Painting on Panels . . . In Progress

Untitled. . .In progress

10" x 10" on plywood

Well, I put that other, shall we say, diversionary project aside this week and got back to the business at hand, which was to accept the challenge of my sister and daughter to paint on wood panels. I'm at the point in this piece where I'm attempting to decide whether to leave the simple composition as is or to introduce one or two more shapes.  (Always so many decisions to make as you move a piece along!)  To help me in the decision process I'll probably print multiple wallet-size photos of this image and use Prismacolor pencils to try all sorts of possibilities, or maybe I'll quickly paint pieces of paper and cut out assorted shapes of the various shapes to temporarily affix to the painting.  Or, maybe I'll do both.  And then I'll move forward, finish the details, and wrap it up.

By the way, if you've been following, you'll recall that I put out a call to followers for tips for painting on panels and a wonderful illustrator, Grace of Silver Swan, who was previously unknown to me, stepped forward and suggested using Prismacolors.  Such a great suggestion because the grain of the wood allows you to lay down color on just the raised fibers.   Prismacolors, being very waxy, also add a film to the surface, which is soft and lovely, but I imagine I will add waterbased varnish layers to this and I'm not certain what effect that will have on the filmy surface. 

So this was a warm-up exercise.  I have two more small panels to paint on before graduating to my 24" x 24" panels. :)

It's gorgeous in Portland.  I swear trees sprouted 1/2" leaves in a matter of hours yesterday!  A couple of nights ago, the neighborhood coyotes serenaded us and everyone's dogs joined the chorus!!

Here's to a terrific weekend.  And thank you for your interest in what's happening here!