working with new materials

new work: Mountain View

I'm not much of a chemist, but, as a mixed media artist, I am curious how materials work together.  A good part of my creative week was spent experimenting with new combinations of materials, including a client project that involves painting on polyester film and adhering the design to the wall.  Exploring new project ideas can be a little tricky, and there always seems to be a surprise finding.  I never thought, for example, that I would end up using Mod Podge for a client project!

On my latest trip to the art store, I picked up an eco-friendly paint board.  Although I love painting on wood panels, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out a new "green" art product.  The board, made by Fredrix, is surprisingly very light.  Its base is made solely from vegetable-based and recycled components.

The Nature Core boards are not ready-to-hang like the wood panels I use, but I found the rigid surface very easy to paint on.  I would definitely consider purchasing more in the future.

Another material I ended up experimenting with this week was Gamblin's FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colors.  I actually love working with oil paints but have found acrylic to be more conducive to my painting style and routine.  I recently heard about FastMatte's rapid drying quality (for oil paint, mind you) and was excited to test it out on a work in progress.

Remember this piece that I had deconstructed (via chipping and sanding) and created a new landscape scene on top of it?

I ultimately wanted more of a monochromatic look, so  I used FastMatte Phthalo Green and Titanium White to create different tones of mint green. 

The painting is much more soothing and calm now, don't you think?  It still isn't finished, but getting there.

Like its name suggests, the FastMatte collection dries to a chalky matte within a day's time.  Because of this quality, artists use FastMatte colors for underpainting.  Just a few weeks ago, Gamblin announced an expanded palette of 24 colors.  The 16 new colors are sure to please all the plein air artists out there!

I want to thank all of you who stopped by my show at Buy Some Damn Art.  I'm thrilled that four of the six paintings sold the first day of the show.  Sleeping Mountain (shown above) is one of the two works currently available.