SOLD 1801 Eastern Art Study (Illumination)
Artist Code: 1801. A Study in the Style of Eastern Art (Illumination). Completed 10 May 2018. Original Water colour and metallic gold on Aquarelle Arches 100% Hot Pressed cotton rag paper (240lb). Unframed size 9” x 12”. SOLD private buyer December 2019.
Handmade frame 15″ x 17″Gold with stucco moulding on outside edge, archival mount, antique white.
1801 Framed Artwork
A little design study in the style of Eastern Art. Firstly, I designed and painted the Stylized flowers and leaves, based on tulip, iris and “bleeding heart” (Lamprocapnos). All were painted flat with traditional body colour (base colour mixed with some white and painted on evenly and thickly). Then the blue and turquoise background was added (carefully!). I lost a bit of edge detail, so I re-outlined some of the petal and leaf elements to make them stand out more. Gold paint was then overlaid on the “sky” background body colour in horizontal thin lines in variations from gold to silver paint, and the bottom “land” was silver mixed with brown. I also layered a transparent bright green over the leaves and stems to make them more vibrant as their colour had sunk rather into the background colours. The body colour of the borders is warm sepia, and the thick border lines are gold paint mixed with transparent yellow and ochre. It is wise to do all the areas of one colour at a time—and of course mix enough paint to cover those areas! It is traditional to have a complementary border to the artwork, and I felt that warm sepia with a touch of Nickel Titanate yellow was a good contrast to the gold in the borders. For the border filigree pattern I added more transparent yellow as well as my favourite colour, Naples yellow, to get a slightly lighter gold than in the thick border lines, because I painted it straight onto the warm sepia (also traditional). And to break up the dark background, the corners replicate the blue/turquoise of the under-background. There are traditional filigree patterns, but because I made up the whole composition myself, I decided just to go with my own flow and design. Finally, I outlined the extremities of the design and around the picture itself in the dark border body colour.
My Blog Posts about this painting:
6th May 2018
8th May 2018
1st August 2018
