Hope's Art Journey

The painting is on Claybord which is 2 inch cradled.  The surface is very smooth and although wonderful for certain effects, is difficult for tradition acrylic painting.  It seems that you need several coats to get opaque areas.  The paint lifts as you brush it across.  I did coat it with a base of acrylic yellow ochre which helps some.  And, if I decided to use pencil or collage or other mixed media; it would accept that material wonderfully.  I started with dark areas to lay out the pattern of the painting.  Then, I decided that I needed to paint from the top down almost finishing areas in order to find the proper proportion .  I can go back later and refine  and correct areas as I assess them.

I always cringe when I see palettes laid out in a perfect color pattern with each color having its place.  As you see, mine becomes a sprawling mess.  However, it works for me as I can add mixtures to one another to get the greys and nuances needed for my painting.  I have two Masterson wet palettes.  The mixtures can last about a week depending on how much time the lid is off, the humidity and so on.  Since I paint slowly and sometimes don't have a huge block of time to paint, I must remember my mixtures.  Also, when the paint begins to dry, I can add acrylic polymer or mix Open Golden Acrylic paint with the existing colors.  This only buys me a little time and may change the consistency.  Then, I must prepare another palette, soaking the special paper, wetting the sponge and transferring the mixtures that are wet enough to the new palette.