Lorna Nakell

Since starting in my new direction as an abstract painter about two years ago, I have gone from creating 22”x30” watercolor and mixed media paintings on paper to making these new 8’ x 12’ acrylic and mixed media paintings on canvas. Adapting my background technique of using large washes of color from watercolor to acrylic has been one challenge. The other challenges regarding working this large include making room in my 450 sq.ft. studio for them, keeping the canvases wet enough (using a spray bottle) so that I can achieve the desired color blends, and making sure I have mixed enough paint. At least the canvases I use are light so they go from floor to wall during different stages of development with only a small amount of difficulty.

My canvases are custom built. After they have been delivered to my studio, they are laid flat on the floor where they receive one coat of gesso and one coat of Golden’s absorbent ground. When they are fully dried, they are leaned upright against the wall where I begin to sketch out the design with pencil. I then use charcoal stick to develop the lines and shapes creating the final under-drawing.

When the drawing is completed, canvases are laid back on the floor where they are dampened with water from a spray bottle. I then apply colored inks with a dropper and thinned acrylic paint in carefully placed splatters and drips. I alternate applying ink and paint careful to keep the surface constantly wet until the desired colors and blends are achieved. The wet canvases are then lifted carefully to allow the colors to run together in a slightly controlled fashion. Sometimes I use drops of rubbing alcohol as a resist to create more dynamic effects. Although some aspects of this background process are controlled, the paint tends to have a mind of its own, pooling together in unexpected ways. I never know exactly what it will look like until the entire surface has dried.

When the canvases have dried, they are leaned back against the wall where they are sealed with a fluid coat of acrylic medium to prevent the charcoal from rubbing off. After the medium has dried, the surfaces are ready for me to add painterly shapes and forms with the acrylic paint, sparkly shapes with mica or glitter and other layers with tinted acrylic resin. Because my work is so process oriented, even though I might begin with a plan for each painting, I end up having to spontaneously work with the effects created by each step, which leads to surprising results. I only know that each painting is done when all the colors and shapes seem to balance out and an overall mood is achieved. If a painting has gone through all the steps and still doesn’t look right to me, it is painted over with absorbent ground and I begin the steps again. Paintings that do make the grade receive a final coat of varnish for protection and then they are considered complete.