The Light of Day

I love rainy mornings. For me, it’s a perfect time for drawing and painting. I listen to the sound of the rain coming down, I relax, and I enjoy my art.

Unless I’m using acrylics. Yes, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Acrylics and I just don’t get along.

Little by little, though, I’m learning to appreciate acrylics. I use them for toning my canvases,  and only a few days ago I posted about using acrylics for underpainting. There is one other thing I use acrylics for. Abstract paintings.

I’ve been doing a lot of abstract painting lately, and since I have no idea what I’m doing with abstract expressionism, I always do it with my acrylics.

But why is it that I have so much trouble with acrylic painting? I don’t know. I really don’t know. I thought my earlier attempts might have been discouraging because it was the first time I’d ever tried painting on canvas. But that’s not it. I now paint on canvas all the time with my oil painting, and I still can’t do it with acrylics. It’s not the surface that causes problems for me.

Mostly, it’s the consistency of the paints. I get it too thick or I get it too thin. And then if it’s too thin, it dries so quickly I can’t do anything with it. If it’s too thick, I end up with a mess of blobs and splotches.

Once in a while, though, I come up with something I like — purely by accident. That’s how this abstract acrylic happened. I was playing with my paints again. Rain was pouring outside, and I was getting my art supplies organized at my easel. I had a lot of acrylics sitting out — I’m working on another project — and instead of putting them away, I just grabbed a canvas and started brushing on colors.

I loved the colors. They’re the colors of a bright, sunny morning. So while the rain was pouring down and the skies outside were still dark and gloomy, I brightened my day with this abstract.

Light of Day – Acrylic on 11 x 14 Canvas Panel

It’s simple, but I like it. Accidents do happen, especially in art, and while acrylics and I will never be friends, once in a while we can have fun together.