Donation

I have a friend in Paonia, CO who has been involved in supporting the Blue Sage Center for the Arts.  As with most arts centers — especially ones in small mountain towns — raising money for their yearly budget is always a challenge.  So when my friend asked me to create a piece for a fund-raising auction, of course I said yes. I believe in the power of art to change people's lives.  It disturbs me that schools are eliminating the arts from their curriculum so I feel an urgency to support local community alternatives.

I was mailed a 6" x 6" wooden panel and asked not to exceed the edges.  (Bummer since I already had a cool idea but it broke the rule!)  My recent work is all about layering so I started with spreading acrylic paint onto the surface with a credit card.  I chose blue and yellow to start with because I knew it made a great green when mixed together but I would also get some of the unmixed colors on my surface.

Once dry, I stenciled gesso over the surface with one of my favorite patterns.  After that dried, I sprayed acrylic paint over the surface.  Not sure what colors I used since it really doesn't matter.  This is the intuitive part.  Spray until you are happy!  If you don't like what you are seeing, you can always cover it with white acrylic and start again.

I actually loved the piece at this point and it was difficult to add the final layer of a stenciled plant.  But I thought it needed a focal point.  So I used white acrylic ink and wasn't happy with the sharpness of the leaves.  I used a white pencil and an acrylic pen to paint some of the leaves.  I left the lower leaves alone because I liked having the lighter leaves on top making the lower leaves in shadow.

So it's done.  I'm mailing it off tomorrow and let the auction begin!