Building to a Conclusion

I have worked on this same canvas four times - building layers of paint and color without arriving at a satisfactory result, until today when inspiration struck (in the bathtub).

I am currently intrigued with understanding how to develop texture and interest under the layer of paint that shows. As I study the abstract images I find most successful, I am becoming more aware of all that appears to be going on under the surface. So, I thought I would use this much painted canvas to create a color field painting. I applied a surface pattern with tape, and just for the heck of it, added a thin layer of gold paint to the existing (now under) painting. There was already lots of texture in the paint, and I thought it would work through. I chose a limited palette of blue, turquoise, yellow ocher and white.

I used my new fat brush to lay thick paint in the taped areas, mixing on the surface of the canvas, dried with a hair dryer, untaped, retaped the areas that I wanted to work on next, and repeated the process. I added a touch more gold, and thickened some texture. If you look closely, you can see lines and swirls, darks and light subtlely through the stripes. Finally, I think this canvas is done ... at least until the next inspiration strikes.