Secret Tricks to Pouring Acrylic

How do you get that cool effect? Contemporary paintings are notorious for sporting a wide variety of special effects, especially when the imagery is abstract. Most of these effects, I have found, are obtained by pouring. Pouring is a simple concept. It’s a way of applying paint without using brushes, knives or other application tools. Just grab a large container of acrylic medium and pour it out onto a surface. Simple? Yes. Messy? Yes. Easy? Often, no.

Pouring is most commonly used to get a “surfboard finish”; a super glossy, brushless and smooth rich layer of color or clear coating on a painting. This is often obtained by using toxic resins. However, there are ways to get the same results with non-toxic acrylic. (This is the focus of my pouring presentation, recorded live, and available for purchase in a 70 minute DVD for $20. If interested please email Nancy at nancy@nancyreyner.com)

In addition to the surfboard finish, pouring can offer some new and unusual special effects to your work. With pouring its easy to think of Jackson Pollock. It can be a great way to add some fun into your painting process, smooth out unwanted texture on your surface, get marbleized effects, and rich colored glazes.

Here are some basic tips from my DVD to get a flawless “surfboard finish”:

(1) Use a rigid surface to keep from buckling while drying.

(2) Use a medium that is made specifically for pouring, like Golden’s GAC800. If using other fluid mediums, such as Clear Tar Gel or Self-Leveling Gel, dilute up to 40% with water and spread thinly to avoid crevicing.

(3) Apply a stain sealer, then prime the surface before pouring to keep stains from coming through the surface into the poured medium.

(4) Pour on a surface that is level, so while it dries it won’t shift.

(5) Immediately spray with alcohol after pouring and spreading to eliminate bubbles.

(6) For deep pours apply duct tape around the edges like a wall, seal the seam with a gel, then pour as deep as you want using GAC800. This is the only medium that I know of that can be poured deeper than ¼” without crevicing.

Other techniques covered in the DVD: Smoothing out a textured surface; Deep pouring & embedding; Transparent and Opaque Colored Pours; Poured Collage Shapes; “Dirty Mix” Pours; Jackson Pollock Drizzle Pours; Marbleized Pours

This 70 minute DVD, Secret Tricks to Pouring Acrylic, will be available for purchase (by March 1, 2012) for $20. If interested please email nancy@nancyreyner.com

I Don’t Get It!?

Ever been to a museum or art gallery and can’t figure out why a painting is on exhibit? It may not look finished, make sense, feel attractive, or give any idea of its meaning. I recently received an email from a New York City artist asking for help in understanding a painting by the surrealist Yves Tanguy (pictured below) that he saw in the Museum of Modern Art, titled “He Did What He Wanted”, painted in1927. In his email the artist said he tried to figure it out, knew it was surreal, but still felt lost. Even the wisest of us can feel a bit miffed while viewing an art exhibition. Here are some ideas I have on this topic:

Art comes in a wide variety
Our world is diverse. There are many different types and styles of paintings, as well as people, each of us with a different perspective, different ways of viewing and creating art. So it follows that there will always be some art we prefer, others we don't, and some that we will not comprehend, and may not care to either. If you don’t understand it, or like it, just move on until you find one that interests you.

Being on display does not always designate quality
Museums are educational institutions. They collect art for a wide variety of reasons, but in general try to purchase works that had an impact in the way we now view art history. Viewing an artwork on display in a museum, with our contemporary eyes, may not give us any connection unless we know about that artist or artwork, or have donned a pair of headphones. Even if this artwork is created by a designated “master”, this may not be their best work. That is because great masters like all artists, created a wide variety of  works, and some may be great while others are lukewarm. Museums may only be able to purchase a lesser quality work by a master due to finances or market availability. Keep in mind that just because a work of art is in a museum it may not be of high quality, and it may not speak to us.

