by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Today I’d like to share more art with you, pieces created at the same time as the two previous ones featured in Flying. These two are what would’ve been the dip in the diptych of those others had I not let nature take its course and…distract me.
The palettes are similar because I tend to mix too much paint, especially when using the cold wax. And since I can’t see wasting it…TaTa! A series is born!
And now, without further ado….
Free Flight, oil and cold wax. 12″x24″
This one is special for me. I look at it and see a soul breaking free from its earthly ties. I see Mama just drifting away. Floating.
Grounded. Oil, cold wax and plaster. 12″x24″
This is the opposite. Weighty. Solid. Like a rock, or the earth. The plaster underneath adds to the texture.
I really enjoy working this way. With brayers and squeegies and bare hands steeped in the buttery oils stiffened with wax. Pushing and pulling the paint along in layers upon layers. Scraping it back. Scribbling with pencil. With pigment sticks. Losing myself in the process until the muse whispers…it’s done.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
It’s 10 PM and I want potato chips. None in the house, not a one. And that’s a good thing. Or so I keep telling myself….
Now, back to the blog. Do you remember this from yesterday?
Today it became this. (Crappy photo alert)
Oh, that’s a closeup. I just want to show the surface treatment. Today I discovered–with ALL the happiness in my heart–how wonderful yummy luscious my new R&F Pigment Sticks work on wax. You have to wipe them down pretty thin. Can’t have big globs o’paint sitting on the wax. And then you have to fuse WITH A TORCH. Don’t even try using a heat gun, no no no, please! You have to have the gentlest of flames, low and soft, and just lightly kiss the wax. Move on as soon as it takes on a shine. Quick, quick or everything will run and distort. Do a couple of light fusings until the oil has become one with the wax. You know that’s happened when you can rub your fingers across and nothing comes off on them.
Then use some clear medium and do another layer of color. Repeat as much as you want.
And wear a respirator because who knows what’s in those paints. I wear one all the time when working in wax. Makes me look like a grasshopper. But. I. Don’t. Care. Because I LIKE to breathe. And I’d like to keep on breathing.
So just before packing up for the night I was playing around with a 6X6 board. I’d been experimenting with the flat iron (don’t like it) and then decided to use some pastel pencil scribbles as a transfer. Well, then that led to paint. And more scribbles. I just wanted to see if inspiration might strike.
Low and behold, it did. YAY!!!
In the form of a boat. Just the start but I’m liking it.
Liking the idea of a red boat sooooo much I started another.
And then, just before I turned off the light and shut the door because really, it was getting late…
I turned this one on it’s side. Hmmm…maybe not a window. Maybe a shelf. With a boat. Maybe….
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art |
Remember Steve Martin in The Jerk? The scene where he jumps up and down shouting, “The new phonebook is here! The new phonebook is here!!” Well, that’s how I felt when I came home from work and found THE PACKAGE on the front porch. Felt like jumping up and down shouting,”The new paint sticks are here! The new paint sticks are here!!”
For all I know, maybe I did. Sometimes I just black out from all the excitement. I do recall racing down to the studio and tearing open the box. Because a few days earlier I indulged, that’s right–I treated myself to TWO sets of R&F Pigment Sticks. Two sets. Because. I. Am. Worth. It.
Oil Bars. Paint Sticks. Pigment Sticks. If you’ve never used them, you owe yourself. They make oil painting a hands-on experience. And if you’ve never tried R&F, you owe yourself big time. Because they are, without a doubt, the MOST FUN way to paint.
And they’re not paying me to say that. I just love ’em so much I want to spread the word to all my art peeps.
I bought the portrait set, which is a wonderful collection of earthy tones, and the translucent set. They came packaged in cutle little pre-gessoed cradled boards. In other words, there was no excuse not to dive right in.
So I did. Look at that yummy lusciousness. Like lipstick.
Easy as using a crayon. If the crayon was made of soft yummy butter.
Rub some on, then squish with my fingers. Or palms. And yes, I wear gloves. Couple of reasons for the gloves–safety and cleanup.
I had no plan, was just playing. Might tone the colors down a little before the wax. Then again, might not.
Here’s another little one I had lying around. It was boring. Turquoise background with gold/beige square in the center. But a couple hits of translucent yellow and one of the earthy reds and I’m much happier.
Tomorrow: More paint. Maybe some wax.
