Background Walk Through

I just remembered I had a blog, so here's a little update!

We finished with the 30 in 30- I stopped posting paintings so there are a few mysteries. Or did I post them all? Can't remember. Either way, look out for a mini book we're publishing. And prints, as always, blah blah.

Today I'm going to do a quick walk through of one of my favorite backgrounds I like to do for my paintings. Go dark, why not?

Here's a design I drew out this morning when I couldn't sleep. On Arches cold press block.

I usually always paint wet on wet anyway- but first I wet the entire area- and I mean really get it drenched.

Slap some black on it. I use Talens black for my backgrounds- so it wont pick up while you're painting. Pretty much I just get all the outside super black, and bring it in. Even if it's entirely black, which it will be at some point, don't freak out because it's wet you can lift it up with a paper towel.

Dab a little dab a little in the middle.

Drip a few little clusters of Talens from your bottle at the end, pat it with a paper towel so it doesn't take 14 years to dry, and you're good.

I'll play around with it for a few washes. Re-wetting the entire area, re-applying more Talens, getting ink all over my desk and hands. I usually always prefer to do my backgrounds first, then finish painting. Some may argue with me, but whatevs. Do what I want.