I finished this painting just in time to have it debut at my upcoming gallery open house (Sunday 1/18/15 at Tellico Art Center, Tellico Plains TN, 1-4pm). The painting is a square, turned 45° so it hangs as a diamond – just for an added bit of distinction.
I paint on canvas with Golden Fluid Acrylics, and I paint fairly thin. The fluid acrylics are about the consistency of heavy cream, and made my transition from a watercolor painter to an acrylic painter a little easier. Thick acrylic paint out of a tube is generally very opaque, but many of my fluid acrylic pigments are transparent. I like to keep the colors fresh and vibrant, and I can do this best when they are painted on the bright white canvas. So for this painting, with its very dark background, my approach was a bit different from usual. After penciling in my design, I concentrated on painting the entire background first. This way, the yellows of the flowers would be very bright. If I had painted the whole canvas solid black – which would have been easier – the yellow paints would look very dark and dull. I’d never be able to get the paint thick enough to have the same vibrance my method achieved.In honor of one of my favorite musical artists, John Denver, I’ve titled this “Sunshine On My Shoulder.”
