may 20

05-20-15 "may flower"
05-20-15 “may flower” —SOLD—

5×6.75″ acrylic, ink

This is the third attempt at using a new block print (loosely based on a peony). The first was just the lines on a small piece of paper—I liked the abstractness, but was looking for more, and the limitations of the original block became more apparent. The second one I tried adding a few more lines and then painted in between, but it still wasn’t right.

For my third try, I printed the block on this watercolor paper blank greeting card using acrylic paint. Then I colored in the narrow middle areas with orange ink. Then I drew and painted even more lines beyond the original image. Then I mixed up some lavender-pink acrylic glaze and painted it using a lot of water as well. Finally, I mixed some transparent greens and sienna and painted a mottled background.

The final result is more what I had in mind when I first started out (except for the color).