Another recap of a spring class, this one from May when we created abstracts on illustration board.
watercolor, wax, marker on illustration board
The process begins by rubbing blocks of wax around the surface of illustration board, creating an unseen design with the edges, sides and corners of the wax blocks.
student, drawing their designdesign drawn on contact paper
After that the entire surface is covered with contact paper and the design is drawn onto the contact.
removing contact layer with x-acto knife
After selecting a color scheme then the contact paper is removed, section by section, using an x-acto knife and watercolor paint is applied.
student adding color to their designwatercolor added, wax design showing
When the paint is added then the wax design pops out from underneath as white lines and dappled areas of color.
still adding paintadding more coloralmost finished
As one area dries we moved on to a different section until the entire piece is covered with paint – if that’s what the painter desired. When the painting is done then the areas can be detailed and/or outlined with marker, paint or ink if desired.
"change my world" mixed media on illustration board, 20x30" $295 (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker
Well, to make up for the lack of progress photos in my last post I’ve got an entire start-to-finish series to show you today! Playing with some new techniques & materials during my art day this week was a lot of fun. I started with an illustration board, wax, contact paper & a crayon. I waxed the outside and top edges of the board, which sealed it from absorbing the paints & warping and also repelled the paint in an interesting pattern. From the contact paper I cut out a shape that I applied to the board and then drew a couple of spirals on the board with a white crayon where it was left uncovered by the contact. Next I took a marker and drew a random, abstract design on top of the contact paper adding shapes as I went. Then I marked the individual pieces of the composition in the order that I would remove them between layers of paint. Once I had that (basically) figured out I painted on the first wash of watercolor to the board.
CMW, work in progress, image #1 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #2 (c) Lynne Medsker
After that dried I began cutting the contact with an exacto-knife and removing the pieces in number order, adding another layer of paint between each stage.
CMW, work in progress, image #3 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #4 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #5 (c) Lynne Medsker
I changed my mind about removing a portion of the circle during this stage and decided to leave it intact until later. That’s the nice part about being able to see through the clear contact, you can adjust your ideas as you go along! I continued with the removing and layering of paint and, eventually had to get a bit messy/runny/splattery as I worked. I can only be neat & organized for so long! 🙂
CMW, work in progress, image #6 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #7 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #8 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #9 (c) Lynne Medsker
I began adding more details and outlines during this stage using a black crayon. I was finally ready to remove the last pieces of contact and wash in additional layers of color with watercolor and acrylic paints.
CMW, work in progress, image #10 (c) Lynne MedskerCMW, work in progress, image #11 (c) Lynne Medsker
Adding more washes of paint and more black crayon I defined some of the areas of the composition and eventually decided to outline to original shape of the contact before it was cut. I also added white within 1/2 of the circle shape and extended the curved line that ran through the circle as well, then outlined the larger shape with silver paint. Almost there!
CMW, work in progress, image #13 (c) Lynne Medsker
The final touches to this piece were another black outline, this time on the outside of the silver, and adding/extending the curved lines going through the circle so that they ran from the top to bottom of the composition.
"change my world" mixed media on illustration board, 20x30" (c) 2010, Lynne Medsker
Rarely do I look at a finished piece without thinking of what I’d do differently, and this is no exception. I think my next piece I will be more liberal with the wax over the entire piece, I love to worn look it made around the edges and think I would enjoy that texture through an entire piece. It would also fun to do a monochromatic image with different hues and values of whites, blacks & grays…with perhaps just a splash of red thrown in for fun. So many things to think about!
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