What to do when you love parts of your painting, but not all of it. In this video I talk about how I solved this problem with a painting of mine. I didn’t want to lose what I loved, but I had to make some changes. This can be daunting and involves taking a big risk - but if you’re game, the rewards are worth it. Let me show you how…
I love creating ghost marks in my paintings—shapes that appear somewhat smudged but are still recognizable. These marks maintain strong contrasts but also fade into the underneath layer. In this video firstly I create an interesting surface on which to place the ‘ghost’. Watch as I demonstrate in this video how I create these ghost shapes and marks.
In this video I show what media and tools I use to start my paintings. I want to quickly create a surface full of interest with shape, line and colour as well as creating texture and variety in paint effects. Watch me demonstrate in my sketchbook exactly how I start my large canvases by combining shape, line and texture with a range of media.
The stencil shapes used in the video can be purchased from https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-by-Judy-Woods-s/2196.htm.
To relinquish control with paint and mixed media requires risk which can be scarey especially when we have paintings that we care about and don’t want to ruin. When creating abstract paintings it’s essential we explore and experiment with paint, ink, drawing media - everything! So how do you take the risks when painting and try out new techniques and methods but still ensure your paintings are successful? In this video I talk about how I learnt to have confidence in taking risks. I give you my top tips: 1) Practice in a sketchbook where mistakes and messes don’t matter. This is where you can discover painting techniques that work and how to combine wet and dry media successfully; 2) Use a notebook to jot down your discoveries so that you don’t waste time in the studio and can pick up where you left off easily; and 3) When you feel confident, use the techniques and painting knowledge you’ve learnt on your paintings to create strong, exciting work.
As we get more confident as artists we often want to paint with more freedom and become more loose with media. Our abstract painting can seem a little tight and contrived to begin with. So how do we let loose with the media but still maintain control with our work to achieve great results? It all comes down to how we use the tools: paint brushes, colour shapers, pencils, pens and dry media. We want the media to flow and make marks that are free and loose, we don’t want to impose too much control when using wet media: paint, acrylic ink etc. And when we use dry media we control the types of line and marks by how we hold the pencil, pastel or pen. In this video I demonstrate how to hold brushes, colour shapers, and dry media to allow the media to flow loosely while also maintaining enough control to get the painting results you want.
