Techno Cat and Grounded complete

I was able to wrap up a few recent paintings last week. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to start any new ones, what with a bored 10 year old underfoot.

Here is my favorite – Techno Cat – prints now available at Fine Art America. I darkened the background using several different glazes, including some metallic silver which gives it a nice glow. I also enhanced the cat’s body and face, as well as the grassy knoll for shadows and highlights. I really like the contrast of the random marks in the turqoise.

Techno Cat by Aprille Lipton

I also completed “Grounded” – prints and original available on Fine Art America. I love the metallics in this one as the root and shadow structure changes depending on your viewing angle. You obviously can’t see the effect on screen, but it’s really nice.

Grounded, an acrylic painting by Aprille Lipton

New work in progress

I’ve been busy… busy with a child out for the summer and a husband at work. Working from home. Painting in my spare time. I love it!

The June gloom has departed over the past week, leaving us with beautiful weather and gorgeous seas. I was able to sneak in a whale watching trip… seeing both blue and humpback whales. What a treat.

Here’s one of the paintings in progress – titled Grounded.

Almost done…

 

Another work started and in it’s infancy… “Techno Cat.” This one will evolve a lot over the next week or two. This is one of my favorites so far.

Talk to you soon 🙂

Acrylic skins

The experimenting went well. The acrylic skins turned out to be much tougher than I thought. I can’t say I liked scrubbing off the paper, however. Maybe next time I will soak them in a small pan of water for a bit and then try it. I do like the effect and can’t wait to try using them in an actual painting or collage.

I did make it to the art store and picked up some soft gel – matte. One or two layers of this medium achieved the push back effect so much easier. Gotta love technology!

I’m off to do some more sketching and experiments… catch you later.

Sketching and experiments

I’ve been back at it this weekend, after getting some much needed rest. My sketch book pages are filling up again. Surprisingly, I’ve been playing with human figures more than animals this time around. They are drawing me in, begging for further exploration. I’m drawn to the emotions conveyable via gestures and posture – not expression. I’m also simplifying the forms, trying to concentrate on respresenting the feeling with the least amount of detail.

I’ve also been playing with materials and techniques, testing veiling of images with layers of matte medium – trying to achieve that “push back” effect. I think I need a better matte medium, however, since I’m up to 5 test layers of the fluid matte medium with minimal effect. Ooo… maybe a trip to the art store today is needed.

Lastly, I’m giving acrylic image transfer a first try. I just put on the last layer of gel and should be able to see the results later today after I rub off the magazine images. I’m excited but the skins seem so fragile I’m afraid I’m going to ruin them. Oh well, that’s what experimentation is all about.