Just as my bipolar moods swing from high to low, my paintings swing from busy and bright to a more austere palette and composition. In this latest one, I began by painting the whole canvas in titanium white.
Without waiting for the white to dry, I used a palette knife to make some bold sweeps in mars black. Because the paint was still wet underneath, the resulting black varied from opaque to blends of gray.
Next I used the knife again to add sections of parchment--a kind of off-white that contrasted with both the white and the black. Again, it came out solid in places, blended in others. The trick was to be careful about how and where I placed it.
I wanted some accidental marks made by serendipity, but by being careful where and how I put the overlaying paint, they were accidents with purpose.
Finally, I drew lines in mars black to tie the disparate sections together.
