Monday, September 8, 2014

More Chairs and Notes on the Technique

Chair Number 11
4 x 6 inch oil on paper
available here

Before traveling, I painted these three chairs and they are now dry and in my shop on Etsy.  


Chair Number 12
oil on 4 x 6 inch paper
available here


I have been inconsistent with signing them on the front.  Sometimes it is too crowded in the area I want to sign in, or too distracting, or simply does not show well enough.  I also stopped gluing these to the mat boards because it did not seem necessary since they are so small.  They don't buckle like larger works on paper and they stay flat in a frame without the boards.


Chair Number 13
oil on 4 x 6 inch paper
available here

 About the Process

To make these I prep the paper with various colors of acrylic paint, then apply the oil paint with a palette knife.  I draw the chair by scratching through or wiping away the oil paint to expose the acrylic color underneath.  The third chair here is the best example of how I do these.  The red part of the chair you see is the acrylic paint beneath including that little splotch of blue on the side.  The background, floor, chair seat, chair back and pillow are in oil.  

These little things can be tricky because the oil painting is wet on wet, and on a very small surface.  This is another reason for the inconsistency of signing them.  It is impossible to sign them with a paint brush because they are so small, so the only way to sign it is to scratch in the signature which may or may not show up well.

Painting these has been a great way for me to explore color and also a good exercise in thinking ahead.  I always have to consider the color of the acrylic that will pop through. It dictates what oil colors are chosen.

19 comments:

  1. Love the chairs! I have painted chairs in the past...REALLY Sharp!

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    1. Hi Sue! Thank you. Have you ever thought of painting them again?

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  2. This is a lovely technique, I love to scratch through to the underlying layers too although I use acrylic. :) Lovely work Lisa.
    Jess xx

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    1. Hi Jess!! It's great to see you here. I can't seem to work fast enough to scratch through acrylic. It dries so fast. Thanks for your kind words!

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  3. Great job Lisa. What fun........drawing with paint.

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  4. Loving the chairs .........

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  5. I love your chairs Lisa!
    I am trying to catch up again in blog land! I was attacked by yellow jackets on the weekend! Doing better now ;o)
    Big Hugs and thanks for being you!!!

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    1. Thank you. Stacy. Yellow Jackets...ouch! Glad you're better! Goodness!! xo

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  6. Replies
    1. It's the palette knife that leaves the texture. Thank you CrimsonLeaves.

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  7. I can see that you love experimenting. Everything you paint is pure joy and crazy fun.

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  8. Your chairs are so wonderful and thanks for telling us a little about your technique. Your work always makes me smile.

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    1. Ditto Judy! Thank you! The technique would probably really work for your style too!

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  9. Your chairs remind me of people. I think I would love to meet chair 12 she looks like she has many stories to share. LOVe them all Lisa xxx

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    1. I love that you said that Morag...to me they are people too. Thank you! xo

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  10. What a fab post, Lisa.
    Chairs...I love your chairs and that is why I own two. I used the theme in my interior series and I am sure the influence started with my delight in your chairs. You make us see them in a whole different way.
    Thanks for sharing your technique - I did it with acrylics by using slow-dry medium mixed into my top layer of paint.

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