Painting gladioluses

I’m working on a commission that I’ve decided to do primarily with acrylics.  I’ve used acrylics for many purposes, and use them frequently, but I actually haven’t attempted many complete “works of art” with acrylics alone.

This is not a photo of the commission work, but rather a smaller painting that I’m working on alongside of it, only in acrylic.  A couple of years ago I did an acrylic landscape that I was not satisfied with; this will be only my second full acrylic painting (not counting murals) since, oh, probably 1987.

This is also my first flower painting since the summer after high school. Ironically, the last floral I painted was also the first full painting I had ever done with oil paints.  I don’t normally go in much for flower paintings, but I love the glads that bloom in our yard each year and have sort of wanted to paint them.  Also, I hear they are popular, and I’d like to have another painting to display at the art fair later this month. (That’s another reason I chose acrylic: oils would never dry in time for the art fair.)

Works-in-progress

 

I have no new artwork of which to post photos, but I have been busy.  First, I'm signed on for my first art fair in late July, thanks to my cousin David.  I'm scrambling to get stuff together for it.  David is providing the tent and registration fees, but there has been a lot of other stuff for me to take care of.  Business paperwork, business cards, trying to figure out how to make displays, framing, and tent weights…I'm not sure it will be worth the effort unless I decide I like it and want to do it more.  I guess the odds are good I will, but I'm doing my best to keep expenses minimal because I have no idea what my odds are of just breaking even financially on this first show.

I am also working on a commission for Chance School for some donor recognition wall art.  I'm in the process of preparing a 30 x 40" piece of hardboard panel for a mixed media piece.  I'm working on an 8 x 10" piece as a test, a "proof of concept," to make sure some of my ideas for the commission are acceptable.

At the hardware store I had the 30 x 40" board cut down from a 4 x 8' sheet, in while the guy with the saw was at it I asked him to cut down the remainder into a lot of standard painting panel sizes (18 x 24, 16 x 20, 8 x 10).  I'm planning to work on some paintings as soon as I can, too, and it would be great to get one done before the art fair, but I might be biting off more than I can chew.