Tag Archives: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PamelaAtkinsonArt

Painting and Process

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Nascence, (Coming Into Being), Acrylic on Canvas, 22" x 30", © 2015, Pamela Atkinson, Pam Atkinson, pamelaatkinson.net, pamelaatkinsonart.com, Painting, Watercolor, Acrylic, Art Workshops and Classes, Riverside CA, Southern CA, Visual Artist, Children's Art Classes, Art Camps

Pamela Atkinson, “Nascence, (Coming Into Being)”, Acrylic on Canvas, 22″ x 30″, © 2015

I’ve been known to find artwork from a few years ago and not remember making it. Looking at it, I wonder why I didn’t value it more. Could the answer be that I wasn’t ready to accept the direction it was taking my work? Was I so involved with my current thoughts that I didn’t want  the distraction of a new concept?

Making a painting is like going on a long trip; what you discover along the way can surprise and delight, and sometimes dismay, but it’s always exciting, and in the end it’s worth all the effort and that’s why I paint.

I’ve read many books that say you need to plan the composition and value placement so that your work looks cohesive, and as a teacher I believe this. But if I follow this advise it leads to stale looking work; stiff and lifeless. I’ve planned paintings in this way and the work was successful but the painter was bored! Where were the surprises and what about the mystery? The adventurous way, and my preferred way of working, is to see where the process takes me. It’s my belief, that since my paintings come from my thoughts there is a built-in harmony between my various artworks. But I know that to pull this off you need good solid knowledge of art making techniques and time spent experimenting with different materials. Art history is crucial, it teaches you to appreciate what you’re seeing and the people who have come before you. Without all of this you are flailing around with a paintbrush in your hand.

I hope you enjoy my newest painting (above) and that it speaks clearly to all who patiently look. It represents energy in it’s raw form becoming something beautiful and strong. It takes determination and patience to create a painting but the final work is well worth the journey.

I’m always curious about other artist’s creative processes. Please write a comment about your artwork and include a link to your site!

Studio Space

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I enjoy reading Hyperallergic’s A View from the Easel. Artists send in images of their studios along with a written description. I like the messy spaces the best.  They make me wonder what’s going on under all the stuff, and I’m envious of the people who have a huge space in which to spread out. It got me to thinking about own my workspace, which I love but have never called a studio. It holds my easel, a large work table with space for my paints, computer, and stacks of miscellaneous items from my current projects, a bookcase, and a smaller table for my watercolors. I share the space with our dog Louie and his toys. The space in front of my easel is his favorite daytime location.

Louie sharing his space with Floating, acrylic painting on canvas, 30″ x 40″, ©2015

Louie sharing his space with “Floating”, acrylic painting on canvas, 30″ x 40″, ©2015, Pamela Atkinson

It’s a sunny space.  I’m grateful for the floor to ceiling windows, except in the summer when it gets too hot. From early morning the light filters into the room and illuminates my easel. I’m addicted to the light and all the shifts and changes it makes throughout the day. I used to paint through the night under bulbs balanced for daylight,  I still use them to work on my watercolors, but for my larger paintings there is nothing like sunshine. The light helps to define the colors and show off the many layers of pigment I use to create the forms. In return, when the light begins to dim the mood of the painting shifts and the colors take on a mysterious glow.

I’ve always liked working at home. I get feedback from a very knowledgable man and our dog keeps me from taking my painting too seriously. Where do you do your best work?  I’d love to hear, please leave your comments.  

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But I Don’t Need Any Paint!

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I’m a paint snob! I only like quality brands and Golden is the only acrylic paint I use. Their fluid acrylics are the best and I can’t do without the Acrylic Glazing Liquid. Depending on the look I want: I paint it on the canvas before I add color, I mix it into the pigment to make it more transparent or to create a glaze, and I use it on top of the paint to blend it. These paints are easy to use and create consistent results and I recommend them to my adult students.

Going to the art supply store is one of the fun things we do on the weekend. It’s a toy store for artists but because my favorite store is 50 miles away, I make sure that my inventory of both acrylic paint and watercolor doesn’t get low. I don’t need paint but Golden has a new line of watercolors called QOR, and I couldn’t resist!  I purchased the High Chroma Set of 6 colors which contained Green Gold, Quinacridone Gold, Transparent Pyrrole Orange, Cobalt Teal, Dioxazine Purple and Quinacridone Magenta, in 5 ml tubes. The advertising copy says they are “amazingly brilliant” and its true! I’ve used most of the major brands of watercolors and these react in a different way and the colors glow!

For my basic palette, my favorite brand is DaVinci, the paint is high quality and the tubes are large, 37mL, and like Golden, they have always been helpful when I’ve had questions about a product.  Lately, I’ve been using Daniel Smith Watercolors because of all their unusual colors. I’m an artist who prefers to use 5 tubes of paint or less in a painting, so it’s fun to add in colors like Indanthrone Blue and Perylene Maroon.

Most quality brands of paint handle in a similar way, but QOR moves differently on the paper. Gum Arabic is the binder for watercolors but QOR uses a unique product.  There is a nice introductory video on the QOR site that explains the difference.   I needed to make a couple of adjustments to my technique to get the colors to flow one into another without hard edges. With the QOR colors it took more effort to accomplish the fluid look I want, but once I got used to the way it applied I didn’t have a problem. Watercolors come in transparent, opaque, and granulating which look uneven on the surface of the paper, these qualities give a painting its  character. I didn’t use any granulating pigments in the painting below, but the Cobalt Teal (included in the set) is  granulating and Semi-Opaque.  All the pigments I used were transparent, except Dioxazine Purple, which is semitransparent.  The colors are bright and clear and mix well with each other and they all have a similar intensity which gives the painting a contemporary look.

All the Stars int the Universe, Watercolor, 9" x 12", © 2014

Pamela Atkinson, “All the Stars int the Universe”, Watercolor, 9″ x 12″, © 2015,  Print available in Pamela’s Etsy shop.

I’m looking forward to trying some of the other QOR colors. I like the clean, bright quality of the paint. But I need to remember, that I don’t need any more paint!  

What’s your favorite paint?  Have you tried QOR?  What do you think?