back to blogUnusually this painting was deliberately created with the intention of turning it into Christmas cards hence the rather predictable green and red start to this piece.
In the spirit of getting myself organised for Christmas I started this in October but life had a different idea. So over the Christmas break I started playing around with this piece and seeing whether it would go.
I used lots of powder pigments in this including C Roberson Orange gold; L Cornelissen & Son Pearl Lustre Base Bronze powder Orange Gold and Rich pale gold. Pigments create wonderful effects but they can be difficult to embed in your paintings without losing that wonderful splatter effect. I decided to pour solvent onto the painting to see a) what effects I could create and b) to see if it would help embed the pigment. It definitely created an almighty mess but also some wonderful effects which I then worked into with more oil and cold wax.
I really loved watching the metallic pigments gain a life of their own when they were picked up by solvent. The gold used with dark tones reminded me of one of my favourite artists, Klimt.
I decided that with this collection I would have a larger image so that you can really appreciate the different textures and colours. What I have found with this type of work is that you need to give it time for the solvent to evaporate and for the cold wax to harden before you start cutting it up for cards... it can make and almighty mess if the cold wax is still soft!
For some reason when I was thinking of a name for the collection I really couldn't get out of my head Opium, as in the 80s perfume. Clearly it was nothing to do with the smell (Opium really wasn't that bad!) more the richness of colours: deep reds and golds which were used in the packaging and advertising. Maybe the next collection will be named after Poison... another heavy perfume from the 80s which I was rather fond of wearing all those years ago. I better stop now as I can already see a collection inspired by the 80s perfumes I wore as a teenager.. this could be embarrassing!
These cards are mounted on Italian Fabriano watercolour paper (260gsm) and come with a matching Fabriano envelope (120gsm). They are 4.5" x 6.75" (114mm x 171mm).
Each one is an original oil and cold wax painting which you can send to someone special or why not have them framed for your wall. These are unique pieces so when they are gone... well they are gone!
Cards are blank inside for your own message.
The Opium Collection is now available on my website.
