Henrietta Contemplated Countermeasures

"Henrietta Contemplated Countermeasures" - oil on gallery wrapped canvas, 20 x 20 x 1.5 inches.  Ready to hang. (click on the image to purchase)

“Now that I knew something was hacking the security cameras to watch me, I could use countermeasures. I probably should have been doing that from the beginning, but as you may have noticed that for a terrifying murderbot I fuck up a lot.”
― MURDERBOT, Martha Wells, Artificial Condition

A good portion of painting is correcting where we messed up.   Contemplating such countermeasures keeps me awake at night.

Henriette Contemplated Countermeasures

My partner and I have this conversation often - his medium is often digital, while mine is paint, paint, paint.  He will lift layers of his art and go back to a previous version in the event of a mess up.  Which may provide a whole lot more incentive to experiment, as well as the temptation to become lost in a never-ending list of options.  But this also requires a huge amount of experience and willingness to excavate your own creation. And patience.  And the ability to "see" the layers (which are many).

​For me, a mistake can mean starting again, changing directions or muttering fervent pleas to the universe to steady my hand long enough to fix something challenging. Sometimes one countermeasure leads to the need for another. The mistakes are legion.  And the fix is not always obvious.  

​What I've learned is this:  if I walk away from the piece for a day or two, when I return again the next steps become clear.  Even if the next step is a bucket of gesso.  Often, though, it is ten minutes of confident execution and VOILA! 

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About the art:  beginning with an older abstract painting in similar colors, I sketched directly on top of the painting with a long handled brush and thinned paint. Working from the outside in, creating layers of color with walnut oil-thinned paint.  For the dress, I consulted three books with excellent reference images of fabric rendering.  Many more layers with full drying time in between.  Pulling final wet layers into the dark background with a wet brush.  A final drying and then a layer of varnish to bring out the darks even more.  Henrietta, you look maahhhhhhhvelous!

reference books