Pansy

"Pansy"
Oil on wrapped canvas
36" x 36"

I shot the reference photo for "Pansy" in Winter Park, Colorado last summer when I visited artist, Karen Vance.  There was nothing different between Illinois pansies and Colorado pansies, BUT this one reminded me of Marilyn Monroe's skirt in "The Seven Year Itch."

All of "Pansy" and many of my large, single bloom images have been painted with—a sponge.  Yes, even the tiny, hard-edged veins.  Probably your mind has conjured at least three different kinds of sponge by this time, but I'm not here to tease.  The magical tool is a masonry sponge.  Looks like an orange brick.

To reiterate, I paint with water miscible oils that dry faster than traditional oils, especially when applied thin.  I swirl on color with a snippet of sponge the size of a pack of chewing gum, wait for each layer to dry, and then swirl sheer glazes of color over each dry area.  The darker values of purple and yellow, above, were done in layers, not ala prima. Being a recovering watercolorist and a muralist/faux finisher, the use of non-traditional materials just comes naturally.  And over the next few days, I'll explain even more as you view additional pieces.

Thank you for visiting,
Carol