After one of my acrylics talks a few years ago, an artist pulled me aside and said,
“Now, I finally understand why my paintings are falling apart! I wish I had known what you just taught me 10 years ago!”
My heart went out to her. I’ve made more technical mistakes with my art over the years than I care to recount. That’s why I’m so passionate about sharing with artists how to build a sound and stable paint film.
I don’t want to hinder anyone’s creative process. That’s the last thing I want! That’s why I offer some sound alternatives here to get the same look without harming the paint film.
Please, please share this info with all your painter friends, artists groups, classes, professors, etc. I’ve found in the 15 years I’ve been teaching this to artists of all levels from those with 40 years experience and paintings in museums to the absolute beginner, only about 5% have ever heard of underbinding. Let’s make sure no more artists have their paintings fall apart by something that could easily be avoided.
These are the materials I mentioned in the video above:
Liquitex airbrush medium
Liquitex gloss medium
Liquitex acrylic gesso 32oz.
So many things inspire me, breathing, flowers, blue skies, a blade of grass, the list could go on ad infinitum! In my work, I see elements of nature, often obscure to anyone but myself. When I can, I give homage to nature in as clear a manner as possible for my chosen muse. It is not often easy to make pretty like I would like, it is complicated! One brush stroke with my knots takes hours, it is like I am painting in slow-mo! When I get something just the way I want it, ooh how satisfying to the spirit!