Deconstructing A Commission: Part One
During this time of pandemic-induced isolation and canceled events, I have been accepting commissions of my mixed media work. My most recently completed one posed a number of challenges in terms of execution, materials, and shipping.
THE GOAL: To create a large-scale (20”x48”) version of my popular “Leaf Dance” series for a family friend who is an avid art collector.
Also known as the piece which inspired the commission.
THE FIRST STEPS: My collector supplied me with images of his current living space, and the art which would be in proximity to my piece. Inspired by that, I began thinking about how I would handle the color palette. Because many pieces in his collection showed muted colors on white backgrounds, my first inclination was to replicate this for “Leaf Dance”. While creating sheets of watercolor paper with soft, muted blues, maroons, and olive greens, I had the feeling that something wasn’t quite working the way I wanted it. But, I continued on, preparing the substrate (which Stan built from MDF and wood) with Gesso and tissue paper for texture. Next, I cut a handful of leaves from the watercolor paper, and arranged them on the surface. The result was, well, let’s just say I was less than enthused about it. The background, instead of making it look like the leaves were floating across the surface, which is what I wanted, just looked…dirty. Definitely NOT the look I was going for. And again, the pale, flat leaves didn’t seem right either.
THE RETHINKING: I took some time to think again about the feeling I wanted for the piece, and how I would achieve it: I wanted an almost transparent feeling to the leaves, and the dry brushed acrylic on watercolor paper just wasn’t getting there. And, as often happens, when I wasn’t consciously thinking about it, the solution presented itself (yay, subconscious mind!): alcohol inks on Yupo paper! Longtime Artventuring readers know that I use alcohol inks on Yupo to create my glass pendants, as well as for some framed abstract paintings I did in 2014. The colors are luscious, and the slick Yupo paper allows the inks to float on the surface, mix in beautiful ways, and dry quickly due to the alcohol content. This was the way forward! I knew that I could get the almost-transparent feeling I wanted, and I could more easily control the color gradations I had in mind for the design.
THE NEW DIRECTION: After receiving the two dozen new alcohol ink colors I’d ordered, I set to work, creating the many Yupo paper sheets which would become the leaves. I was still thinking that the background would be white at this point. Here is how the start of leaf placement looked, and how the color transitions were working on the textured background. After successfully solving the leaf issue, it was at this point that I realized the white background was the issue; it was the ‘not working’ element now.
You can see the lineup of just some of my alcohol inks at right.
The color transitions are working pretty well here.
It took more time, more thought, and several experiments to resolve the background issue. In Part Two of this post, I’ll show you what happened next, some technical solutions, the eventual finished piece, and its shipping odyssey.
Stay tuned!
Until next time,
Michelle
