Tuesday, August 19, 2008

What a Difference Hot Press Makes



For the past three years I have been using watercolors to make sketches for oil and casein paintings. Over that time my practice with the medium has paid off.  Gradually, the dependence of pencil and ink lines to convey the details in portraits and figures has decreased and been replaced by smaller brush strokes, and patience. The latest addition to improvements in my watercolors has been an upgrade in the paper. Previously, I had exclusively used Canson cold press blocks of paper.  The texture is a little rough, but nothing that bothered me for the years I used it. This past August I wanted to try something different, so I picked up a block of Arches 140lb hot press paper. Words escape me in trying to describe the difference between the two. You could say it's like having years of ache and waking up with a complexion as smooth as a baby's butt. The image on top is painted on cold press, and the one on the bottom is painted on hot press.

1 comment:

John-Calvin said...

You know, watercolor is really suited to you. It brings out a certain subtly that is a new dimension in your work. Maybe it is how you are building the work layer by layer. All the process is there, but instead of sticking out, it blend in and add more depth. The paintings look real nice and are also genuinely creepy. win win!