Day NINE

Bathe

Gouache on 9"H x 6"W heavy 156lb Arches paper

Ready to frame, $100

Available: HERE

Day Nine of the "30 paintings in 30 days".  The photograph I worked from with this painting is from the DPW challenge,  The Bathing Woman.  You don't have to be a member of the site in order to participate in their challenges.  I am a listing member, but have never participated in any of these challenges.  Well, until now. I have been wanting to work with some more figurative abstracts and found several photos on their to work with.  It's been a good place for me to start.  However, I am going to have begin looking for my own, take my own or perhaps my daughters from A Beautiful Mess would be so kind to allow me to use theirs!

I began this painting purely as a gesturally drawing done with a wash sketch pencil on wet watercolor paper.  My objective was to use color with a soft atmospheric effect and not loose the gesturally feeling.    If you have never worked with Gouache (French, pronounced gwash), it is a water-soluble opaque medium. I love that you can move the paint much like working with oils.  Unlike acrylics that dry permanently, you can come back later and re-work, soften etc., an area. Because they are an opaque, thicker paint than watercolors, I can stay with the painting longer, rather than having to stop allowing drying time between layers.  Try them sometime!