Saturday, 30 January 2016

Day 30 - Balmy Evening Sunset

 
Acrylic on board 16cm x 16cm
Palette knife
 
A sunset seems the perfect subject matter for the last day of the challenge.
 
 
My friend Brett kindly let me paint from a photo he took at sunset last night.
I'm so pleased to have made it to the end. There is no way I would have made it to day 30 if I had continued with the tight laborious style I began with. It was through loosening up with abstracts and the palette knife that made it doable as they were quicker and easier to do - and SO much fun! I marvel now at how I managed the first 30 day challenge in 2013. I guess because every painting was pretty much breaking new ground for me then. This time, until I did the loose-ish style portrait of my daughter on day 9, I felt I wasn't really stretching myself in new directions. Which isn't to say I wasn't stretching myself at all - the challenge got me painting again. My acrylic paintbrushes had seen very little action over the past year or two while I had focussed on finishing my book.
 
Just out of interest, does anyone know if there is a trick when using acrylic paints to getting fleuro colours? - does anyone  know how to even spell fleuro?? It is painful trying to capture that gorgeous shine only to have the colours look sludgier by the minute.
Tomorrow I will post a collage of the 30 paintings and a link to see everyone else's work as well. I so appreciate everyone's support and encouragement throughout my 30 day journey!
 
 
 

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22 comments:

  1. Sheila30 January 2016 at 02:04

    Love this Wendy, just as bright as the photo. Congratulations to you :) Curious to see what answers you get. Fleuro is new to me :)

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  2. Wendy Barrett30 January 2016 at 02:13

    Thanks so much Sheila! Congratulations are in order for you too!
    Ah, I forgot that not everyone feels the need to shorten all their words like we Australians do! Fleuro is short for fluorescent (Ah, that also explains why the right spelling wouldn't come up on the computer for me too - now that I have used the full word it has!)I had thought the shortened version was a word in its own right! Duh!

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  3. Sue Marrazzo Fine Art30 January 2016 at 02:24

    Wendy, This is Excellent!
    'CONGRATS on a job well done = )
    Please stop back at my ART BLOG!

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  4. Margaret D30 January 2016 at 04:32

    What a really lovely painting...well done

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  5. Kaethe Bealer30 January 2016 at 07:07

    Congrats Wendy! Acrylics do darken and flatten in terms of luster. The best way I know how to bring the shine back is to varnish. White acrylic paint can also make things more chalky. Hope that helps!

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    Replies
    1. Wendy Barrett15 February 2016 at 02:04

      Thanks for your advice Kaethe! Yes, I imagine acrylics are less luminous than oils overall.

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  6. Sami30 January 2016 at 08:09

    Congratulations on finishing the challenge. I love the sunset painting, very well achieved Wendy.

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  7. Celia Blanco30 January 2016 at 08:31

    Congratulations Wendy! Beautiful sunset painting, the colors are perfect!

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  8. David Teter31 January 2016 at 00:50

    Congratulations Wendy, you did it! 30 in 30. And I agree with the finish, a sunset seems so appropriate for the last of the challenges.

    Fleuro is spelled fluro which does refer to flourescent but it also refers to DayGlo colors. Google 'fluorescent artist acrylic colors' and you will see sells them. You can't get those colors with traditional colors you have to start with them.
    For the color theory behind it see this link:
    http://www.dayglo.com/who-we-are/fluorescent-color-theory/

    Keep painting...

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    Replies
    1. Wendy Barrett15 February 2016 at 02:15

      Thanks so much David and thanks too for all your great advice re:fluoro colours (I found the Australian spelling eventually - we keep the "u" in our spelling:))
      I will have to check out the DayGlo link. Even though I suspected it was impossible to get fluoro colours with what I had, I certainly gave it my best shot - and drove myself mad in the process!

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  9. Jane31 January 2016 at 02:50

    Oh I really like this very artistic interpretation of the sunset , gorgeous colors ! You must be so satisfied now having finished the challenge, which means that already one month of the new year is gone ! So fast !

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    1. Wendy Barrett15 February 2016 at 02:16

      Thanks Jane, yes it was very satisfying to finish the challenge - but I felt a bit burnt out afterwards and haven't painted since. Hope to get back to it next week!

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  10. Jennifer Rose31 January 2016 at 12:12

    varnish can help, also you can get neon paints to use that are pretty bright :)

    congrats on completing the challenge :D

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    1. Wendy Barrett15 February 2016 at 02:17

      Thanks so much Jennifer, will check out those bright paints.

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  11. Barbara Muir31 January 2016 at 21:17

    Glorious, and they all are. I will read about and comment on all of them as I have time.

    XOXOXOXOXOXO Barbara

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  12. Unknown12 February 2016 at 04:46

    hi Wendy,
    just checking in on your blog again as you know I've been sidetracked a bit. I think it's commendable that you really stretched your design chops in this challenge, allowing yourself to try different process's and loosening up in the process. It must be very satisfying for you. This little sunset it wonderful, lots of passion and lighthearted glee in it(probably because it was day 30!) Anyway congrats on your achievement. One thing the challenge does teach us is recognize what is giving us joy in the process and what is not. Have a great weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Wendy Barrett15 February 2016 at 02:20

      Hi Sally, I love your line about light-hearted glee - yes, there was a lot of that going on in-between the frustration with trying to get the shininess. And the challenge overall was a resounding success in helping me to see which direction I want to move in. Just having a little breather from it all at the moment. Hope your arm is better now!

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