I'm Painting Again! Acrylic on Canvas

Two days ago I could say, "I'm painting again!", but this acrylic on canvas piece has had to take a backseat so I can only post images of an unfinished piece today. Hopefully by next week I will be able to complete it.



I pulled out a canvas and some paints the other day and brushed up on my French. I wanted to have some letters on it, but the intent was to cover them up so the words didn't really matter - I mainly wanted the letters as a design element. Still, the phrases that came readily to mind didn't fit somehow, so I invented a phrase. Voulez vous jouer avec moi. (Do you want to play with me?) My idea was that it would hang in my dining room and since we sometimes play cards and Yahtzee and board games there, 'play'/jouer seemed to work. The 'play' reference also pertains to the process of painting. It's add a little, subtract a little, cover up, reveal - playing with what happens on the canvas.
I didn't worry that the entire phrase wouldn't fit.

Even though the letters were to be covered up, my misspelling had to be fixed.

Hmmm - if I'd thought that I might NOT cover up the letters, I may have used a better brush and tried harder on the letters themselves. Because now I'm thinking to leave the lettering legible. Also, I might have done better had I painted the blue layer before I did the freehand lettering across the canvas...a straightedge would have then been 'built in'. But, I didn't, and they did come out pretty straight.

We'll see where this one ends up. I started with a gesso background covered with a blend of off white and gold. I made marks in that layer and liked them so much I didn't want to go to the next step - dividing the canvas into two parts. I had envisioned it in different colors, and was mad at myself when I slathered the blue on it, but I am pleased with the colors now.


The painting will evolve, and hopefully next week I'll have a finished photo to post...but only if I get busy with the other job at hand - fun lettering on some silver-lined envelopes.

Don't forget to check out my new website Louisvillecalligraphy.com here and tell me what you think!






by Jan Hurst