Giving a Failed Painting a Second Life
Hi, I'm Valerie Englehart, and in this post I'm sharing how I paint a loose, abstract iris on the back of a failed painting. I had done a painting I wasn't very happy with. After it dried, I took it off the block, turned it around, and decided to use the back.
I wetted both the front and the back of my small 4x6 piece of paper and placed it on a laminated surface. That way the water does not soak into another surface, and the paper sticks on its own without any tape. I picked this particular laminated surface because it was small, easy to pick up, and I could bend it.
Thick Pigment, Gravity, and Patience
This painting is done by applying really thick pigment straight from the tube, then holding the paper at an angle and letting it drip. I started with the lower petal of the iris.
The video is sped up, so if it looks like I'm holding something up for a long time, double that. To get those rivulets and granulating paths, you need to give the water time to move. I use a spray bottle, but you still have to let the water travel on its own, because if you spray too much, you wash all of the pigment away.
I used a soft flat brush to lift some of the petal and shape its edge. One thing I love about this technique is how organic it looks. I place the pigment where I want it, but then I'm at the mercy of water and gravity. That is why a thick application followed by the spray bottle is so important.
Why I Use an Oil Fan Brush
I use an oil fan brush for this because I like the textures it gives. Because it is so stiff, it picks up fresh, juicy pigment more easily. I keep a towel on hand to mop up the mess I create as I paint, though honestly, it's fun to get really messy.
Working small has a clear upside and a clear downside. A small piece of paper is much easier to hold up with one hand while I work the brush with the other. But there is not much room for the pigment to move. Like anything, you get a bonus on one hand and a shortcoming on the other, and how we work with our shortcomings is what makes each painting unique.
Painting Like a Dance
This painting feels like a dance. I wash some pigment away, then reintroduce it, because I need to create a difference in values. At one point, it looked fabulous with a lighter background, and looking back, I should have left it that way. But I wanted a very dark background so the petals would start to glow.
I painted in the background, introduced water, and let it flow. I left a white gap between the edge of the lower petal and the background. That gives the petal a defined edge, and it also looks like it's catching light, which adds even more glow.
I also suggested a petal off to the side in the back. Because that one is not in focus, I wanted it to diffuse more than the petals in the foreground.
The Colors I Used
All the colors are Rockwell Art Colors. The primary color is royal purple. For more variation, I added a bit of morai witch, which is a pink. When it granulates, it has some black granules, which I thought would help create a moody atmosphere.
When Less Is More
Looking at the mid stage, my heart starts to hurt, because I know how this ends. Even though I came out with a very nice painting in my opinion, less can be more. If I had called it quits at that point, it might have looked fresher and more expressive.
That is a testament to painting something more than once. I could do this again with the exact same colors, but stop ten minutes sooner, or skip the background and leave it white. Regardless, I had a lot of fun. I am not doing a lot of work, I'm just having fun watching paint flow and dry.
That does not mean it takes no skill, talent, or practice. It helps that I know the properties of my pigments and I know the shape of iris petals intimately. Anytime I want to try a new technique or product, I usually paint an iris, because it has such an interesting shape. I can get weird with it, but most people will still recognize that it is an iris.
White Acrylic Ink and Granulating Medium
I applied white acrylic ink while the paper was still damp, dotting it in and letting it flow with gravity. It looked too stark, and it was all flowing in a single downward direction. I bent the paper because I wanted the white to flare outward, but it was not moving much and I wanted to break it up.
So I took a small round brush and dipped it in granulating medium. I have found that using granulating medium with white acrylic ink creates really interesting patterns and an organic look. The last time I did this technique was for crashing waves, where the white made sense. Then I wondered, what if I apply that to a flower? I honestly love how it looks.
If you see a technique that works on one subject, try it on another. That is part of how you find your style. But also, do not feel you have to stay with one style. As we grow and learn, we pick up the things we enjoy and may leave other things behind. That is how we grow as people and as artists.
Adding the Yellow of the Bearded Iris
Irises, particularly bearded irises, have a yellow section on their lower petals, so I dotted that in using cadmium yellow. It is more of an opaque watercolor, and I was fine with it diffusing and becoming less opaque and less saturated on the sides, since those sides are away from the center and not in focus. For the front, I wanted a vibrant yellow, so I went there first and put it on top of the white. Because everything was still wet, it all kept flowing, and it did exactly what I wanted.
Lifting to Create Value Range
One thing I was not loving was the lack of value range. I needed the upper front petals to pop more, and one of my favorite ways to do that is lifting. I took my flat brush, lifted the petals, and added some lines to define areas. Because everything was still wet, those lines diffused, so they did not become too hard. Since I was already going for a dreamy look, I wanted that softness.
Not everything stayed, though. I kept adding darks to make other areas lighter, which makes sense. Off camera, I lifted the petals quite a bit to make them much lighter, and that worked. But watching the footage, I thought it was so dreamy at an earlier point that I should have left it alone. That is okay. So my advice is to try stopping before you think it is finished.
Final Thoughts:
A failed painting can become a surface for experimenting, so turn it over before you toss it
Thick pigment straight from the tube lets water and gravity create organic rivulets and granulating paths
Give water time to move, because too much spraying washes your pigment away
White acrylic ink combined with granulating medium creates interesting, organic patterns
A technique you enjoy on one subject might work well on another, and that exploration is part of finding your style
Try stopping before you think a painting is finished, since less can be more