I never get tired of looking at the jumble of colors, shapes, and marks on my painted or marbled papers as I try to coax out the subject matter hiding within. A woman who purchased one of my marbled paintings remarked "You are so good at pulling secrets out of paper!" which seems like the perfect way to describe my process.
Recently, I tried something really wild and crazy while dropping acrylic colors into my marbling tray (to later be transferred onto my paper). Using an eyedropper, I carefully applied color to the tray in a swift, circular fashion, creating a kind of "ring" of colors (black on the outermost edge, and then white, and some teal). Needless to say, the resulting paper was pretty wild--even by my standards.
Later, when I assessed the papers I'd marbled that day, this odd ball "nucleus" pattern baffled me. What was I going to do with this strange pattern? Add more circles or ovals? Paint over parts of it? I tried many things---stenciling on part of it, covering places with darker tones, but I had NO IDEA what the end result would be. And I was OK with that, because I love the challenge of not knowing where my painting is headed. I figure it'll all work out in the end (and it usually does). I let the painting sit for a day or so and then went back to it and did something that helps me forge ahead when I'm stuck: I turned the paper in different directions to see if some idea jumped out at me, and fairly soon, I sketched a woman in a wide skirt (one of my tried and true favorite subjects). Now it was just a matter of painting the space around her so she would "pop" and be more noticeable. I'm not quite done with this painting yet, and I don't have a title (that always comes at the VERY END) but I like the direction of this piece. It was a hard-won struggle, but I rose to the challenge!
Recently, I tried something really wild and crazy while dropping acrylic colors into my marbling tray (to later be transferred onto my paper). Using an eyedropper, I carefully applied color to the tray in a swift, circular fashion, creating a kind of "ring" of colors (black on the outermost edge, and then white, and some teal). Needless to say, the resulting paper was pretty wild--even by my standards.
Later, when I assessed the papers I'd marbled that day, this odd ball "nucleus" pattern baffled me. What was I going to do with this strange pattern? Add more circles or ovals? Paint over parts of it? I tried many things---stenciling on part of it, covering places with darker tones, but I had NO IDEA what the end result would be. And I was OK with that, because I love the challenge of not knowing where my painting is headed. I figure it'll all work out in the end (and it usually does). I let the painting sit for a day or so and then went back to it and did something that helps me forge ahead when I'm stuck: I turned the paper in different directions to see if some idea jumped out at me, and fairly soon, I sketched a woman in a wide skirt (one of my tried and true favorite subjects). Now it was just a matter of painting the space around her so she would "pop" and be more noticeable. I'm not quite done with this painting yet, and I don't have a title (that always comes at the VERY END) but I like the direction of this piece. It was a hard-won struggle, but I rose to the challenge!
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