"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Citrus and Crystal

I had an 8"x8" piece of clayboard which was meant primarily for oils or acrylics, but I wanted to use it for watercolor. I went ahead and did my drawing on the clayboard and then put a very thin coat of acrylic gesso over the drawing. It was so thin, that I could still see my drawing through it.


Painting on gesso is a lot like painting on YUPO paper - the paint lays on top of the gesso and can be lifted very easily back to white. That was the challenge in this painting - I had to be very careful not to work the paint too much because then I would lift to the surface of the gesso/clayboard. It is also very difficult to get darks, which in this painting, was a major compositional element. It will have to be sprayed with a fixativ or acrylic spray because the paint will lift if a drop of moisture would fall on it. I did touch some white acrylic to the left side of the bowl because I failed to save my whites there.

This is painted from a photo from the Wet Canvas Reference Library.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Is gorgeous your work.
I especially like the transparency of the cup and the details of the tablecloth.

Autumn Leaves said...

I think you did a beautiful job, Barb! The crystal is exquisite and I love the texture of the oranges too. I recently tried clayboard, or aquaboard as it is apparently now called, and I also sprayed it with a fixative. It looks kind of cool and doesn't need glass for a frame either.

Donna Pierce-Clark said...

Your dark and light contrasts are absolutely stunning.
So are the colors!!

Barb Sailor said...

Thanks Mayra, Sherry and Donna - this was challenging, but when I finished, I liked it! I have to treat it gently until I get it sprayed!

Mary Paquet said...

Lovely, Barb. You amaze with your versatility.