June Lily, 24x24", Acrylic on masonite, by Lucinda Howe

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been reading about having a Renaissance Soul, and it has encouraged me to experiment with different techniques in my art work.  As I have looked through my photos from France, I wanted to capture the texture of the old stone walls and mossy waterwheels, but not be too literal in copying photos.

I’ve also been wanting to experiment more with some of the many texture mediums available for use with acrylic paints.  This painting of waterlilies is an example of one use of texture.  It is painted on the rough side of masonite prepared with a red gesso background.  To bring the top layer back to white or a light color, I build up a layer of Golden molding paste, then add a thin glaze made with acrylic paint and glazing medium for light value accents.

Detail of June Lily showing use of Golden molding paste to create texture and white surface for glazing

Although I use this technique often, I feel that much more can be done with the texture mediums.  So currently in the studio, I’m looking at my photos from France and also playing around with texture.  Clear gels and opaque medium have different effects, and they can be mixed with acrylic colors, additives, and drawing media.

So far, I’m having fun and learning how things work, but it takes a while for the paintings to dry between layers. I hope to have a new piece completed soon!