As a mixed media artist, I have used pre-made stamps to add additional elements in art journals. I did not, however, think of stamps as a potential focal point in an image until I saw a couple of tutorials about using fresh fruits and vegetables as organic stamps. I decided to explore creating my own fruit and vegetable stamps because I think it’s a great way for beginners to “cheat”, and by that I mean get a tiny bit of extra help while sharpening their observation skills. The are some collages I created of my first experiments with fruit and vegetable stamps using tangerines, limes, onions, and mushrooms. Try them yourself and treat this a FUN exercise – no art critics allowed! I think the collages are self-explanatory, but you are welcome to contact me with questions or post them in the comments section. Feel free to print and/or use these images for classroom or personal use.
I recently took an impasto painting class using acrylic paint at Northaven Gardens from artist Melanie Brannan. Impasto is a technique where paint is applied to a substrate in thick layers. Due to its thickness and slow drying time, oil painting is historically considered the medium best suited for the impasto technique; however, a similar effect can be achieved in acrylic painting through the use of products designed to slow the drying time of acrylic paint and build texture.
Class
For this class, we were tasked with completing an abstract landscape painting in using acrylic paint on a piece of 10″ x 10″ wood panel. Ms. Brannan had example paintings for us to see, but no actual photographs as the goal was to intuitively create an imaginary landscape.
Materials
Birch Wood Panel
Golden Heavy Gloss Gel*
Golden Molding Paste*
Palette of Golden* acrylic colors – white, yellow, red, green, blue, and purple
*Ms. Brannan is a certified educator for Golden so we used Golden products exclusively in this class.
Method
We started the class by choosing either orange or purple paint and painting a base coat of it on a piece of a birch panel. I loved the ultra-smooth texture of birch panel and plan to use it for other art.
Base Coat of Acrylic Paint in Orange
After the base coat, we smeared on a layer of heavy gloss gel whose purpose was to slow the drying time of future applications of paint. Then, she guided us through the process of using a palette knife to lay down blocks of color (acrylic paint mixed with molding paste to create texture) to create a loose, intuitive composition.
Adding layers of paint mixed with molding paste over the gloss gel
Continuing the layering process
Layers prior to removal with shaping tools
Once finished with the color-blocking, we used shaping tools to remove sections of paint and refine our composition with critiques from her and her studio assistant. Removing the paint was a freeing experience, I felt almost like I was excavating my painting. (She called it a subtractive painting.) Using this technique meant that the original orange base set the theme for the whole painting and I had to find a way to work with it. It was a little scary at first, but the finished painting turned out much better than I expected. I plan to incorporate the impasto techniques I learned in this class into a landscape series I’ve just started.
Finished Acrylic Painting with Impasto Technique
Venue Information
The class was held in the Gallery at Northaven Gardens. Northaven is an extensive garden center/plant nursery located in north Dallas that is open 7 days a week. The Gallery there has art classes and hosts exhibits for artists. During this class they had an exhibition up called “Botanical Portraiture: A Modern Take on Classic Still life” featuring several well-regarded local artists such as Gaby Pruitt and Jan Dreskin-Haig. In addition, Northaven has an onsite cafe with an excellent menu, we had fabulous wine and cheese during our class, and they also host weekly plant educational talks and classes.
Resources
Melanie M. Brannan – http://www.melaniembrannan.com/
The Gallery at Northaven Gardens – http://www.nhg.com/gallery/
Many artists I know consider Arches to be a top-of-the-line brand of watercolor paper. I became more focused on watercolor painting this year and decided to purchase both the Hot Press and Cold Press Watercolor Blocks. The blocks are natural white paper made in molds that are cut and tape-bound into blocks. (Carefully remove each with a thin metal spatula to avoid tearing.) The sheets are 140 lb (300 gsm) weight, with 20 sheets per block. I love doing abstract panoramic landscapes in both horizontal and vertical orientation so I got the 3.9″ × 9.8″ for experimentation. This post discusses my experiences with Hot Press. I’ll do another post later about the Cold Press.
To be frank, I was disappointed with my abstract watercolor paintings using the Hot Press. While they weren’t terrible, the smoothness of the paper, combined with the subtlety of the watercolors, resulted in somewhat bland images.
Watercolor – Hot Press Paper
Had I seen the Artists Network’s article discussing the different grades of watercolor paper beforehand, the results would have made more sense. The article says “Hot pressed is not adequate for general watercolor painting” and further states that very little pigment penetrates beyond sitting on the surface. I do not know enough about watercolor science to produce an explanation, however, I’m theorizing that maybe penetration aids translucency? The translucent aspects of watercolor are part of its charm. More research is needed.
So, being cheap and not easily daunted, I resolved to find another media for this special paper. I had given up oils about 20 years ago due to my reaction to turpentine, however, I still had a large stash of Windsor Newton oils that had maintained their quality. After taking a class with Deborah Paris of the Landscape Atelier, who works in oils and uses liquin instead of turpentine for glazing, I decided to give them a try again.
I feel the resulting artworks turned out extremely well with the combination of oil paint and liquin only as a glaze/thinner. They retained their high chromatic colors, which I feel work well with abstract landscape paintings. And, I was able to add some texture which resulted in the illusion of depth. They were still extremely smooth, but attractively so.
I am still researching the reason WHY the oils performed so well with the Hot Press paper (suggestions appreciated) and will update this blog post when I have hard data. Going forward, I plan to enthusiastically use the Arches Hot Press Watercolor in my oil paintings.
We sold our home unexpectedly fast this month and have been living in various hotels until our new place is ready in July. When we moved out, I knew I was going to be limited on space and couldn’t bring my regular art supplies, but I still wanted to make art while at our temporary “homes”. I needed a drawing sketchbook that could be rolled up, secured with a rubber band, and stuffed in my purse. Instead of buying one, I decided to be frugal and try to make one out of a Whole Foods paper grocery bag.
Drawing Paper out of Whole Foods Paper Bags
Whole Foods grocery bags are made with 100% recycled fiber content. I liked the idea of recycling a recycled product. The outside of the bag has the Whole Foods green logo and writing on it, but the inside is plain brown paper. After removing the handles and cutting the bag into various sizes, I had a nice pile of sketch paper. The first hotel we stayed at was by the Dallas Farmers Market. What could be a better subject for a recycled Whole Foods grocery bag sketchbook than organic vegetables! Charcoal worked great on the paper and blended well. For color, Portfolio water soluble oil pastels contrasted wonderfully with the brown paper and I was able to wet and carefully blend colors.
Summer Veggies from the Dallas Farmers Market
Charcoal Sketches
Oil Pastel & Charcoal Drawings
Note that the bags are not acid-free and will eventually discolor so they are only suitable for temporary artwork. If you like the look of brown paper, but want a product that can last, try Strathmore’s Toned Tan Mixed Media paper pad. The paper is acid free and suitable for both wet and dry media. Happy sketching!
