Thursday, March 3, 2016

New Work: On The Edge

On The Edge
Image size 12" x 16"
acrylic painted papers on wc paper
The above piece is based on a paper sketch that I showed on the blog several days ago. As I was putting the sketch together I kept thinking about people taking leaps of faith. I also had some ideas about "splitting" and being held back somehow. The term "two-faced" came to mind as well as the saying that "jealousy is a green eyed monster."  The imagery of locks and keys has been on my mind lately as well. It's funny but I didn't set out to make a painting with any of those ideas in mind. It's more like a stream-of-consciousness way of working I guess. Things just occurred to me as I put the piece together.

I don't have any profound revelations for this piece so I will just share this one technical thing. I take my initial sketches and generally draw a grid over them (4 x 5 ratio). I use that grid to enlarge the drawing onto my piece of watercolor paper. This time though I didn't want to mess up my sketch so I used a plastic sheet protector, drawing the lines with a black Sharpie on it. I placed it over the sketch and taped it down with contractor's tape. Very handy, low tech solution!

The drawing was transferred and I stayed pretty faithful to my sketch but did make some changes, both inadvertent and deliberate! I am drawing freehand here so things aren't perfectly duplicated. I like being able to switch things and think about stuff as I go though so it works out fine. There is always more than one good idea!

OK, hope everyone is having a good week so far. Thanks for reading and leave a comment if you can.
Libby

9 comments:

  1. Very effective design, Libby. The mix of line, arcs and circles is very appealing!

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    1. Thanks Carol! I was happy that the leftover scraps that I used seemed to come together so well. That doesn't happen all of the time:)

      Hope you are doing well. I appreciate the visit!
      Libby

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  2. Libby this worked out extremely well. The colors keep my eye moving around. Loving the circles that seem to make this piece move. Thanks for sharing. I hope you are having a great week-end. Hugs!

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    1. Thanks Debbie! I was so pleased with the way things turned out with this one. very surprised:)

      Hope you are having a good weekend. Lots and lots of rain and wind here!
      Libby

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  3. I like absolutely everything about it and it is interesting to read about your process. I just love the super crisp look of this--awesome colors. It sure doesn't feel like jealousy to me---more like optimism, ideas and working together. :)

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    1. Celeste!

      Thank you for such a strong compliment. The idea that the piece comes across as "crisp" is really helpful to me. That is exactly what I am after!

      Hope you are finally on the mend. Glad to see your blog back in action:)
      Libby

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  4. I thought it was the original sketch - you were pretty faithful to the original concept.
    I like the idea of the plastic overlay. I wonder what you are working on now?

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    1. Thanks Julie!

      Drawing freehand is always a challenge but something that I am glad that I finally learned how to do. The deviations were very minor:)

      I worked on a larger piece this week, thanks for asking. It's 24" x 24" and was a real test for me in using the paper. I learned quite a bit about construction and layering. I should have a post today or tomorrow so I hope you will check it out:)

      libby

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  5. Thanks Julie!

    Drawing freehand is always a challenge but something that I am glad that I finally learned how to do. The deviations were very minor:)

    I worked on a larger piece this week, thanks for asking. It's 24" x 24" and was a real test for me in using the paper. I learned quite a bit about construction and layering. I should have a post today or tomorrow so I hope you will check it out:)

    Thanks for the visit. I hope you had a good week.
    Libby

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Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it! I reply back in an email if you are signed in and I can see your address. Otherwise I will post the reply here under your comment. I tend to cut and paste my emails too so that others can experience the back and forth which I think is integral to blogging.
Libby