The art of distraction

Today in between bouts of marking exams, I
decided to make a little drawing I did a couple of years ago into a painting.

The drawing was done in indelible ink on plain bond paper. I cut it out
at the time, and could never bring myself
to throw it away. My portrait paintings are
usually more in-depth, but for something lighter
I started painting little canvasses of my china.



I love antique china, and over the years my
friends and family have given me beautiful
pieces. The little coffee pot the painting
depicts is part of a set my friend Jennifer
gave me. Today I followed these steps to
get it on canvas.








1. I coated a canvas I'd painted a while ago
in turquoise, with a thick layer of acrylic gloss gel medium.
2. I stuck the little drawing on the canvas.
3. After the gel medium was almost dry
I painted the image with acrylic paint
and roughly gilded the gold parts with
24 karat gold leaf.

4. I waited for the gloss gel medium to dry more
before refining the gold leaf, scraping off the extra
with an exacto knife.

Tomorrow I'll touch up the painting, adding colour
and shadow where needed, and perhaps more real
gold. Then I'll add at least one more coat of gloss gel
medium and I'll let you see the final product in a
couple of days. My china paintings poke fun at
my addiction. I used to be a bit more insane about
my china, but we have more than we can ever use,
and I have to admit I may be obsessive about it.

Now back to marking.

Have a glossy evening.

The golden mean

Yesterday I bought some gold leaf to use on the gold jewellry and accents in my
paintings. The real gold leaf comes in very thin sheets, set into a book of thin
orange paper. First I lay down a layer of paint. I use acrylic paint, in this case
metallic gold, then when the paint is slightly tacky to the touch, I apply the gold.
And the close-up image on canvas gives you an idea of what it does when light
hits it. I love both the look and the feel of the gold. No wonder people have
been insane about this precious metal since it was first discovered. You
too can get your hands on some and apply it to things in your house. Some
people decorate cakes with it, and it's completely edible. A bit of a waste I think.

Have an illuminating day.