Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Autumn

"Autumn," 2008, by Lea Keohane. Acrylic and oil on masonite. 18" x 24".

I finished this painting last week, in time to bring it along to Crafty Wonderland. I built my painting surface as always, by putting a support frame on the back of a sheet of masonite, then gessoing the whole things, edges and all. Someone asked me las week if I hated putting the gesso on the canvas, but I actually love it. Building my painting surface is kind of meditative for me, and it feels good to end up with this gorgeous white surface to paint on. I do need an electric miter saw, though--the only part I hate is trying to cut the frame pieces with a miter box and a hand saw!

"Autumn" is the first in a new series, painting the seasons. Not very deep, perhaps, but fun and lovely. Each season gives me such a different feeling, I would like to express it. I am also working on developing some aspects of my visual language, and this series will give me the means to do so. This particular piece has a hint of an Art Nouveau-inspired border. I did an acrylic underpainting, made stencils of the leaves in the background, and used oil for the figure, the border, and the border leaves. Now all I need is a better picture! I was having some glare issues :)

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