An arrangement of lilacs

Posted by artbyeileen on

Lilacs – Acrylic on 300gsm paper, 30 cm X 42 cm

Initially a concept for the painting was laid out on the paper, then the background was painted in. I wanted in part a delicate feel for the lilacs that I felt I would not achieve if I used acrylic, so I splattered a thin watery mix of water colour in specific areas over the background before I began putting down the layers of paint for the lilac blooms.
The feel of the delicate bud and small blossom was what I wanted to capture with a combination of water colour splatter and textured acrylic paint.

These close-ups show how the delicate watercolour droplets give an illusion of the delicate lilac buds and add to the delicate composition of the flower arrangement in spite of the heavy textured application of paint.

Thick, textured paint is applied with a combination of palette knives, and colour shapers manipulated to give an impression of a dense cluster of lilac blooms.

With the combination of water colour and acrylic, varnishing the painting is not that simple. Painting a varnish over the water colour droplets with a brush, or sponge applicator would have removed them. Instead I sealed the painting with a clear spray lacquer in order to protect the water colour splatters, before applying a layer of varnish.

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