Circle Painting
17 Sep 2012
You guys, it’s still 100 degrees in LA, and I have a cold. It’s very…confusing. And also really unpleasant. I hope I’m nearing the end of it (really really really hope), but at least in the meantime I have color therapy. I have been working on this painting, circle by circle, for a few weeks, and I am so happy to have it ready to hang! The idea came to me after we saw a lot of beautiful Kandinsky paintings at LACMA–I suddenly became obsessed with shapes.
I wanted to try to use my circle cutter on canvas, but with a pencil instead of a blade. (They’re not at all expensive, and you can get one here
I wasn’t sure how smoothly it was going to go with paint, though. There are an awful lot of fine lines.
I was really happy to find, though, that with a very small brush and a steady hand, it can be done! By the way, I just used simple acrylic paint from the craft store here–nothing fancy.
It was really fun to play with the colors and watch this painting take shape. It made me think a lot about my Dad, who does these incredibly precise and beautiful paintings of buildings–lots of lines, lots of color.
I learned a few things along the way, for sure. It makes it a lot easier to go over the outline of the circle first, so those edges are taken care of, and then you can just fill in the color. A minimal amount of paint is optimal here, so you don’t get blobs along the lines. Also, I found that every color really needed mixing with white, even if only a tiny bit, to give it some opacity.
I am really kind of bummed that it’s finished, since I enjoyed working on it so much–that’s the sure sign of a good project! I might just make another one.
I think I will hang this one next to my pinwheel painting, to further add to the color explosion in the living room. You can never have too much color, or at least I can’t!
Sep 17, 2012 @ 06:29:19
Oh wow! I absolutely love the look of this painting! The lines are so precise, the brush marks add texture, and the stacked colors give it three dimensional feel. I’ve enjoyed the pinwheel painting that you gave me for Christmas so much that I actually toyed with an idea similar to your circle painting, only using parabolic arcs and colored pencils. My first sketch fell victim to my perfectionism, and I set it aside. I may have to try again on a smaller scale.
Sep 17, 2012 @ 21:12:58
Oh cool! That sounds like a great idea! Colored pencils definitely wouldn’t bleed like paint does (but I found ways of covering it up when it did!) It makes me so happy to think of you making your own! 🙂
Sep 17, 2012 @ 06:33:19
I love this! The circles look as though they are all about to be unleashed into the atmosphere!
Sep 17, 2012 @ 21:13:22
Thank you! It was so much fun to work on!
Sep 17, 2012 @ 13:25:08
Hope you are feeling better! Totally love the painting, I’d hang that in my house.
Sep 17, 2012 @ 21:14:15
Aw, thanks! You are a classy lady, so I take that as a big compliment 😉
Sep 17, 2012 @ 18:40:05
How pretty, pretty, pretty! The circles look as if they are exploding off the canvas like the release of a bunch of colorful balloons. You’re mighty brave to tackle all of those curved lines.
Sep 17, 2012 @ 21:15:01
Well, that’s how I always felt about your paintings too! So much precision and so many bright colors–thanks for the inspiration!
Sep 21, 2012 @ 14:07:54
Wow!!
Sep 22, 2012 @ 10:21:36
Thank you! It was not as hard as it looks!
A Few Works in Progress | Krug the Thinker
Oct 25, 2012 @ 10:05:38
[…] other project is a square painting, to go alongside my circle painting. I love working on things like this, which come together color by color and shape by shape. They […]
Oct 20, 2013 @ 12:43:44
Very cool! I have a [(an) adult] coloring book that has pics similar to this. They are fun and relaxing to do.
Oct 23, 2013 @ 12:58:14
Cool!
Circle Painting
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