Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Cat/Bird Diptych Finished

Here is the diptych I posted yesterday when it was still in progress. It's finished now with some more details on the birds and little things added here and there. 


Each panel is 24" square by 2" deep. The images wrap around the edges. I began by painting the panels the ochre color. Then applied collage material where I wanted the figures. I cut stencils for the shapes of the birds and cat and painted around the edges of the stencil using a palette knife and spatula so that the collage remains as the bodies of the figures.

For many of the large areas of color, instead of painting directly on the board, I painted translucent papers (wax paper, deli paper, rice paper) and applied those to the board with gel medium. Other materials in the collage areas include painted Pelon, construction papers, Thai banana paper. Much of the cat's body is deli paper on which I made monoprints from a puddle of sepia acrylic ink I had spilled on the floor. (Waste not - want not.) I added some flourishes with squirts of gold acrylic ink. The pattern of dots in the background was made with a child's rolling pin toy. Other details are done with acrylic paint, charcoal and pastel pencils.


This piece was tons of fun. I hope I can pull off the effect in future work. I find that the first time I try something new is always the freshest. When I get too comfortable with a process it can lose its spontaneity and rawness. But I guess at that point its time for another challenge, isn't it? We will just have to see how I do. As always, I'll keep you posted.


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