The industrial wall – part two

One never knows how a painting is going to turn out until it has been completed, especially when it is of an abstract genre and painted over a period of weeks.

No matter how much careful planning one does, there is always the unknown or the voice of intuition that changes the direction of what was originally intended. Of course there is also the unintentional accident that can have a major influence in the direction that one is heading, including the final outcome of the paintings appearance. Another element one must to take into account is the fear of failure for it is a powerful distraction, even with my previous found confidence in which I succeeded in accomplishing what was mentally envisioned.

What I have learned technically from this painting can now be apply towards the next one, with the understanding there are no guarantees that the results will be as before. Painting is not a formula of steps with predictable results and in many ways this makes multi-medium painting a challenge as well as an exciting undertaking.

Each abstract painting I ever painted had its unique challenges and Industrial Wall — Flint Ink, version two, certainly was no different. Mixing a variety of acrylic products in order to achieve certain textures was new territory. When working as a multi-medium artist, I feel like an alchemist of the Middle Ages trying to turn iron into gold and in many ways today’s multi-medium processes are no different from when artists had to grind their own colours.

As the painting Industrial Wall — Flint Ink passed the half way mark, I took a chance of using a household spray paint containing a foreign element that gave it a fine raised surface texture. I was very apprehensive using this product but after spraying a single burst on the canvas, I was delighted, for it had provided the very thing I desired but had not attained until that moment.

The next step was to make sure to apply the spray sparsely and give it the unintentional accident look that gives it the appearance I saw the day I visited the Flint Ink plant. Because of that one burst from a spray can, the painting had taken another turn, allowing further applications of acrylic materials for a greater depth of texture and detail.

Last Wednesday the painting was finished off with a three layers Manganese Blue Nova colour with Liquin glaze, with the last two glazes being only over portions of the painting so that it resembles an external light source.

Industrial Wall — Flint Ink, version #2

Multi-medium combine on canvas, 36 x 48 inch (91.44 x 121.92 cm)

Yesterday I added the final touches, the shipping label, as it was previously tucked in under the wood temporarily and since it was rather fragile, an index card was added to the back with an additional layer of extra heavy gel medium for support and giving it a slight curvature in a permanent hold. The original nail was returned to its previous location and some twine saved from a package was secured to it along with a Sharpie pen.

In the end the painting came into its own, different from the photograph it was based upon, even though numerous elements in its makeup are also found in the photograph, the canvas underwent several evolutions to arrive at its final state. A little planned, a dash of the unexpected, a pinch of the unintentional accident, a twist of fear, and a good dosage of trust in ones own vision and ability.

In the end you have to trust in yourself, your ability and your intuition.