First Gesso

Today’s painting follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s, mainly because I spread a load of gesso on a watercolour sheet to dry overnight.  It’s my first experiment with gesso and, although there are some interesting effects in places (like the very top left of the painting and the left side of the tree) I think I need a bit more practice with chemically enhanced painting.  I also used some salt in the background and tissue paper in the foreground.

For once, the foreground and background are distinct, although this is more down to my choices of blues than to how thickly I applied the paint.  Colours today were Prussian blue and light red (background), French ultramarine and quinacridone magenta (foreground) and cadmium yellow (everywhere).  There are also little bits of raw sienna and burnt umber.  No Payne’s grey today.

I’m pleased with the foreground.  The choice of colours and the use of tissue paper both worked out well.  The structure of the tree is a bit naff, even if there are some good gesso-created textures near the bottom.  Purple trees are starting to become a bit of an Artistic Actuary cliche but they to work well against today’s choice of background colours.  The background has great colours but is a bit too stripy.

This one wasn’t popular in the Q1 2019 poll.  It’s been cut up to be used as collage material.