Friday 7 October 2016

Finished painting!

I finished my large canvas! It took a while to get all the final details right, but then all of a sudden I knew it was ready.


I am really happy with how the colours came out. For a while there I was worried it was going to be too dark. But I managed to lighten it up quite a bit, and now I feel much better with it.


It only needs a few coats of varnish and a hanging system in place, and I can bring it to the gallery :-)


I called it : "Carry me away", and as with most of my intuitive paintings, there is a story behind it. Around the time I started moving from background to finding images, there had been a series of terrorist attacks, and right after I heard from the attack in Nice, where a terrorist ran his truck over hundreds of people, I found this couple in my painting. At first I had the idea they were seeking shelter with each other, trying to hide from the horror of the world.


But as the painting progressed I found I didn't want to think about terror and pain and loss and hatred anymore. I wanted to create a kind, loving world, and the images for this presented themselves to me. When the horrible things people do to one another get too much for me, I want to go to a world like this. The colors, the animals, the peaceful atmosphere make me happy and "carry me away". Hence the title of the painting :-)

As always I´ll take you through the process of this painting from the beginning to the end. I managed to do less layers on this one, but it´s still a LOT of pictures, so if you just want to see the finished painting, you can skip this part and scroll to the end of this post :-)

Here´s how it started: some leftover paint from other projects put on my canvas with different tools:


My favorite part: start of the dripping :-)


adding of the cooler colours:


I really liked this, and afterwards I think maybe I should've just stopped there. But when I don't see figures, I need to move on. And so I did:


bringing in contrast by adding some black

and some white

Using transparant colours and losing too much of that beautiful blue ....

Trying to get some of that blue back but not really succeeding .... It's definitely in the ugly phase right now ....

I want to start finding figures before I ruin it even more, so I add random black lines all over my canvas.

And yes, it helps :-) I see a shoulder, and an arm, and another shoulder, and a beak. So I bring out the figures:


Here's the couple, the first thing that I found. They're looking kinda bewildered and sad I think (at least more so than in the final phase).

Finding another figure, and yes: a dog! I don't really want to bring him out because I have no idea how to paint a dog, but he insists on being there ... So I just go with it. 

Another bird, and giving her some hair


I didn't really know what to do with the right bottom corner, so I decided to put some leaves and plants there. I had to stop before I was ready with its stem, hubby came by and looks kinda funny at my painting so I hasten to say it is not ready yet. Thought so, he says, you forgot the head. It was only then that I realized it looked just like a body with a long neck and no head.... At first I thought maybe I should just make another person out of it, but in the end I decided it had to go ... as did the other girl's long hair ...yuk!

Still not sure what to do with that corner, and in the end I decide to go with a fish....

And another bird, why not?


working on his face ....

ughhh :-(

Kept changing his face, and got so caught up in it I forgot to take in between pictures. 


some more fish, another plant ....

Decided it was too dark and too chaotic. I needed to quieten it down and lighten it up.

Hmm, not enough. More white added:


When I had this I couldn't wait to bring more colour into it, and I just kept layering colours and totally forgot to make pictures. This is the last in-progress pic that I have. 

And this is the finished canvas:

"Carry me away" - acrylics on canvas - 1m x 1m - 39,4"x 39,4"

Phew ....! If you're still here, you might just as well look at my funnies for this week and have a laugh :-D

 oh, look at him! Poor dog .... 

 ouch ....

oh yesss ....

 *grin*

Can't leave you without a Trump-one, can I !? ;-D



Well, that's it for now. I have been doing some ink drawings too, but this post is already way too long, so that'll be for next time. Linking up to my friends at Paint Party Friday, as always.

Thanks for your visit, take care of yourself and have a splendid weekend! See you next week ♥ ♥ ♥




21 comments:

  1. I love seeing your process! And the finished painting is GORGEOUS!♥♥♥♥♥♥

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  2. OMG this is stunning piece. I love seeing how you work and the story behind it. Well done my friend.

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  3. That's a really nice share and the process is exciting. Happy PPF

    much love...

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  4. Your painting is fabulous, thanks for showing the progression shots. Love the DT funny, too. happy PPF, hugs, Valerie

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  5. Just great - the painting is beautiful and so interesting to see your progress!

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  6. Wow your art is amazing and I LOVE the progress photos.. This painting would make an amazing tarot card...so much going on. The male and female on the left look angry.The woman behind them seems to be dreaming...the woman on the right seems peaceful and the dog very protective. The birds seems like guards. Two of the fish seem to be swimming among the one less fortunate one. During your progress I thought the one hubby thought wasn't finished looked like a large bottle of liquor.It was so interesting to watch this beauty evolve.. Yes you can do dogs...it's fabulous! Thanks for sharing! I could stare at it for hours! Beautiful movement too!

    Hugs Giggles

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  7. Your creative procesc is amazing and interesting.
    I really love your Art and your creativity.
    I'll move to Mexico, too ;-)
    Happy PPF ❤

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  8. I love seeing the process paintings!! And I will be in Mexico or Canada with everyone else!!

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  9. I am so amazed by your process and just how deep your art goes Denise. Stunning piece! Thanks for the funnies too:)

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  10. Could not be happier scrolling through your wonderful gallery of art. Happy PPF

    EAGHL
    http://trigra.blogspot.com

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  11. Oh I loved seeing the process and how such an amazing piece came together!! I've never attempted such a large canvas before, this is so great! Happy PPF!

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  12. Your colors are always amazing, Denise. Your step by step explanations add so much to the enjoyment of your pieces.

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  13. W.O.W!!!!!! Soooo gorgeous. That bottom right corner with the "puddles", fish and dog is just marvelous. Well, all of it is!

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  14. thank you for posting all of that! its really interesting to see how your progressed with the painting and how you found the shapes in all of that colour :PD

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  15. Thanks for posting your process. Its so fascinating to follow. I love your finished piece. Hugs-Erika

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  16. WOW! I love to follow along as you create, but I still wish I too could find what you find in the canvases! Amazing the life that you pull out of those colors Denise!! This is exquisite!! I am truly happy that you let go of the hurt and sorrow you started with here- the beauty each being shows through brilliantly!! Brava my dear friend!!xx
    ps..glad you let the dog come in! ")

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  17. Ha Denise,wat mooi wat je laat zien,stapsgewijs het ontstaan van je schilderij.Met een prachtig resultaat als gevolg!!
    mooi weekend
    Christiene.

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  18. A beautiful painting, I loved hearing the story and seeing the progress.

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  19. I loved going on this journey with you. You are incredibly generous to share your process. I am grateful for talented artists like you!

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  20. A very interesting progression. Such a change from beginning to end. Do you think all paintings go through that "ugly phase"? I know mine do.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment! I love hearing your thoughts about my work. Because I am getting too many spammer comments, l have to use Captcha, sorry. Hope this is not a problem for you !