Once again I had to set aside my painting for a bit in order to get a few other things accomplished. Actually it was more like one big all-consuming project with a deadline.
Cass Area Artists, of which I am the treasurer, co-sponsors a 3-month exhibit at the County Administration building in Cassopolis, Michigan twice a year. If you were following me a couple of posts in the recent past you might remember me mentioning this. To give you an idea of the complexity of organizing this event let me just say that as the coordinator of the exhibit I have a spreadsheet “to-do” list starting a month in advance which in its present incarnation boasts 76 items that must be completed and checked off. That said, it all got done and if you would like to take a quick walking tour through the artwork and the reception you can do it here:
This past week I have taken advantage of my newly-found free time to work on Sky Pads 36. I have completed the fourth pass on the canvas, and as far as subject matter is concerned it is final. I am debating how I will integrate foreground and background once again and I now have a new issue to resolve. I would like to do something similar to Sky Pads 11 which dates back to 2016. Most of these layers were added after the pads had been completed. I love the way everything floats in undefined space.
There is, of course, a fly in the ointment for #36 or I wouldn’t be postponing the next steps. When I did the original paint pour background I did it the way I have done it since I discovered that texturing trick. The pigment patterns are not stable until there is paint or varnish over them. I’ve been able to work around this mostly because until recently I haven’t felt the need to integrate foreground and background. If I now do a paint pour in the style of #11 (using paint mixed in a solvent) the pigment patterns will most likely dissolve and lose both their shape and intensity. I had some issues with this in the past 4 or 5 paintings. The solution would be a layer of fixative applied before the pour. The catch is, 99.9% of fixatives are meant to hold powdery media–charcoal, pencil, pastel, etc)–in place. They do not work on oil paint. So I did some research and I think I found that .1% of fixatives that might fill the bill. Order placed…waiting for delivery so I can try it out on some scrap canvas first. You’ll be the first to know. In the meantime, here’s #36:
Alli Farkas Artist Adventures 
Boy, there’s a lot of really nice art work in that display. But what excited me most was seeing Sky Pads on the wall!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My mantra is, “everything looks better on a wall”!
LikeLiked by 1 person