Setting up for May Art Hop

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 Location: Webster's Prime, Secnd Foor of the Radisson, Kalamazoo , MI

When: May 1st, 5pm-10pm

Entering Art Prize a Possibility

This is just here to be pretty.

I've been thinking about entering Art Prize this year. I had an idea for something to go on or hang from a type of room divider, like a stained glass mosaic made with resin, but each piece being a part of a photo-essay or something.

Acrylic Painting Process and Work in Progress

Still life. The staple of classical painting exercises.  Bottles and grapes being some of the most cliche and yet the simplicity of the forms still tempts the painter's eye. And I have lots of bottles and fake grapes hanging around for just such a purpose.

I don't know if I will make a lighter colored background or not, I like painting on gold usually, but this lighter scheme is nice too.


First, I set up my stuff with white canvases as a photo-booth like i usually do, and took a picture.



Then I desaturated the picture and took the color out of it, partially to see the values more clearly, and partly because I have no color ink.

I drew a grid on the black and white print out, dividing it in half about two or three times. Then I taped string across the canvas in the same pattern to transfer the picture. I used charcoal, and wish I had taken a picture of that process, but didn't know if I was going to blog it or not.



Here is what I have so far! It's on a gold ground, of course.

Tryptech Acrylic Gel Transfer.

I love this process! Take a digital collage and transfer it to canvas with acrylic gel medium. But that's not all, this was transferred onto a gold ground, which gives it an almost 3-d effect when seen in person.

Acrylic Gel Medium and How to Use It.

What is acrylic gel medium?

            It's easy to fall in love with acrylic gel when you play with it's versatility.
            Acrylic gel is basically acrylic paint, without any pigment. It starts as a white goo that dries clear and shrinks a bit as the water evaporates from it, just like Elmer's glue.
           Artists use this to stretch out their paint, and add a luminosity to it, like adding more oil in oil painting. It can also be used as a varnish, and a "glue" for almost anything you can stick on it, like glass beads. Gel is also used for transfers, when print out are transferred to another surface using the gel. 

          There are a few kinds of gel, gloss, matte, and string. Gloss gel gives a great depth, and makes the surface very shiny. While you do have a problem with glare, I find it the best for enhancing colors. Matte gel does not have a shiny surface, and is easier to view in different angles. it can also make the surface look whiter because of the diffuse way it reflects light. String gel is like melted cheese, it make long strings instead of puddling up or making drops.