We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
"Little Gidding"
T S Eliot

Saturday 27 January 2018

Infinite possibilities ...

I've been juggling too many projects recently! My floor is covered in "project trays".  These trays hold all the materials for each project so that I can find things easily. But it is not so good when you have to negotiate an obstacle course to get to my work table!

Anyway, following on from my first experience of acrylic pouring (for more detail see here), I decided to have another go with a pour and a swipe!

I've done these on pieces of mount board, about 8 inches by 5 inches.

This is a cup pour, and I used chalk paints and an interference paint too. Both worked, but it is impossible to photograph the effect of the interference paint which gives a lovely glow.


Next I tried a swipe using an old credit card, and the swipe colour is black. I included gold too.


Fascinating to watch the cells develop, and I didn't use any heat.

I had one failure, but only due to the fact I was doing it on a small piece of mount board. This should have been another swipe using a damp kitchen paper towel. I had to hold the towel with two hands, and with the board being so lightweight ... well the towel just swiped the board across the table!

So I dripped more paint on and took to blowing through a straw to see what happened ... quite interesting!


There are plenty of videos on You Tube about acrylic pouring. I prefer a pour to a swipe, and I do like the effects created. I'm now thinking about incorporating some in a painting.

Lovely to see some snowdrops and winter cyclamens; the days are getting longer, and I felt the warmth in the sun yesterday - happy days.


Saturday 13 January 2018

Open Sesame ...

The fourth project in my acrylics course was to create an eastern doorway using stencils.  I found several references for shapes, colour and texture, and I decided to use a canvas board for this piece.

I did an under-painting first, and then used resin sand for the distressed wall (I added colour first), which I applied with a palette knife.

The surround I painted a dark blue and then used a stencil with two shades of gold.

The inner surround is paste through another stencil.

The door itself I have "studded" using a pearl pen, which creates 3D dots. I found 2 rings in my box of delights, no idea where they came from, but perfect for handles.


There is a saying that I came across many years ago, and which has stayed with me - no idea who said it -

There are things known and things unknown,
and in between are the doors.

Only two more projects on my course, and I've managed to keep up apart from the very first project, which is still waiting to be finished!

Happy 2018!