Last week I finally told you about my Steampunk painting. I call it “mine” but it has been a group effort. I bounce ideas and names around, I talked to a welder, steampunk friends, google search, pinterest, anyone that might have a different perspective. If I’m lucky I can get artists to critique it. One of my hang-ups on this painting was the lettering. I wanted some giant letters from an old sign to add some abstract decoration to the background and I needed to have an awesome steampunk name for the shop. I decided I wanted to make homage to the Davenport Sisters and their shop, Davenport and Winkleperry. So, in my mind the rest of that large sign would have said “Davenport Sisters”. Originally, I was thinking of calling the welder girl Moxie, a suggestion from a friend but she turned out so cute I didn’t want her to be associated with something cute like “pixie”. Facebook is a great place to problem solve so I posted my question and I had great responses. Another friend said she preferred “Max” for a welder chick and I agree. My husband was the brilliance behind “machination”: A crafty scheme or cunning design for the accomplishment of a sinister end” according to the The American Heritage Dictionary. It’s a real word! . . and I spelled it different. My hubby did think it was the old world word for mechanics but I haven’t been able to find evidence of that. I love it’s sinister meaning though.
Once the words were in place the painting was ready for color. For this painting I was trying a new technique. Pouring the color in controlled segments. This involves a lot of planning and a lot of masking material. I got this as a present from my relatives, the Allens, and I am so excited about this book.
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check it out on Amazon: Pouring Light by Jean Grastorf |
It’s a little scary. You cover things up, hope you did well, hope you didn’t forget to cover up a light area, and colors get darker and darker. One thing I learned is that I have to work on getting the colors to mix more on paper. I think my layers got rather flat. If you see Jean’s paintings it’s like a sunset is in every shape, it’s amazing.
When I was finally satisfied with the darkest colors I began to peel away the masking. Another thing I had to accept is that the masking will lift off much of the pencil. If the pouring worked the way I wanted it to I now had lights and colors to define the shapes and I didn’t have to rely on missing pencil outlines.
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Still lots of work to do but I love the basic shading. Such strong contrast. |
Finally, after one more sleep – after I think I’ve painted every detail – I started the outlining. The figures on the right have been outlined and the figures on the left have not. Can you see the difference? In the early days of illustrating I used to outline every single detail but I love the effects of watercolor and I want to let that shine whenever I can. It’s a fine balance of what looks complete, too worked, or forgotten. I think I achieved what I wanted.
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A little fuzzy but I think you can get the idea. |
So now I have a final painting. I had help from one more friend that had given me a picture frame. I didn’t even think of it until I was looking in the closet for something else. The frame was leaning facing the wall and I suddenly remembered it’s black and rusty red stripes, and its gold embelishment. It was a perfect match for this painting. I wasn’t able to take it to my favorite frame shop due to weather but I did get a nice green velvet mat picked out. It really sets off the work. I will try to get a picture of it. I hope you were able to make it to the show.
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Never mind the glare from the street and gallery lights, check out this great framing job! Red and black trim and olive green velvet mat. So funky. |