Acrylics on wood panel, Part 1

Night forest No.1, Session 1

This is the first part. For part two please see Acrylics on wood panel, Part 2.

It’s not really session 1. There was much sketching and revising on paper beforehand. But this is not what this post is about ^_^.* I am not even sure what this post is about (to be honest) … other than this strange thing that happens when you re-start.

There were many things getting in my (creative) way since “The Fox and the Wolf”—the renovations, the new studio, winter, work… stuff…

And then one late afternoon there is all of a sudden an empty canvas – well, in my case a recycled plywood panel, but that sounds less … not “poetic”, this is not a poem, … less “something” – in front of you, your tools are arranged around you (and yes, that really important glazing medium has dried out, but on this afternoon it’s not the end of the world), and the image hovers just around the edges of your consciousness, and you know it’s that time.

Time to enter the Night Forest and see what the guys are up to…

1) Recycled plywood board, sanded and cleaned, leaving ‘uneven patches’ (layers of old stains).

2) Base layers using Fluid Acrylics thinned with GAC-500 Extends Fluid Acrylics (Golden – there is not much else available in New Zealand… ). Let each layer dry completely, before applying the next one**.

2a) Adding glazing layers using Polymer Medium (gloss)

3) Turn panel from time to time to paint back with Gesso to avoid bending

4) More layers until the starlit night just shines through…

5) Transfer outline onto panel.

6) Knowing when it is time to step back and go to bed…

… to be continued soon …

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*) There is never a session 1 in (my) creative process anyways. There are just loose ends floating around, and if I am lucky I can catch one … but this is not what this post is about either.

**) Writing random blogpost between the layers dry is optional…