The Evolution of a Painting

One of the things that motivates me in creating art is working in a series. I enjoy thinking of many ways to talk about the same theme using different ideas. Going out to the studio I don't have to think of what to paint, I have to think of how to express the different elements of my theme. 

As I said in my last post, my current work is all about the small pond just outside my art studio. 

I have been working on my third "Kimono in the pond" painting. Why putting clothing in the water? There are many influences behind this, but one is how the beauty of nature influences our fabrics. I like to think of the water plants and gold fish floating onto the silks of a Kimono, decorating the fabric. I also have a respect for and fascination of Japanese art. (An aside: the Kimono is a symbol of longevity and good fortune.)

Maybe these paintings are a reflection of my admiration of Monet with this waterlilies and Matisse who collected fabrics and used the patterns in many of his paintings.

So this third Kimono painting my goal was to place the clothing under the water instead of on top of the water. It started as a watercolor painting then evolved into a mixed medium using acrylic paint to put the water on top. Below you can see the development of this piece

This was the first start painted wet into wet. There was a weird spot that didn't take the painting well, so I flipped the painting over and used the back.

After taking the whole piece into my big sink, I softened all the colors. Next I protected the areas that would become waterlily pads and goldfish using Oramask film.

Next the Oramask was peeled off.

I painted the leaves, telling myself each was a lily pad portrait. They are painted more meticulously than my usual approach to art. I also painted over the lavender on the Kimono with acrylic to enhance the cloth.

It took some bravery to begin adding the water over the Kimono. From the first light colors I forged ahead with the dark to complete the water.

I spent studio time listening to Paul Simon where "50 Ways to Leave your Lover" became renamed to "50 Ways to Fix a Painting."

Wet into Wet

Flip over the painting and use a new side

Give the entire piece a bath

Lift off paint

Protect areas with Oramask film

Lift off the masking

Start a conversation with the painting and listen to it

Paint each of the 14 goldfish

Spend about an hour on each of the 12 lily pads and single lily

Carefully use light blue water ripples

Continue listening to my painting while adding the darks to create the final drama to the art

At the end, I realized that the Kimono had all but disappeared, yet the cloak is still there, hence the title, Ophelia's Gown. Remember Hamlet?

Ophelia's Gown
Mixed Media
29 " x 21"