Be Brave, But Have Fun

So many artists I've taken workshops with come to mind at various times. Yesterday it was Carla O'Conner and Frank Webb.  Carla's workshop came up when I discovered a full sheet of watercolor paper covered with gold gesso. Carla mostly paints on gessoed paper (not only gold gesso) with watercolor and gouache. This is something that I would have never thought of on my own. 

I applied the gold gesso to this paper in 2020 after the Holiday Farm Fire!

For Frank's influence there is always the #1--It's only paper.  This is what gives this artist bravery. If a painting doesn't turn out well, think of #1. But he also talked about how to make your art come from your own hand. If working from a photo, do a sketch, then draw it, then paint. Each time you recreate it, it becomes your own original work. 

So yesterday I went out to the studio with those two artists in mind--paint with gouache on gold gesso and make it my own! What better way to follow these influencers than take my own painting and recreate it on gold gesso.  So I pulled out my "One Must Always Wear Pearls" as my inspiration for a new painting. 

She tells a story, is painted with gouache, but has a lot of realism. I decided to do a new version of this painting, but with a more abstract design. Below you will see the development of this piece. One of the advantages of working this way (gouache on gessoed paper) is that one can totally remove a part or all of the paint with a wet paper towel. 

This is how I left the painting in the studio today. Mike liked it better before the white circles turned into faces (too illustrative). Yes the arm in the foreground is overly big, yet I like the amount of light it creates. Oh so many things could be different, but most importantly, I had fun! 

Now from Gone with the Wind--Tomorrow is another day!