy it too!

I've entered The Fisherman into a competition! Ken Bromley Art Supplies (here) have a cover competition once a year. The shortlist will be made public on the 23rd July. I'll let you know if it gets through.

31 comments:

  1. Accidentally I did some spraying myself yesterday, and I agree: great fun! Two wonderful results, Pat! Good luck in the competition!

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    1. When you do it on purpose it's even more fun, Judy :)
      and thanks for your good luck wishes. x

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  2. Hi, Pat, thank you for sharing the precious work and the good post. I heartily hope your work will get in. Go, go, Pat!!!
    Cheers, Sadami

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    1. Thanks, Sadami. The shortlist is announced Tues 23rd July. xx

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  3. These are great Pat! Particularly the stormy waters - great techniques - and it's such fun to experiment! :0)

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    1. The best fun, Sandra. For me its a great hobby!

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  4. These are beatiful Pat! My favorite though is the see painting. Great job, you should do it more often!xx

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    1. Funny you should say that, Renate - I've done some more! xx

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  5. what an interesting technique and it does sound like a lot of fun. The way you did the first one it reminded me of finding pictures in the clouds

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    1. That's exactly what it feels like - finding pictures in the clouds. :)

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  6. Beautiful work Pat. I love the fisherman! Good luck with the competition! xx

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    1. Thanks June! Will let you know how I get on!

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  7. These are quite different, Pat, and I'd like [if you feel lie it] to see more. Good luck with the competition!
    92!!!! WOW!

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  8. I like both paintings Pat. Nice to know how you went about Toward Skye with the spraying, it is a nice free way to paint and a surprise when it all dries. Good luck with the Competition, fingers crossed for you.

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    1. Its a lovely free way to paint. So much so, I named the next sea painting To Be Free :) xx

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  9. Really interesting and what fun you have had. Love the paintings and the story behind them

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    1. Polly, its the most fun ! I'm glad you found it interesting.

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  10. Great experiments and results. I like both. Thank you for sharing your process and good luck in the competition.

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    1. Thanks, Cora. I hope it was easy to follow.

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  11. Dear Pat - You are so right - it is fun...I think some of my most rewarding paintings have been poured or sprayed.
    Love both of these Pat. Good luck with your competition.

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    1. Isn't pouring and spraying so much fun! I've got past the point of every last thing exact and now there's more fun in it!

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  12. thank you for the tips, Pat! I have never used a stretcher before (other than taping my paper down with gum tape). i must give it a try! your fisherman is my favorite. i like the atmosphere the best. reminds me of the salty sea air.

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    1. Thanks Jenny. The stretcher is so easy peasy to use, its a fab invention. I never have to worry about buckling - just as well with the amount of water I threw at it - literally!

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  13. Brilliant! I like the sea one, but then I’m a water baby so I’m prejudiced! Good luck in the competition. I’ll have my fingers crossed for you!

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    1. In a way Robin, they're both sea ones - with the fisherman being a man of the sea :) But you'll be pleased to know there's another sea painting coming up tomorrow.

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  14. Good luck on the competition! It's an excellent picture and should win something.

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    1. Thanks for your confidence, Linda. You're very kind xx

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  15. Both of these are so lovely Pat, and I love how they have the same type of feel to them. The seagulls were a brilliant touch too. :D

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    1. Thanks Crystal. I wanted the man of the sea to feel like the sea, so I'm glad you think he does!

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  16. What fun, Pat! I like both. Very nicely done. Good luck on the competition!

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