I had planned for my students to paint on gold gessoed watercolor paper this week - but the weather had other ideas. We had a big snow all day Monday through Tuesday morning and then the temperatures went down to -7F. Yes, I said MINUS 7 degrees!!! Didn't want anyone to get out in that who didn't have to be out because they didn't do a great job of cleaning any secondary roads due to the blowing snow Monday.
Have you ever painted watercolors on gessoed paper? Same thing as that, only this gesso is gold. Daniel Smith carries (or used to carry) lots of colors of gesso so you could play with a lot of colors other than white. And with gesso on the paper first, lifting watercolors back to white is easy.
It would make for some nice Asian-inspired paintings or anything that had some bold colors like black, red, dark blues, oranges, etc....leaving the gold showing through in places makes for a pretty piece.
Not saying this is a pretty piece. I just wanted to see what I could do with gold gesso over the TerraSkin "paper" I have. It does stick well with acrylics. Once the paint is dry, it doesn't come up unless you scratch it up with an exacto knife (which I don't recommend because TerraSkin is not paper but a stone paper that is heavier and has a bit more tooth than Yupo and is less slick. I got some for Christmas and will be using it, experimenting and playing to see what it will and won't do.
The best thing about this is the palms and how I just brushed the black gesso (yeah, black gesso, not paint) down with the flat brush, creating those fronds. The worst this is the bottom, the strange shaped wings of the blue heron/egret? and the afterthought of the red sun in the tiny portion of the edge of the paper which would be cut off if you frame it. But this is just a play and experimentation piece so...live and learn, right?
I hope you are inside, safe and warm. This last snowstorm cut through the midwest and through the south and then up to poor blasted Boston again, making sure everyone had a taste of snow, sleet, ice, blowing wind, etc.
10 comments:
I envy you having easy access to all these exciting art materials but I do not envy you that kind of cold - I'd swap a couple of degrees if I could though - a long heat wave here! Keep warm, we know you'll keep busy!
Love watching your experiments, Rhonda. I think the gold crane does indeed have Asian feel and it looks marvelous!
Sold! I'm going to get some gold gesso. Thanks for the tip.
Our art suppliers are a bit behind the times here in Australia and I find out about all the interesting stuff available from reading my arty friends blogs. This looks like another interesting technique Rhonda
RHONDA - I LOVE WHAT YOU DID WITH THE GESSO - YOUR HERON LOOKS LOVELY NEXT TO THAT GOLD. I HAVE USED WHITE GESSO WITH WATERCOLOR BEFORE BUT NOT GOLD AND YOU HAVE INSPIRED ME TO TRY THIS FRIEND!
No, this cold and snow has not been conducive to creativity at all, Cathy!!! I just sit and watch t.v. or read one book after another = escapism!! It has to warm up sometime without dumping snow on us whenever it gets above 30F.
Sherry, thanks so much :) Hope you are staying safe and warm in this horrible February!
EM, glad you like it - try it and see what you can do with it.
Lorraine, sorry you cannot get all the goodies we can so easily get here in the US. You may check an art store there to see if they can get some - if you want to try it.
Debbie, glad you like it - will look forward to what you create using the gold gessoed background.
I have never painted on gessoed paper. Ilove stopping by here, you're always trying new things.
I like what you did with your gold paper.
Carol, the gessoed paper resists the watercolor a bit, creating some nice textured look pieces and you have to mix your pigment/water with less water to cover well, but it looks cool and you use the gold as a color on it's own (or lightly toned down, if you want). One of my students was struggling, trying to make a nice smooth wash for a sky and I told it wouldn't work - she had to go with foliage behind her red bird to make it work.
Interesting post rhonda ...many thanks ...did not know you could buy coloured gesso
Hi, Jane! I'm enjoying your washing paintings on the group blog - even if I don't always comment :) Yes, Daniel Smith has many colors, not sure if others carry different colors, but it may be worth checking, if you're interested. The can is like a small can of paint and lasts forever (if you only use it as rarely as I do).
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