Making a Mess with Lovely Paint

making a mess outside with lovely paint

Not painting for an exhibition or a commission gives renewed freedom to explore and experiment. I always approach every painting with this mantra but the pressure of producing a finished piece of work always has some sort of impact.

So with another large canvas (120 x 100cm) still blank and a dry day ( well… a couple of hours in the morning at least, we have had the most horrendous summer so far!) I laid the canvas on the decking. With some selected paints and inks all in blues with white and a little lemon yellow I started splashing on the paint with large brushes and plenty of water. A large wave/seascape was always in mind and it started to emerge from the white canvas. Continually adding more paint and more water with either a spatter technique or a spray bottle, the colours started to merge and give some lovely effects.

Happy with the first layers and leaving it to dry, I had to rinse off some of the nearby plants and give my feet a good scrub. I had the sense to take off my flipflops, but afterwards decided I really should have worn my wellies!

This one won’t be for sale. It is for my son who has a flat wall crying out for a large painting, so hope he is pleased with it. I will post a picture once he has got it,because I want it to be a surprise.