Painting Process

 A while ago I started this acrylic painting of a photo of kelp I took during my time on King Island in December last year. I have many such images, of almost abstract-quality due to the cropping of the image and the movement it contains within. They don’t lend themselves so well to expression in textile, but I do love them, so I thought I’d try and paint them. Slightly terrifying, having only done a very limited amount of painting before. However, I needed an activity to keep me busy whilst I kept an eye on the new kittens, and I could do this on the verandah with them, so I began. 

I quite liked the light, watercolour look of the first step, but knew that I wanted to create the depth of colour in the photographic image. All went well for a while, with pleasant afternoons spent listening to music, sipping bubbles, adoring the cats, and painting. 

As the layers started to build up, I started to become frustrated with how quickly the paint would dry, both on the canvas and on the palette, as I was wanting to create some soft, blended effects. I decided to invest in Golden Open acrylics, although concerned that the problem lay more in my ability than the paint. They are delicious, and especially with the transparent ones, I can see my next painting being built up in quite a different way – however, I need to finish this one first. 

After a lie down to prepare myself, I went down to the studio (it’s getting too hot on the verandah) and returned to the old acrylics to get the job done. A couple of hours later I was pleased with the way it had all come together – enough to share. There’s still a lot of work to do, but I feel like it’s in a much better place and on the road to completion. I’m looking forward to beginning some others with my new knowledge and paints!

The printed photo in my King Island photo collection.