May 20, 2012 — original post
This painting was the largest I have done to date! (See the pic below with me in it for the scale). And it still needs a title.
I got the canvas outside of the street and I had to repurpose it because it was just too big to pass up. I’d tried to cover up the very thick and linear patterns underneath, but its so big that I quickly ran out of modeling paste. I felt so compelled to experience the freedom of doing such a large piece that I continued on without it.
I dived in without a sketch, and it turned out to make this effervescent floral abstraction with bits of some fave petals, including nuances of pink peonies and a lavender “snail vine flower.” I finished quite quickly, but then all i could see was those straight lines raising up from underneath the paint where the previous painting was. I thought it was ruined and all this work would go to waste.
Then I called another painter friend of mine who said just “make it work” into the painting, rise to the challenge of making it even better because of that. So that’s what I did—I went for it and traced the lines in black, adding shadows and implied depth of form. Now I think it’s even more interesting and says something about mystery perhaps music or locked gates…
Do you know what it reminds you of? Because I can’t really think what the title of this painting should be. I’m taking suggestions!
Prints available on Etsy and Fine Art America.