Blue Horses
The first piece in the series featured galloping horses in blue oil. This marked my departure from my classical oil-based value study, opting to use blue instead of black. This piece was my first step toward going beyond the photorealistic qualities I strived for in my earlier works. It was also significantly larger than my previous pieces (2’ x 4’).
Traditionally, oil painters use the fat over lean principle: developing a base layer with thinner paint and gradually applying thicker, paint-heavy layers over it. However, a local artist decided to forgo this core principle and instead applied thick swaths of oil to create texture. Curious how oil paintings of this nature hold up over time, I did a deep dive into impasto with oils. An art conservator I found in England told me that impasto oil is a poor idea. The oil dries from outside in, creating a seal that stops the curing process. Over time and with changes in temperature/humidity, the paint will crack and possibly detach from the art, causing it to slip down the canvas. I had developed proficiency with oils, and I wanted to use it in my exploration of impasto. Cold wax medium with oil allowed for some degree of texture, but failed with respect to color fidelity and durability. Ultimately, I made the switch to acrylic.
I found a reputable art store in California that dealt specifically in impasto acrylic pastes. I decided to experiment with thick texture, and that is how the series emerged. I started the piece after practicing on smaller canvases. Despite all the practice, I felt a little uneasy working on a larger scale. Both the short drying period and my uncertainty around how to lay in the color gave virtually no margin for error. I kept challenging myself to press on and create despite the time limit forced by the material.
Following the completion of both pieces, I abandoned perfectionism and adopted a more relaxed approach to expressing myself artistically. I started to ponder how the application of materials changes the form of pieces. Soon, I began to explore acrylic pours. It was all from allowing my mind to open up and experience the flow. This part of my artistic journey mirrored my emotional development. I was moving from self-criticism and grieving some loss, and then moving into more of a flow state.
