This painting was commissioned by a special friend, {who also keeps my hair magically blonde} for her new space in an upscale French themed salon
She wanted an abstract that was sophisticated, yet pretty, interesting, but not too busy…
Something to remind her to keep calm and carry on…
We looked at a lot of paintings together so I could get a sense of what she liked and wanted color wise
She loved neutrals with gold leaf, pinks and a touch of black for drama
a dark gray underpainting with gray gesso
Adding white with bold strokes with a large brush and letting the drips, well, drip!
Different thicknesses of paint provide interest and texture
I use large jars of economical paint for big paintings, only using my pricey tube acrylics for finishing
For this painting I used acrylic paint from Devine Color collection at Target
I used a palette knife to apply thicker tube acrylic
Again letting the thinner Devine Color paint drip and run
Adding gold leaf can be tricky, you don’t have very much control, it’s best to just let it do it’s own thing
I use Mod Podge to apply the gold leaf, brushing it over the area I want gold leaf, then carefully brushing a sealing coat over it once it’s in place
Touches of black were added at the end, signifying a heartbeat on a medical monitor
Here it is hanging in the salon
Naturally, I had to see how it would look on Society6 items
Heartbeat is vertical like the original painting and this iPhone case below
Stay Cool is the horizontal version, like this tote bag below
So, stay cool, feel your heartbeat and Be Fearless!
Juicy Details
You can find “Heartbeat” and my friend Ricki at Angel Hair in Crestline Village, Birmingham Alabama
Heartbeat is available for sale at my Society6 Shop as an art print, framed or unframed, a canvas and lots of other accessories
Gold Leaf is available in art stores and craft departments and on amazon.com
🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨 🎨 ❤️
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Celebrate and Decorate, Rustic and Refined,
Between Naps on the Porch, Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, A Stroll Thru Life
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