It’s done! It’s done! My latest painting is done. I see it as a wave. A never-ending wave… it’s always swirling around, moving, pulling in and breaking out. There is energy in the motion. I’ve entitled it “Arriving” because that is what I see it doing. Always arriving, never arrived. Just like us. Any time we think we have “arrived” we start on a new journey. Any time our wave breaks on shore, we have but a brief moment before we are pulled back into the swirl of life and creativity. That’s just how it works.
Arriving, Acrylic on Canvas, 16×20″
Getting back into painting has been fun. I’ve enjoyed seeing this image emerge, letting it tell me where I wants to go. I’ve enjoyed getting paint on my hands and under my fingernails. I’ve enjoyed gazing at the end product up on my easel. I’ve also enjoyed what I’ve learned from the contrast of this painting, which I love, and the other one that I was hating last week. Thanks to your advice, I’ve set that painting aside and I will come back to it later. There are some distinct difference between my approach between “Arriving” and the painting-which-shall-remain-nameless. The biggest is in the gestures I used. For Arriving, I was playful and free. I did not try for clean edges or precision. I found interesting things to stamp with. I circled and swirled, layered without trying to be smooth or clean. The interaction of the layered elements is what I like best. In the painting I hate, I got wrapped up in clean edges and even coverage. The gesture, the texture, and the interaction of elements got lost in the precision. So, for my next paintings, I’m going to go with the looseness. Open gestures, stamping shapes, allowing imprecision. See what emerges.
Here’s the painting in it’s process of “Arriving”… Just in time for Paint Party Friday! Starting with shades of blue, lots of fingerpainting and a spray bottle to drip:
Adding more blue and some circles with a foam brush, more dripping:
Adding green and beginning to define the swirl:
The white enters, using various random things to stamp circles:
More white and layering of the circles with other colors to further blend and define the regions:
A few minor additions of light/dark to blend the swirl with the “bubbles” and the work is finished:
Arriving, Acrylic on Canvas, 16×20″
I took a few closeups of my favorite parts:
And a new question for all of you experienced painters this week: How do you sign your work? This painting is, as yet, unsigned. I’ve always had this struggle of wanting the signature to be small, neat and unobtrusive but I am paint-challenged for small details and it never turns out right. I find myself wanting to sign it with a fine point Sharpie and be done. Any advice is appreciated, and thank you so much in advance for sharing your tips! Last week’s comments were so helpful.
I simply love it! It feels refreshing and full of oxygen and even though blues are calming I can’t help but feel just a sense of adventure in this too. Nice job!
Congratulations – what an amazing sense of accomplishment you must be feeling, and you deserve it – it is wonderful. Keep it up girl – keep exploring those other artistic sides of you – PROUD!
Thanks so much Cindy!!
Wow, love the movement and color!
Wow! Great work, Kat!! I love the motion and the colors are awesome. Good for you for working big too. 16×20 lets you get into it. I’m so excited for you with this new direction. Love, love, love it!! As of now, I am signing mine on the back. I haven’t worked out what to do either 🙂 Beautiful work – keep going – you are heading in a fabulous direction.
Thanks for the encouragement Marji! It’s been fun. Next one is in progress already!
Seems to me you’ve certainly “arrived” at a new way to express yourself! These are beautiful Kat!
LOL, very cute. Thanks. I think I’m going to be “arriving” with this medium for a while though!!
Nicely done. I love the sound of waves so much I sleep with a sound machine that makes wave sounds. 🙂 I paint in oils usually so I sign my paintings with a small.. very small.. brush dipped in a color and a medium that shows but not to showy. You want them to find the signature but not BE the painting. Keep the paint loose so it flows nicely. Since you use acrylics that shouldn’t be to hard. Some paint boldly their names. Its all a matter of personal choice. But be proud of your work..Sign it. 🙂
such a lovely piece
i think it is up to each artist to find their own signature
a name
a symbol
a design
on line i feel a watermark is important so that as your images float and around and they do, anyone who wants to find you can!
Fun to see this wonderful blue white and now green swirl finished.
