untitled three

It's only March and 2011 has been one hard year all around the world.  My heart and prayers go out to Japan and many other places, seems like trouble everywhere!
I'm still drawing with paint and there in no texture, just staining.  I'm starting to think about color as I finish the composition and move the paint to the outside edges.  Still trying to develop the skull through water and land so that it's a dreamy ghostly image.  I'm also working on the outcry along the edges.  Starting now to consider titles speaking to this year of tragedy.

untitled two

This completes the staining process for now, which is watered down acrylic into a paste and painted with no texture.  At this point I'm thinking about the images I wish to project into center stage.  You will see the world through these projected images.  I will start to glaze now (watered down acrylic transparent in nature) to push back the world into a dream state.  When I'm glazing I also spatter; I like the effects that spatter adds to the dream look.  Then I will stain out the rest of the canvas and load a new photo.

As Yet Untitled

I'm going to post my progress on this painting through the different processes; this should be fun.  This stage is setting up the basic composition and establishing under paint.  It's what I often refer to as the ugly stage and paintings here can often take a turn.  I struggled with a subject I did not want to paint, painted it in twice and painted it out, and now I'm on track with a new subject.  Here the paint is thin and easily covered.  Under paint always adds to the character of the finished work.  This painting is four and a half feet tall and six and a half feet wide, acrylic on canvas, soon to be acrylic collage on canvas.