The Menagerie

I often struggle to make paintings look like paintings. My forensic art background makes me naturally head toward realism, but I dislike that tendency in artwork.  I mean, if that's what you want, why not just take a picture.  I envy those who can dream up fantasy, or even just successfully put together incongruent subjects.  (Abstraction is not as easy as people think!)  So I have been working in different mediums in search of those very artsy strokes.  The first two below are acrylic, the rest were done with Oil Sticks.  

I love the sticks because each color can vary in the texture that it produces, but also because there is often no real implement between me and the paint.  I then use tools to push it around, and I have plenty of time as it is oil and stays wet a long time.  Acrylics, of course, are nice in some ways, but you have to know tricks to combat their flat color.  Most of all, I find myself rushing.  I've become very heavy handed because I am working fast and furiously.  Now, I'm learning to enjoy water media in an entirely new way--just creating texture!  Manipulating with pours or with all types of printing techniques is really using the fluidity of acrylics in the best way.  I am exploring with the "fast and furious" to make backgrounds or collage papers, but then I can slow down and enjoy being more meticulous for the actual image creation.