My signature is my “signature” always the same…my name in XS black ink the same pen I draw with. I like finding interesting lines in my work to adhere it to.
seeing it emerge was almost like being there which was great fun and I love seeing the detail in the close up shots… thanks for sharing and I hope you get lots more paint under your fingernails soon…xx
Smashing painting, full of energy. Have never signed my paintings so will have to think about this………..Happy PPF, Annette x
Love it – it’s a pool as well as a wave! I try to sign my work in the media I used, and I try to find a spot where it helps balance the composition, instead of working against it. But I agree it’s difficult!
Rinda
Hi, Kat, what a refreshing, summer painting! 🙂
As an art teacher I teach kids and the others to sign their art work with the material they used (for the painting – paint & art brush). I also say that a signature is just another art element of an art work – so it should be integrated in the art work and harmonized with it… So, your signature can be anywhere (it doesn’t have to be in the right bottom corner of your work etc), in any shape, etc. – Anyway, you just sign your work the way you feel… Usually, the signature tells the viewer that the work is finished and that it is an original work…
I hope this helps. Enjoy the creative process!
Kat, I love this painting. It is so full of energy and the title is perfect. It is fun to be on a creative journey never knowing where it will take us. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It is very inspiring.
Wow! This is such an inspiration. Love the energy, the colors…it is just wonderful!
This is lovely! “Effervescent” is the word that comes to mind, probably because of the bubbles on the side. And the green brings the concept of “growth” to mind; like, moving from left to right, the right-hand side symbolizes maturity.
Absolutely dynamite! Love how you completed this and your post is excellent ~~ thanks, ^_^ (A Creative Harbor)
Beautiful cool colors, yes, like a wave. Makes me want to be at the beach :o)
It’s beautiful, and it really does feel cool and refreshing. I love your title for it, and your description of always arriving in life. Perfect way to look at it.
Such a lovely description on how you came to arrive at the name (no pun intended!) and how very true on how we are always arriving, never arrived! I think it looks wonderful and totally makes me wish I was somewhere with water that blue and inviting!
As for the signature, I do my initials and this year started adding the year as well but like you I struggle to make it small enough. I do use a small paintbrush but it’s still hard to get it as neat and small as I would ike. I have also started putting the initials on the side or bottom of the box canvas if possible so it doesn’t intrude on the painting.
Your wave is just gorgeous Kat!
The colors are dynamic. I sign my initials and the date (year). Blessings, Janet PPF
Love it, and it’s always so interesting to see the process…
I have trouble with the whole signature thing, too, especially in painting (as opposed to collage). Because it’s my handwriting (which of course I don’t like 🙁 ) that’s all I can see once I’ve signed it… So no solutions here, except that you definitely should sign it…
I love your wave and the way you used it as an analogy of life- VERY clever!
Happy PPF,
Stephanie
Congratulations! How good you must feel. I, absolutely, adore this painting. The colors, the shapes, the title.
ooh i love the blues and greens in your painting!
Wow, I love it!!! I can feel de movements of the waves. Beautiful!!!
Thank you for sharing your process of this refreshing piece! Wonderful movement, full of spirit and beauty! Very pretty!!
I have now read all the comments because I too never know quite how to sign my paintings especially because I like to be able to hang the majority of my wall paintings in all four directions!! Some have signatures, most don’t…I have worked out a couple of initials…it’s difficult because I don’t want them invasive!
Hugs Giggles
I love how this turned out! So beautiful, I can feel the bubbles tickle my nose as I swim through!
I love your description of the bubbles tickling your nose, so sensory!!
Lovely painting, Kat. I adore the colours (my favourites) and the movement and the energy it gives off! What fun to get your fingers in paint!
Beautiful work! The layering adds interest without getting cluttered, which I find happens sometimes. Wonderful. I find sharp edges and defined shapes really only works when I’m working quickly – usually with a stencil of some sort.
I’m not exactly a professional, but I’d go ahead and sign it with the fine-point Sharpie. That’s what I usually do.
Loving your infinite blue wave, Kat!
So much rhythm and movement!
♥♥♥
Happy PPF!!
Mary
I Love it and it is a WAVE for sure. I like the name to and it’s so fitting.
“Arriving” turned out beautifully! So full of energy and movement. Love it!
I, too have a problem with signing in paint. So hard to paint a signature. I sign the back mostly, especially with an abstract that could be displayed a variety of ways. (hmmm one disadvantage of iPads you can’t turn it to see what your painting would look like on it’s side or upside down. The image turns too!)
wonderful peaceful painting…