Koi Color, 4x6

"Koi Color" 4x6"

Over the Christmas break, we had a lot of snow which kept everyone from going out. Parties, programs, meetings all cancelled! It's amazing how the snow will stop us dead. One anticipated party that I was looking forward to was the Paint-Out groups' annual painting exchange. We all paint a piece that will fit into a standard 8x10 frame, wrap it in a brown paper bag and exchange them like a white elephant gift. It's fun to see what you will end up with! This is my gift that someone will get. Since I had spare time on my side by being house-bound, I had time to try something new. I mixed some Golden acrylic ground (ground marble) with oxidized red pigment and painted it onto a gessoed gatorboard. Left to dry, it leaves a nice rough surface that grabs the pastel pigment well. I usually use Wallis with a wash of color, but trying to experiment a bit with some other surfaces that I've seen used by other pastelists. It was nice to try. One benefit to this Golden acrylic ground is that you can apply it to any large or non-standard board creating a custom piece. You can add a tint of pigment to the ground, creating any color underpainting you want.