Experiments With Crackle Paste and Faces

Hello Guys!

It's been a few months since I last posted I know! Time has just flown by!  Though I have definitely neglected my poor blog, I have not neglected my art...(yayy!) I've been experimenting like crazy with different mediums and trying out different styles. One of the things I've been trying to work on is the incorporation of faces into some of my work. I always find this challenging as I've probably mentioned before! Here is a glimpse at some of the awkward stages of one of the recent projects I've been working on :)

Stage one :D
I had a nice little vision in my mind of what this would look like but of course it turned out nothing like I imagined, I almost didn't want to post it because I was so dissatisfied with it!

Acrylic and Watercolour on Wood

Right after this stage, I pretty much plastered the whole thing with Golden's "Crackle Paste" - a white, mousse-like substance that turns very chalky and dusty when dry, I actually had a sneezing fit! This is a totally new medium for me, I have used crackle finishes on wood before but never a "paste". I'll probably finish this jar to add texture to pieces but I can't see myself buying it again any time soon. It is incredibly fragile and almost immediately requires a protective finish to stop it from chipping and crumbling.

Anyhoo, I painted over it non the less, giving up on facial features completely and going back to abstract. This is what I came up with...

You can kinda see some of the "crackle" parts but mainly the medium just gave it some interesting background texture, which I loved. You can still see the flower outlines as well through the paste - more texture - yayy! :) But of course, I wasn't satisfied with this painting either... just wasn't feeling it at all.  Totally at a creative block. So I decided to go back to the original plan of working with facial features again, this time I was inspired by a Buddha face, even though the face itself turned out to look somewhat more "Egyptian" in appearance rather that Buddha-like, I still like how it turned out...much better than the previous two attempts! ;)

In the first pic, you can see some of the cracks a little easier (toward the bottom of the painting, chin area etc.)  You can also see a bit of the dust and chunks of the dried crackle paste scattered around and on the paintbrush to the right... messy stuff! (You can also see how disastrous my work space is - a 3ft x 5ft desk and that's the only open space I have - HAHA! Yikes)

I like that you can still see remnants of the original flower outline, I think it adds a little more to the image. I definitely learned a lot with this little experimental project and I'm glad I'm still pushing myself to incorporate faces even though it is uncomfortable for me. No other way to learn! :) I will most definitely be finishing this piece with a resin coating to seal and protect it. I think it will help bring out the colours a lot more as well. :)

 Mixed Media on Wood

10"x10"x1"

Thanks as always for popping by and having a look at my work :) Always appreciated as well as your comments and feedback!

Good Night Everyone! :)