Weekend painting: Orchid

Found some time on Saturday to pull out an artboard that already had a paper ground on It. I had done a sketch for a piece featuring and orchid , so I painted a study for a mixed media piece. The subject was an orchid from the Fullerton arboretum when we visited last summer.

I like the texture and roughness of painting this way. The board is prepared with hand made paper glued down on a wash of acrylic. I pick a color scheme, often without know exactly what i will paint on top. Then I rip the Japanese papers and apply them to the board with gel medium diluted with water.

Then the painting starts with a dark line brush drawing, using the flow and texture of the paper to create interest. I gradually build up the color where I want, trying to leave as much of the paper background showing or revealed as possible so the painting remains organic in feel.