Half Surrendered? [24”x36” acrylic on canvas]

Philosophical or spiritual question…  can anybody be half surrendered to a situation, circumstance or person?  I have been pondering this question while I painted today and when I saw the quasi-figure [in the top right] appear, I decided to see if I can take this non-objective painting over to an abstracted reality theme about surrender.  Now you are right inside my head with me…  how does it feel in there?  ;-)

About the paint process:  this is the largest painting I have ever done.  It’s challenging but also very exciting to have the space to do new things.  Acrylic is the perfect medium for this because you can explore as much as you want. 

This first photo is the canvas right now. Step by steps are below for those that are interested…

The first stages of this painting I just explored texture and color using my three colors – thalo turquoise, quinacridone crimson, and quinacridone gold.  These 3 colors combine to make some gorgeous brights and some beautiful neutrals.  The second photo I am faintly glazing areas that are darker in my viewfinder design.  NOTE – I rotate this and look at all orientations in these early stages.

 

Next phase is developing some dark, transparent areas in keeping with the viewfinder design without being “married to it”.  I added quite a bit of texture with stencils at this stage as well as painting dark areas and using various tools to lift texture out of the paint.

Now I began exploring a semi-grid using opaque and translucent paint [white mixed with one or more of the 3 colors and varying amounts of water &/or medium].  I worked meditatively [ie half thinking, half day-dreaming] and I use the texture from the last layer to guide where I put down these passages of paint.  After I painted the translucent grid in the top right, I got back from the painting and in this portrait orientation I noted the figure with right hand raised… 

I’m enjoying the opaque shapes above but I’ve built some walls that need to have bridges…  those solid opaques stop the eye from moving about.  We’re left thinking “why is THAT so solid when nothing else is?”  So, I misted those opaques and used a stencil and made some bridging marks – transparent over opaque and translucent over transparent. 

Then I tried putting a hand on the figure and I decided this would be a good point to quit for today…  not entirely sure that hand is working.  Fun painting session!  Many more to come on this painting…

     

Ciao!

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