Sunday, January 10, 2010

The Friday Report

Friday Report? Well I did post on Friday!
One of my pleasures is working with new and beautiful materials. When I decided that I would like to continue the work I had developed on paper and work on a larger scale on canvas I new that I would have to experiment with new materials. After years of working with collage and lino cut printing on canvas I wanted to return to painting without losing the luminosity of the watercolour works and I wanted to make the marks which I had drawn with pigmented ink on a larger scale. Pigmented ink was not totally suitable because it tends to be water resistant rather than waterproof and is not always very opaque.
Last week I found the technique and combination of materials that I am really happy with ( a Eureka moment). Using stretched fine tooth linen from Fitzroy Stretches I work with Matisse Flow acrylics thinned with acrylic medium and water. The Flow paints seem to dilute more smoothly than Matisse Structure even thought the pigments still drop out to produce sedimentation effects which are always a surprise. I then use beautiful sable brushes and thinned flow acrylic to paint over the geometric designs. This takes from one to four time consuming coats depending on the degree of opacity required. The whole process is a rather expensive but very sensuous experience.


January, The Odd Golden Leaf Appears in High Summer, © Susan Buret 2010
Acrylic on Linen, 100cm x 70 cm

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