Wednesday, February 03, 2010

New Toy


Painted from sketchbook reference
Acrylic ink and Atelier Interactives on canvas board

Joannie arrived last Thursday to stay with me for a few days. She brought along the order of Atelier interactice acrylics I had purchased from the SAA , complete with free spray bottle and instructional DVD by Mitch Waite...Our new toys for some studio fun during her stay!

After watching a couple of the half hour sessions on the DVD, Joan and I could wait no longer and dashed into the studio to open our new paints.

I started by pouring some acrylic inks onto a canvas board that's been hanging around the studio acting as a sampler for my students, it had various textures and pint blobs all over it as a result so the inks just brightened it up a little. I then worked very quickly with a one inch brush, blocking in my composition boldly using shape rather than a drawn sketch.

I really enjoy this way of applying paint.

The interactives were wonderful to work with, livening up with a little water spritz allowed me to work the whole canvas at once without the risk of areas drying out. They allow a much more unified result with a lot less work and paint.

The resulting painting took very little time, approx 30 mins...loose and spontaneous...Just what I had been after, I decided immediately that I liked these paints very much. I could have spent more time but I reached a stage here where the result excited me so much that I didn't want to lose it. I haven't painted much in the last two and a half years, what I have painted has been mostly commissioned, but I have dreamed of painting...thought of painting...painted in my mind...painted in my sleep... My sketchbooks have achieved a new confidence in my art and a longing for atmosphere and expression. They have also given me a new insight into landscapes, a subject that had never interested me in painting before.

My new paints unlocked me and in the three days Joan and I painted I created no less than 5 pieces of work, getting familiar with the medium and working boldly, with passion...enjoying every single moment.

This journey is going to be so much fun!



Joannie in my studio - Jan 2010

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome post! I see you have your excitement back. It's so good to hear. You are much too good NOT to paint. I love this piece. The looseness of it. That beautiful, gorgeous dark blue of the water towards the bottom of the painting... wow. And then the little bits of red under that. It's a keeper. :)

Ann said...

Amazing, beautiful painting! I am so excited to see your paintings and interactive acrylics look like your media!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

You gals are having too much fun!

Sandra Rowney said...

Those chocolates on the table....they are for artistic appreciation of the colour wrappings yes? I'm not fooled by the grapes :)
So glad you both had such a stimulating time. A good start to the year.

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

Oh! Sandra you sussed us out straight away - chocs - Thortons to boot - just kept us going for hours!!!! The grapes were just in case we were thirsty between rounds of rose wine!!

Great post Anita - and thanks for my portrait in my snazzy art top!!

Jo Castillo said...

This sounds like such a great time. Your painting is lovely. Keep on having fun with those new toys.

Liz Steel said...

yay! sounds great... have FUN!

Serena Lewis said...

I'm jealous that you and Joannie spend so much quality art time together with a few choccies, grapes, and wine thrown into the mix. Sounds perfect to me! I love your 'play' with Atelier Interactive paints. I have worked with them myself and have thoroughly enjoyed them also. I did feel that there was a significant difference in colour change as they dried...did you find this? Perhaps it was the particular colours I was working with at the time though I emphasise that it did not change my high opinion of them.

Online Degrees said...

Its wonderful! you are a great Artist, it painted wonderful, i would like to share is to my face book account, can i????

BlueRidgeLady said...

New paints! How fun! Love this pretty painting. Glad you got to enjoy lots of fun with your friend.

Margaret Ann said...

The reflections you captured in the water are spectacular...What a perfect punch to this piece...:)

P.S. I could live in your studio...What great light! :)

Leslie said...

Anita, this is lovely!!! Wonderful! I just love these paintings. What fun and what wonderful results of "play". Wow.