Whoa! Hold them horses! I am not talking about a great white shark attack! I am talking about the huge 8-canvas conglomeration of white that is staring me right in the face! Here I thought one white canvas was intimidating, and then I put eight together to work in a series. Oh my! However, I am optimistic that this is going to work.
You know what they say – “Show me an optimist and I’ll show you a happy-condriac. “
Nevertheless, to attack this enormous white, I have a plan. First, I decided to use the Munsell color wheel, which I find fascinating. Although the three-primary color system (red, yellow, blue) has been used for centuries, in the Munsell color system, there are five principal colors: red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
As you can see below, there is a yellow-red, but it is not included in
the five principal colors.
For the first step in covering the white, I used for my red “Liquitex Cadmium Red Light.” I made a thick wash of red and proceeded to roll over the eight canvases with a regular 9” paint roller. My roller head had patches of dried blue paint left on it to create textures.
I was amazed to find that canvases placed right beside each other ended up with different looking textures; even though I used the same pressure and same amount of paint on both.
The textures created were dynamic! Here is a close-up.
Imagine what it will look like with a wash of another color over it.
One canvas, seen below, ended up with a wonderful gradation
that would have been hard to duplicate, if desired.
(A happy little accident, like Bob Ross used to say.)
But now comes the hard part- having to wait for paint to dry. It is important to let it dry completely, perhaps overnight. If the artist is too gung-ho and adds more paint when the canvas is not dry, the paints will become smudged and muddy.
I plan on using Munsell’s discords of red (see color wheel above), ultramarine blue and brilliant yellow green, for steps two and three.
Also instead of the regular roller head, I will use a variety of rollers:
I can’t wait till tomorrow!
Sometimes it is a combination of little steps
that makes the journey of creating art
extra spectacular and thrilling.
Oh, and that the great 8-canvas conglomeration of white that threatened?
It is not white any more.
Have fun creating art, my Friend. It is truly a gift from God.