Description
While I was doing the FEEL series paintings, I used a load of small mount card cuts to experiment various techniques on before applying them to the big canvas. The funny thing with art experiments is that even the failed ones (or maybe, especially the failed ones) have value.
So it was a failed experiment with some inks that led me to use this card as a wipe-mat i.e. a surface where I wipe-off or use-up excess paint when I’m doing a painting. It started with me wiping off some gesso. Perhaps if I just covered the error then started again, I thought.
That led to me scratching away at some of the gesso in curvy sweeping motions. Well as curvy and sweeping as you can get on 10 x 12cm (4″ x 5″). Plus, I still liked that deep vermillion colour below, it would be a shame to lose it.
A few hours later I had some left over red and green acrylic ink from something or other (can’t remember which painting right now), so I dribbled the ends of ink on the dried gesso and noticed how it pooled in the little curves I’d scratched out. Ooooooh! I might actually grow to like this?
I think I might have been on yet another painting when the excess sepia acrylic ink needed to be used up so I added a few drops to this suddenly very pretty wipe-mat.
Another few days later, I was about to wipe, dribble, drain something else on to it and had to stop myself. (In the nick of time too!) I lowered the impending palette knife and stood back and really took a good look at my wipe-mat. It was looking really good actually. I quite liked it. I wiped the palette knife on something else before releasing it altogether. My wipe-mat had grown up when I wasn’t looking *wipes overly dramatic non-existent tear from eyes* It was no longer a wipe-mat, it was now a painting in its own right.
Sigh!
I do love happy accidents!
