Gettin' My Mojo Back

I spent some time experimenting with paint this weekend. I'm thinking of changing to watercolors. Paper is much cheaper than canvas, and takes up a lot less room. For the longest time, I painted exclusively on 16" x 20". I was intimidated by my first 24" x 24" canvas. It seemed so huge, I was terrified! In no time, however, I was hooked. Then I started painting 24" x 30". I've got the bug, I want to go even bigger.

This weekend I didn't have a canvas - and my neighborhood being the chaos it is on July 4 - I didn't feel like going out to get one. I wanted to paint something large, so I decided to tape together four sheets of watercolor paper. I've been painting on the floor, which is hard on the back, as well as on perspective. I really need an easel! I decided to tape the paper to the wall.

I posted this in-progress shot on flickr. Midcentury Jo asked if I was painting directly onto the wall. I wasn't - but what a cool idea! All of a sudden I want to paint large paintings directly onto the wall! How fun. But since it's a rental, I won't.

I'm definitely loving pink and orange, and I was highly influenced by the movement and swirls of Wouter Dam's pottery, that I wrote about below. I danced with the brush and was in heaven, I listened to the melancholy sounds of Moby's new CD. I entered the zone.

Here is the finished product.

Untitled, 2009, 28" x 36", acrylic on paper.

Like my other recent painting (see previous post here), I am not completely satisfied. My hands are not as steady as I would like. However, my recovery is progessing nicely, and they are getting better every day. I don't like the medium of paper as well as I like canvas. Canvas seems to facilitate the movement I am trying to achieve in a gentler way. I am pleased that a style is emerging and I am definitely getting my mojo back! Stay tuned for more experimentation with paint and color.

P.S. I hate clean up. I need a studio.