Today, I want to share a painting process for creating a whimsical face on multiple canvases with an abstract background.
Faces are one of my favorite topics. It’s so much fun drawing faces, painting faces, collaging faces, seeing the shadows on faces – you get the idea. My inspiration for this painting process was Artist Christine Peloquin. She creates art by painting faces on an abstract background, sometimes using multiple canvases. It was so intriguing, I couldn’t wait to try this technique for myself. While this is my first piece, there will probably be a series in my future.
The painting process started with four separate 8×8 inch canvases.
First, I painted the canvases with bold colors using acrylic paint. It was so much fun playing with a full palette of colors in the abstract.
Second, it’s time to reduce the brightness by grunging up the canvases.
I created the grungier look by applying a diluted glaze of yellow paint on the dry canvas, then wiping off the glaze. You can repeat the process to get the just right level of grunge to remove some of the brightness of the colors.
Then, I did a rough sketch of the facial features using a Stabilio All Pencil to make sure they were in proportion on each canvas. I like using this pencil because it activates with water. This allows me to easily wipe off the lines using a damp cloth if they aren’t accurate. It also gives a fun start to the painting process when activated by water or paint.
Next up in the painting process, I finally start painting the face components. My favorite paints are acrylics combined with Posca pens for details and accents.
One of the favorite parts of creating a painting is to extend the color over the sides of the canvas. This color continuation leads the viewer beyond the surface.
I’m excited to continue this process and expand it to add collage components. The creative possibilities are endless!
The title of the piece is “I See You.”
UPDATE: This piece sold
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