After a bout of anxiety induced procrastination, I finally attempted a generative line study in acrylic using a gesso’d piece of IKEA furniture gone wrong...
It proved to be a warmup painting that was as much a study of technique, paint flow, differing brush and paint qualities, and color mixing, as it was an executed idea. Painting is a much different animal than drawing with pencil, color being almost the least of it. There’s greater flexibility and substantial potential for nuance, but control is significantly more difficult. In short, it’s both harder and more rewarding: offering infinite possibilities. It is also more tiring and requires some planning.
This study was also a reminder that acrylic paint is fairly quick to dry when working with small quantities. It can be completed in one shot, as I did here, or done using a medium to lengthen drying time. Doing it in one shot limits the scale of the work. This piece is about 40cm x 25cm, and by the end (over an hour later), my hand was very tired, and I couldn’t really stop mid-work to reflect on it without worrying that my mix was about to dry out. Making larger batches of color could be an option, though a somewhat costly one, since the purpose of the generative studies is partly to explore color theme and variation and I do a lot of mixing. Another alternative could be oil paint.
I’m basically pleased with this as a first try but overall the idea is not yet resolved.