If the work doesn't communicate anything to you, then let it go and move on to another image that does. Its more fun to keep looking for work that moves us then spend time with ones that don't. When I go to a museum I give myself one and a half hours max. After that I no longer have the viewing attention. In that time I wander around in search of one painting that will really move me. Once I find that one work I will stand in front of it for long periods of time to soak it in. What I am soaking in is not always intellectual or analyzed, but more emotional or felt. I go to a museum for that experience, not to see if I can understand all the works that are on display. Sometimes I will go to a certain exhibit to see what the curator had in mind - try to figure out what the educational message is from the show as a whole. But in general I like to view art for the "high", the emotional and spiritual impact I can get. This, then, gives me motivation to keep painting, to see that art does and continues to have value to the human spirit.

About Ives Tanguy
As I first mentioned, in the email that inspired this article was a painting by Ives Tanguy. Here is a link to read more about him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yves_Tanguy

He is very well known as one of the surrealist masters. I am not drawn to this particular work of his, however, I am aware that paintings look very different in person then from a photograph. The full impact of a work of art comes from all the factors, some of which are missing when the work transfers from paint to photograph: factors such as size, surface texture and sheen, quality of the pigment and color refracted by light, handling of the paint, and the artists "signature" in the brushstrokes. So I will keep from making any judgments until my next trip to New York.

Surrealism
Surrealism is an important movement in art history, and is still a major influence in contemporary work. Here is a link to read more about surrealism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism

During the time when surrealism was popular to a specific group of artists, there were other parallel movements in the culture such as the early development of contemporary psychology. Surrealism is based on our collective unconscious, so images, forms, shapes and colors are utilized to create a dream-like state in the viewer, and to evoke personal connections. This was a big deviation from other works of that time, that strove to create a very specific place, time and snapshot of reality. This particular work by Tanguy presents a grouping of forms (geometric and "real") in a landscape that will mean different things to each of us. As Carl Jung discovered, there are certain forms that mean the same thing to us, thus forming our collective, which is better stated in his books on the collective unconscious. When we look at historic works with contemporary eyes we may not find anything of interest. I do believe, though, that a really great work of art will connect to our human spirit in some way throughout time.

Ives Tanguy, "He Did What He Wanted", 1927

Space-y Thoughts on Painting

"Space.....the final frontier, where no man has gone before". Does anyone still remember that famous opening line from Star Trek? It's been coming to my mind lately since I will be offering a talk entitled: Transitional Space in the Creative Process.

The location venue where I will be speaking has monthly art talks, attended mostly by artists, so I am looking forward to keeping the talk open, throwing out some thoughts on the topic, sprinkling in a few new concepts, and allowing time for open forum discussion.

Here are some of my current thoughts so far on the topic:

Both "space" and "transition" are vital words for art and artists. As a painter, my work is presented in a two dimensional format of paint on canvas. Engaging a viewer by moving an image from the flat format into the experience of three dimensions is my greatest challenge. In my opinion, powerful painting expresses this experience of space, along with the potential to move the viewer's experience from the mundane to divine. Painting then, creates the space to transition the viewer's experience.

Space as it relates to art, can be seen metaphorically and literally; and plays an important role in art-making. From the architecture of my studio space to the objects and images positioned in my periphery, these all affect the work itself often emerging into the image like shadows. A certain mental space is required too, as I paint from both sides of my brain, alternating left- and right-brain modes with a constant flow. Space is needed to transition from everyday thinking to the inner psychological space necessary for me to do my work.

Got any thoughts on this? Then please join me!

Nancy Reyner talk: Transitional Space in the Creative Process.

