Friday 28 August 2015

Painting backgrounds

I had a busy and productive day in the studio on Monday again. I put the sheep painting aside for the moment in order to just play with some colours and prepare some backgrounds. I had some colours in mind that I wanted to try out and put on canvas, colours that are a bit less bright than the others I used for the intuitive paintings, and a bit more earthy. I really do like these colours together. There might be some more sheep going on this.


I also had a canvas that I had started with some time ago, and which was waiting to get some more layers on. I had intended for this to be a portrait format, but working a bit more on it, it decided that it wanted to be a landscape. I had thought of painting a coastal scene for some time, inspired by my frequent visits to the beautiful Dorset coast.



The greenish layer in the above picture was actually the leftover paint after trying out a technique that Alisa Burke shared on her blog the other day. When I saw that marbling effect, I knew I had to try it out. When your studio is a carpeted room in your rented flat, you have to be extra careful when going a bit wild with acrylics, but with the help of a big sheet of plastic and a rug, I managed to keep it all under control. Oh I'm longing for the day when I'll have a proper studio space, and don't need to worry about paint getting all over the walls and the floor. Anyway. I only did the one little canvas, but I like how it turned out. I'll definitely have to try it out again.


With so many backgrounds and other works in progress, it looks like I'll be busy for a while. I just have to find the energy to spend more days in the studio than just Mondays. It seems that at the moment, come Friday evening, I am so tired, that I end up spending Saturday and Sunday relaxing and just hanging around. By the time my energy is back and I'm in painting mood, it's back to the office on Tuesday. And it bugs me. Relaxing is good, our bodies need time to recharge. But maybe I could find a better balance. Hopefully, my new meditation and yoga practice will help me with that.



12 comments:

  1. Playing with paint is always fun. Love your canvas and the backgrounds.Happy PPF, hugs, Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the earthy colours you've chosen here and the coastal scene is already looking really good - the technique gives it a wonderfully wild feel. I've recently started yoga and meditation too and it's really does help to balance and centre the mind and it might help focus you on your creativity.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your backgrounds are to my eyes already finished, wonderful paintings! I like the earthy, broken colors, the combination on green and blue.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my ~ such beautiful, luscious backgrounds ~ love them!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh those backgrounds are wonderful....they say so much with their silence.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rich background. I wonder if you had a mixedmedia journal to play in while relaxing on saturday and sunday if that might feed your creative soul. You could just sit on the couch and doodle or spread colour around. It might just kick start your monday! Beautiful so far!

    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  7. luv the texture at the third piece

    have a good weekend

    much love...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Loving the drippage.... stunning paintings!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Loooove!!! Such beautiful backgrounds... they could be very well be done just as they are!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can't wait to see the paintings evolve. I love the look of the ocean in the one.

    ReplyDelete
  11. These are going to be gorgeous. I especially love the first canvas, with all the light that seems to shine through.....

    ReplyDelete