I hope everyone is having a great December. With Christmas past, the new year is right around the corner. With a new year, comes new projects. A few pieces I've been working on now are for a show in January.
I wanted to work directly on a wooden surface for these pieces. The bleeding of colors works differently when working from paper to wood. There's more drips and stains to experiment with and if you know me, I love experimenting with different art techniques.
After I gave my surface a couple gesso layers, I used watercolor to mark where I wanted my shapes to go, and then used gouache to get my rich dark colors for a second layer of paint. Neither pieces are in their final stages yet. There's still much to be done, but by January, they will be finished and ready for exhibition!
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I use gesso to cover the surface of my painting first so that the colors will not soak into the wood.
Watercolor is a great way for me to lay out my composition. Once that dries, I either go back with more watercolor, or start the gouache stages.
Gouache is applied over the watercolor to deepen and darken the colors I am looking for. At this point, I am almost at the midpoint of the painting. Many more layers of gouache, possibly acrylic and pastels will be added to finish this piece.