This summer was hot and humid in Virginia--too hot most days to paint en plein air. Instead, reference photos replaced real life and direct observation.  During this time, I took a class with a local well-known artist who is most accomplished in her use of acrylic paints. She has switched from oils to acrylics recently and found them quite versatile.  I thought I'd give it a try.

 

I was apprehensive about the class, but she put me at was quickly and created an atmosphere in which I could experiment. The result was that I came away with a new admiration or the properties of acrylic paints and found new means of expressiveness with these water-based paints.  

 

Later in my studio, I began to see the value of using quick drying acrylics as underpainting and applied oil paints sparingly to this new surface--creating a surface with varying  textures and richness of color.  I intend to continue to experiment with this new way of painting and hope to create some larger works as well.

 

If you would like more information, give me a shout out--and please do read and sign up for my newsletter, which comes out every few weeks, announcing new works and opportunities to collect my art.