A Cayman Can Do It, 60×48″,Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas, ©2012 Lucinda Howe

Several vacation trips to the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort have inspired this week’s large painting.  Sunny yellow walls surround a lush tropical courtyard garden and turtle pond.  I wanted to capture the warm relaxed feeling of a day in the tropics.

The technique for this painting involves painting in layers, allowing each layer to dry before applying the next.  Acrylic paints dry fast, so the layers can be built up quickly. Here are the steps:

• Paint the background with yellow-tinted gesso
• Draw the design with a brush using black gesso
• Apply transparent glazes (paint mixed with glazing medium) to add color
• Apply opaque paint as finishing touches and white highlights
• Apply two coats of acrylic varnish