Rescuing a Painting
"Pangaea" 14 x 18 in. Acrylic and oil pastel on flat canvas Click here to purchase (or see large) Some months back, I began a painting with acrylic (using a palette knife) on some flat canvas. I blocked in the large forms and basic lights and darks with the knife, and liked the simplicity of the first stage. I tried some chalk pastel over the acrylic, to highlight the thick textures and brighten the piece. I had put a great deal of yellow chalk over the paint, liking the brightness but unsure that it felt right. Then I got sick. Brutally, miserably sick with nausea for a couple of months. Every time I looked at the painting, I didn't like the color choices I had made (all that yellow began to take on a sickly feel with the green and purple). Finally, I put it away, because looking at it reminded me of how sick I had gotten when I was in the middle of working on it. I didn't forget about it though. I knew it had started off strong, and that...