Recess for GrownUps

Recess is important! Taking time to play and discover can open new doors of imagination, boldness, and refreshment in all the other things we do. Being a grownup does not exempt us from the benefits of playtime. After an intense 2 weeks of full time painting for the 6x6" Squared show @ Onlinejuriedshows.com I was ready to switch directions and try something new. 

It's been on my mind for awhile to do something with Celtic crosses. I wasn't sure what I wanted to create exactly, but I knew it had to be shiny. So I started playing with design ideas and colors and shiny possibilities and came up with 6 little paintings. Initially, I laid in acrylic paint thinking it would dry quickly and allow for multiple layers of paint. That's how I discovered I really dislike painting with acrylics. The consistency wasn't the yummy, buttery feel of oils and was difficult to apply to the tiny spaces of the Celtic designs. I switched back to oils and then had to contend with the slow drying time. (note: oils can be applied over acrylic paint, but acrylic cannot be applied over oil paint...it will slide right off)

Once I had the oil colors applied the way I liked, I went for the shiny element. YouTube is very useful for learning new things and that's how I learned to apply gold leaf. It is surprisingly simple: carefully apply the recommended glue on the areas you want the gold to be, let it sit for half an hour, then place the gold leaf onto the glue. I used flakes in this project because the spaces were very tiny. It was a bit of a messy step, but kind of magical! Sweeping away the excess gold with a soft brush and polishing them a bit, the crosses now looked very sweet and shiny. Of course, even trying to be careful, there are now flakes of gold here and there in my studio. Being shiny.

I made these just for the fun of it and gave them all away. Maybe I will make some more next recess :)   Thanks for reading my blog!!