« Iguana Onna |Main | Branching Out »
Neighborhood Heron
March 19, 2009
Neighborhood Heron, 11 x 11 x 3 inches acrylics on canvas started with a base coat of very watered down pthalos green (translucent) mixed with cerulean blue (opaque). Spraying rubbing alcohol over a damp painted water-based surface then allowing it to dry without moving it will create starry, spotty textures. Salt shaken over wet paint allowed to dry, then wiped off with a dry cloth will produce similar effects.
The drama I hoped for by spritzing the surface with rubbing alcohol isn’t there because I sprayed too much and moved it too soon. Impatience may also be a virtue?…the alcohol puddled and did something else instead: it loosened up the entire surface of paint, so using fingernails under a damp smooth t-shirt cloth, I rubbed off areas to shape the heron and winter trees. This was not planned initially, but a super argument for the “wingin’ it” methods!
In less an hour I knew that it was complete, but took a while to shake the thought that an hour was surely not enough time to validate asking a decent price for it. There’s the discrepancy though; some paintings are successfully short and sweet, and others seem to go on forever until they’re finished. It’s all coming from the same place: experience, and how long it takes to bring the message across is not always a factor in price.
In college I took a pottery course for one semester, and the thing I remember most is the instructor saying how it’s a good idea to allow some of the raw characters of the materials we work with to remain and “speak” without trying to smooth over and perfect everything. She was of course referring to clay, but over the years I’ve found that it applies to many other mediums also. In Heron, the branches extend into the body of the bird, connecting it to its environment. The effect also does a subtle play on the motion of its flight too.
 |
Neighborhood Heron, Magic Square series, 11 x 11 x 3 acrylics on canvas, gallery wrapped sides painted | |
| $350.00 |  |
Categories: Art for sale, Magic Square Series, Texas, The Majesty of Trees Collection, Winter, acrylic painting, birds, series, sky | 7 Comments »
7 Responses to “Neighborhood Heron”
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
March 19th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
This is beautiful Nikki.
March 20th, 2009 at 3:28 am
Thank you Elizabeth..I may let this one rest awhile because further work on it might remove the emotion in it…and it’s all about the emotion, right!
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:43 am
This one is really interesting…..wouldn’t be the heron that flies around Richmond (Ontario) is it?
March 23rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
They are such exotic, reagal looking birds aren’t they? I wonder if the herons in Ontario do fly south for the winter? The local herons stay here all winter..there are so many canals in the cities around Dallas and they have no need to leave.
March 23rd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
ooo, ahhhh. Gorgeous!
April 7th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Very cool nice colour!
April 11th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Thanks all – I wasn’t sure 2 weeks ago, but now have decided this is finished.