Wednesday, August 15, 2007

A Series of Accidents

"The Surveyor" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne

First and foremost, let me toot my own horn and say "Happy 200th post to me!!" Okay, just had to get that out of my system.

So today I have more to share on my colour project. Last week I mentioned that I had an accident. No, not that kind of accident, it was a fixative related accident...although even that sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it?
I completed an ACEO and, as usual, I took it into the basement to spray it with fixative to protect the little darling. I sprayed and went off to do some chores while it dried. When I came back, imagine my surprise when I discovered that the areas I had done with the Raspberry Prismacolour had turned rather *ahem* bright. I suppose that if I were a regular user of Raspberry I would’ve discovered this trait much sooner, but it’s only been since I started my colour project and applying colour much more strongly that I’ve discovered certain colours are at odds with being protected by fixative. You can see the effects of it in the ACEO below:

"High Stepping" ACEO can be bid on here.
Copyright Rita Woodburne


I’m pretty sure you can guess which parts were affected by the fixative.
That said, I have to say that with my project in mind I’m rather pleased by the happy little accident. The punchy colour adds something to it that I wouldn’t have intentionally done anyway. I mean, yes, I intentionally added Raspberry to the piece but I was adding it subtly and it blended into the surrounding colours. Maybe the fixative was trying to tell me something...

There are also a couple more pieces I have to share going back to the “main” part of my project. With these two I used the pastels and Prisma’s (although they were done mainly in pastel) and for these two I decided not to touch the background at all and just leave it “as is”. I find that after I get through most of the subject I start agonizing over the background and ultimately I feel it’s detracting from my completing the main subject to my liking. So, enough of my babble, here they are:

Copyright Rita Woodburne

Copyright Rita Woodburne


These two are waaaay loose for me, but for the most part I like the colour I have going on in these two. However, these two don’t look the same as they did when I completed them, again, it was a fixative accident. The fixative actually lifted some of the pastel off the paper and it dulled some of the colours completely. Since this happened I had to go back over both pieces and correct them and fill some of the colour back in. I like these two, but not as much as pre-fixative application. As usual, these two are more than open to comments and crits.

So that’s been my artsy- fartsy experiences over the past week. I’ve learned that fixative can be a temperamental beast and I’ve also learned that loosening up will not cause me to explode or burst into flames...always a good thing in my books.

I’ll be back on Friday with another gardening post, more recipes, more tips and an update on where your garden should be now that summer is winding down. Check back then!

6 comments:

Lisa B. said...

So often I read the laments of artists who want to paint more loosely, but are unable to so. Congratulations on achieving what's thought to be impossible; the ability to do either.

Rita said...

Thanks Lisa! I still have a long way to go and I can't see myself working "loose" most of the time, but it sure is fun!
I think it's just the thing I need to do to help me move forward with this project and my art in general. I'll just have to wait and see if I'm right. ;)

Anonymous said...

I love these loose, colorful pieces. I know the colors are bold for you, but they certainly don't look "wild" or out-of-place. They look very natural and really add spark!

Rita said...

Thanks Meg, that's really what I was going for. I wanted to add more "life" to the pieces.
I've got a few more works on the go so I'll have to see if I can continue the trend! :)

sandy said...

I need to visit here more often. Your art is wonderful!

Rita said...

Thanks Sandy! I would be pleased if you came along for the ride in this wacky thing called "art". It's all a journey, so one more traveller just makes for better company! ;)