Getting Mucky :).

Yesterday I included in my blog some photographs I took during the last couple of years. They are pictures that had then and still have the power to move me. They recalled the scenes to my mind and I could almost touch the grass, feel the breeze, taste the cold mountain air. That made them great pictures to follow up with a painting. I had more to put into the image than just recorded photographs and simple sketches done at the time
 My most used medium is glass paint on glass, but with these I wanted to use a technique that originated with stained glass windows. It is known as reverse painting and involves painting all the near details first and followed by more distant things. The problem is that you will view the finished painting through the glass, so you cannot see exactly what you are painting as you do it. The sunsets are ideal as they only require a silhouette first followed by a great deal of fun with the skies.
I really enjoyed this sky. I painted bands of almost pure colour and moved them through each other with my fingers. If you don't like getting your fingers dirty you can always use vinyl gloves, but the feeling of the paint to me, is quite sensuous. I introduced some complementary colours, blue with the orange, purple with the yellow, to create a range of greys to look like wisps of cloud. The darkest cloud was added as a mix of dark blue and violet.
While this may not be the most accurate representation, getting physical with the paint was pure joy and brings back the feeling of the moment on the mountain much more acutely.

It's also a great way to get out of a rut if you are stuck for ideas. I got plenty after this - background papers created like this for cards and finished with silhouettes. Using little pieces from prints to create quilt like patterns, dying a whole cloth quilt and adding dark details like swirls or arches ......

Why not get mucky with your medium and see how liberating just enjoying the process can be? I'd love to see what you make - let me know what you get up to :)