Happy Home Print

I enjoy working with acrylics because of their versatility. Like oils, they can be applied directly to the canvas, or can be watered down and applied in semi-translucent strokes, as with watercolours. My preference for acrylics stems from my desire to build colour intensity. I like to layer the paint thickly, building up the pigmentation on the canvas. I use a 1.5" brush to first apply paint to the primed canvas, then I switch to a 1" brush for the majority of the painting. As I'm painting, I am cognoscente of energy flowing through me. It seems to travel up through the soles of my feet, up into my legs and back, around my scalp, and then down my painting arm. If I try to control the movement of the brush, it feels like I am blocking the energy. At this point, my painting inevitably suffers. The key is to keep my arm movements fluid and sweeping; the energy will then be transferred to the canvas in the form of flowing brush strokes. When the energy is uninhibited, the exercise of painting is a joyous expression of life and beauty. It is freeing, uninhibited, wild and mystical. I honestly don't feel like the painting comes from me so much as through me.