Stepping out of the box
For some reason, for the longest time I believed artists had to choose a medium and stick with it. I was a “pen and ink” person for a long time. Even when I decided to paint, it was acrylics and that was home. Thankfully, I was gifted a watercolor pen set and realized that was really fun and different. It also gave me a new perspective on my acrylic painting. Then, I took a pencil drawing class which not only opened my eyes to new techniques but reminded me how much I love it. That also gave me a new perspective on my acrylic painting.
As a human being wandering about in society, we do tend to stick to what is familiar and what feels safe. However, that can quickly stale, and we become blind to the really important things right in front of us, like family. We forget to be grateful for the things in our safe little box and I truly believe gratefulness is the key to happiness. We have many ways to keep things fresh in our lives. “Stopping to smell the roses” may be a cliche but it’s a good one. Taking a look around and seeking out the beauty in our environment is a wonderful and simple way to come back to ourselves. Trying new things, even if it’s something as unremarkable as going to a new restaurant or driving a different route to work, can help break us out of the feeling of automatically going through our repetitive days. I’m thankful I have my art to keep my eyes and mind open.
One of the ways I can do that is keeping a sketchbook. As a “representational wildlife” painter, drawing is really important! If I can’t sketch out my design accurately, my wildlife isn't going to look right, no matter how good my painting techniques might be. Now, I keep a sketchbook with me in my daily travels. I don’t get to practice in it as much as I would like but it’s there when I think of it and have a moment. I also use it to work out composition for my larger, more involved work and someday it’s pages will find themselves in a blog, I’m sure.
After finishing 2 large and involved acrylic pieces: The Sentinel and The Equanimity of a Tiger, I decided to step out of my comfort zone again and play with some oil paints (and take a break from fur!) Oils and acrylics are often compared with oils getting a little more respect. I have found that even though the final product may seem similar, they really are very different and lend themselves to different techniques and approaches.
“Sailor’s Delight” was painted in acrylic but would have been SO much easier with oils!
Acrylic paints dry very quickly so blending has to be done in layers. Actually, everything has to be done in layers. They are easy to thin with water and make for easy, chemical free clean up. Because of their transparent nature, and using lots of layers, they require a LOT of paint. I had always thought of them as being less expensive but to be honest, they are not! They are forgiving, in that a mistake can be painted over and an opaque titanium white works as a great eraser.
Oils take forever to dry with paintings taking months to fully cure. The plus is that blending is easy and working wet colors over other wet colors can give a painting a beautiful cohesiveness. Letting a painting dry a few days or more can still allow an artist to use layers to create the desired effect. The thicker oil paints not only require less actual paint to cover the canvas (so even though the tubes of paint cost more than acrylics, but you also use a lot less), texture can be more easily rendered. Oils can be pretty forgiving also. Just wipe it off if it’s not dry, or paint over it if it is. They do require a turpentine, or derivatives of, for clean-up. However, I found using turpeniod in a “brush cleaning tank” made this very easy and safe.
These studies were done in oils and (with one minor exception) in one sitting so the “alla prima” method of applying wet paint right over wet paint was used. The buttery consistency of oil paint gives it a very different feel from acrylic when applying brush to canvas. Manipulating colors over each other was quite rewarding.
From top left clockwise: "Before the Storm", "Aftermath", "Moon Study", "The Chase" (barn swallow) and "Barn Owl Study".
I am looking forward to creating art from all of the mediums I have tried! I have ideas to do charcoal drawings over acrylic paint on canvas as well as oil paints over acrylic backgrounds. What I am learning from this can also be applied to my life. Staying creative and not allowing oneself to be labeled and boxed is so important. We have so many facets to ourselves so don’t let walls define you! “I can’t” is a box. Step out of that box and see what you are really capable of!