AS MUCH AS I’M INSPIRED BY THE BEACH AND WATER, the warm comfort felt while driving through the mountains engulfs me with a sense of calm and security. Being surrounded by these mammoth shapes that tower over you is like getting a hug. There are patterns, colors and textures galore to draw upon for inspiration. In this next project the strata of rocks cut out to make way for a highway that I recently traveled through inspired me, but the finished painting came out more like a pathway leading through the desert at sunset. The beauty of abstract painting is that the viewer can take away whatever meaning or emotion he or she derives from a work of art. Your job is to infuse the emotion in the process of creating it in the first place. Don’t be surprised if your art takes twists and turns that veer away from your original starting point.
Assorted brushes
Assorted fluid acrylics: Gold, Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold, Pyrole Red, Sap Green, Titan Buff, Van Dyke Brown
Black gesso
Crackle paste
Fiber paste
Glass bead gel
Hardbord
Matte medium
Modeling paste
Palette knife
Sandpaper
Titanium White soft body acrylic
White chalk, black water-soluble pencil
Paint your Hardbord surface with black gesso and allow it to dry. Section off your surface with a white chalk pencil to re-create the strata of the layers of a mountain. Imagine driving along a highway where the mountains have been cut away to make room for the roads. Imagine an imperfect strata of layers, featuring earthy colors and textures.
Apply modeling paste into some of the sections with the palette knife. You want to be uneven with the application and encourage a variety of marks and texture.
Continue layering a variety of textural mediums in various sections. (Glass beads, fiber paste and crackle paint are just a few of the texture mediums available.) Your goal is to create the illusion of rough rock formations. Allow it to dry six hours or more. If the mediums feel cold to the touch or are tacky, they will need more dry time.
Once it’s dry, gently sand off any loose medium pieces. Apply a layer of matte medium to provide an isolation layer between the surface and the mediums. Allow the matte medium to dry before proceeding.
The chalk lines might disappear as you’re painting on the matte medium, but that’s okay. You can redraw them later.
Begin building up the painting layers by starting with a warm, rich gold tone. The metallic color will also infuse light into the finished work.
Use earthy tones for this composition since you’re imitating nature. Draw inspiration from mountain ranges you’ve seen and the variety of colors that exist in the land. After you add Gold, blend Titan Buff with both a brush and your fingers to achieve an uneven but soft look.
For your first few layers of color, try not to overthink the application. Work quickly as you move around the piece adding different hues as you see fit. This helps to achieve a more natural look and to not feel forced. At this stage, use Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold and Pyrole Red. Blot up the wet paint to reveal interesting patterns.
Mix Van Dyke Brown with white and Titan Buff. Van Dyke Brown is a translucent color so it must be mixed with the other colors to appear on the black background. Scratch into the wet paint to create texture as you go.
Don’t feel like you need to paint over the entire background. You can allow some of the black base to show through. Doing so adds to the dimension and suggests the separation of shapes.
Mix Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold with Van Dyke Brown to get a warm dark brown mixture. Spray water over the piece and pull up the color with a paper towel. Glaze over the bottom of the substrate with a Sap Green and glazing medium mixture to suggest grass.
Continue to build up the colors and textures until you are satisfied. You can employ many, if not all, of the processes discussed in previous exercises. To add more defined lines between the sections or shapes that emerge, outline them with black paint.
Add final details with pencils or other drawing medium. Draw small rocks and circles. Evaluate your work and incorporate contrasting colors, if needed.
UNEARTH
11" × 17" (28cm × 43cm), acrylics, ink and drawing mediums on Yupo paper
THE MAZE
12" × 12" (30cm × 30cm), acrylics, textural mediums, drawing mediums on Ampersand Hardbord