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The
creative process is far advanced by the time the brush wets the
canvas. The pulse of the painting is set. The flow is in motion.
The tone and the temper are sounded..... It only remains to meld
technique with thought.
Technique is
an ongoing, ever changing process of combining mediums with timing
and movement of the body to achieve exciting and sensitive effects.
The best pieces at the same time elude and convince the viewer.
I limit my medium
(the materials used on the painting surface) to oil paints or oil
pastels. Due to the humid climate here in Belize I never use linseed
oil as it encourages mildew. I use only turpentine to mix and thin
the oils and although I have painted on Ampersand board, I prefer
a fine grade of cotton canvas.
Canvases are
painstakingly prepared to achieve a paper like surface. I use my
fingers to do this rather than using a brush. The medium in this
case is Grumbacher MG quick drying white underpaint. This first
step can take days. I have tried to cut down on the time spent or
skip it entirely but I am never as confident in my relationship
with the paint when working on another ground.
Some paintings
or portions of paintings are done using classic watercolor techniques.
On detailed pieces, I start usually somewhere near the middle of
the painting and work my way to the outer edges, finishing small
bits as I go in a "paint by number" style. On some paintings I use
the Grumbacher Quick dry white underpainting medium to build up
areas to perhaps 1/2 inch thick, allowing the paint to dry for weeks
before rubbing these areas with paint straight from the tube or
making several washes of different colors and throwing the paint
all over the canvas causing different colors to run every which
way. To achieve the fine details of the faces, I use a very soft
brush and a delicate hand. The success of this technique depends
partly on the texture of the surface upon which I am painting. Another
technique is to scribble on the canvas with oil pastels, mix a thick
wash of paint, throw it on, let it set awhile and blot some of it
up with a crumpled paper towel.
Being a mother,
a wife, a hotel operator, a procrastinator and a poor manager of
my time I have never really been able to start a piece of art and
work straight through until it is finished thus, many of my techniques
have developed around my life style. They have evolved from the
tendency to have to work in small blocks of time. Certainly that
is how the "paint by number" method came about. I'm always trying
something new and sometimes I make major mistakes. If I do, I never
paint over something. I scrub it out.
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