Thursday, November 3, 2011; 6-7 pm at Destiny Allison Fine Art Gallery,

7 Caliente Road in Santa Fe,
(in Eldorado's La Tienda center - first intersection off 2nd Eldorado Entrance).

For more info and to make reservations for the talk please call (505) 428-0024
or email destinyallison@aol.com



Zen & the Art of Viewing a Painting

When watching a film or listening to music there is a linear way these works of art unfold to our eye or ear. A movie and a music performance both take a fixed amount of time to absorb from start to finish. While viewing a painting we might not be aware of a similar linear process that's involved. I've heard through museum researchers that the average time a person looks at a painting is 3 seconds. It is possible (and probably the norm) to take in a lot of visual stimuli all at once whether viewing a painting or just being in every day life. Obviously there is no fixed amount of time to view a painting, however I have found that if I slow down the viewing process while taking in a painting, my eyes seem to move through the piece like they're on a road trip.

I spent some time investigating this phenomenon and found that I tend to view a painting starting on the left side and working my way across towards the right. I wonder if this is related to the fact that as an American I read from left to right. Perhaps those in other countries whose language is read from right to left might find the reverse is true. At any rate, paintings are their most inviting when there is some "entrance" on the left side of the painting. This could be anything that creates a diagonal movement into the work. It could be a light ray, a path, a tree branch, a figure, a brushstroke, anything that has an angle. If, however, there is some shape or form on the far left that is completely vertical, running up and down along the left side of the painting, then it can create a visual barrier. Without some sort of inviting angle, the viewer might not be compelled to look at the painting for more than a quick glance.

After some practice of viewing paintings in slow motion I have found even more surprising discoveries. Once the eye gains entrance on the left, it will happily move towards something bright colored, or something with high contrast that contains a light value (like white) next to a dark value (like black). This just scratches the surface of the visual tendencies I've found. If anyone is interested perhaps I'll write more in my next blog. In conclusion, I have found that the more the eye can travel on a journey through the painting, the longer the viewing experience, and the more potential for creating a fulfilling visual and aesthetic experience.



Adding a Warm Glow

A painter emailed me about his recent acrylic landscape. He said it looked realistic but did not have the uplifting feeling that says "buy me". He wrote, "I then applied a mat glaze of yellow to warm it up, but it looked like a boring painting with a yellow mat glaze. I then gave it a yellow gloss glaze hoping for a beautiful day, the sun's out feeling, but it looked like a dull painting with two glazes! Please help!"

First I would like to suggest to add more faith in your process, reducing the amount of energy that goes into frustration when the painting doesn't look INCREDIBLE every time you do one layer, one brush stroke, one thing. Doubting, frustration and critical judging at each step is usually a waste of time and energy. It also puts you in a place of indecision.

So that said, now a few tips on glazing techniques.

(A glaze is a transparent mixture made with about 50-70% medium and the remaining amount with paint color. For more information on this please see the several previous blog entries I've made on this site on glazing).

With acrylic I noticed that it takes 3 or 4 layers of a glaze to equal the refraction that oil offers in 1 layer. So when you decide to add a yellow glaze over your painting to warm it up, first apply one layer of a glaze made with a warm yellow like Cadmium Medium or Hansa Yellow Medium. Then when that dries, apply another layer of a cool yellow glaze like Green Gold or Hansa Yellow Light. When that dries add yet another layer of a high powered modern color glaze like Nickel Azo Gold.

As you apply each layer try to apply it unevenly, so that you have more of the color on one side or one area then the other. (I like to accomplish this not by using more quantity of glaze - I like THIN glazes - but by applying pure medium in some areas first, then when the glaze goes over that area it becomes more transparent.) Then when you apply the next layer change the way this next color is applied (more color - less transparent on a different side or area than the last layer). This way you are adding a yellow tone to the painting, but you are also creating a richer quality by using multiple layers. And working with it unevenly adds to the illusion of depth much more than when you apply equal layers that change the whole surface of the painting the same.

Another tip: To get an antique effect, or add a warm feeling to a painting (especially great with landscapes or portraits) I like to use a glaze of Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold. These paint colors are incredibly rich, so use extremely small amounts of the color in larger quantities of medium. Test a glaze prior to use for strength of color before applying it directly to your painting by applying it over an unused surface or piece of paper, then blow dry it for fast results.