Painting of the Day - Mystic Garden

Mystic Garden
36" X 36" Acrylic on canvas




Today I kept working in the porch, even though it was raining on and off through the day... Amazing, shifting light, blustering winds, and misty sprays through the screen complimented my "water works" in paint. I took a lot of pictures and worked on many canvases today, but I chose to share the progress of this painting, because I like it and I think it's complete.

The first picture (sorry for the poor quality) shows what I did yesterday as an underpainting. I am always in love with the most raw underpaintings, when the canvas shines through thin layers, and the color absorbs organically into the fibers. I always ask the question, 'Should I just leave it like this?'. It seems like it's too easy, but I'm discovering it's actually more difficult to resist temptation and recognize when to leave well enough alone. There were two today that I decided to leave alone, this one, I chose to go further.

The raw, initial gestures inspired the progression of the painting. The second picture shows the addition of green. Then I came in with a toned down phaylo blue. Around this stage, I was wondering if I should leave the bottom right raw - I loved the drips but it competed with the top area of light. Again, it could have stayed like this, but with the helpful eye of my husband, (he claims he "doesn't know art", but he has a great eye/instinct about painting) I layered over the bottom with a darker glaze. The finished product is what you see above and below.