I have been playing with Gelli Plate prints again, using a combination of ready-made stencils and masks I have cut from heavy laminating pouches. Some may get used as they are, others I’ll work back into then cut up and use in my art journals. It’s late spring here and already I am finding the Golden Fluid acrylics are drying quite quickly, I think I might need to start using a little medium to slow down the drying time.
I have been working on some small 4×4″ canvas again, in a continuing series, this time using more mediums and a high gloss resin-type glaze over the top. The series alludes to, but does not replicate, the land I see around me here on the West Coast of New Zealand. The strong hot colours refer to the weather we are having at the moment – really hot and quite dry. I love working in this format; I can put 4 or 6 canvas on my desk and work on all of them at once, so that there is a relationship between them.
I use mainly Golden products – in this case I used light modeling paste, pumice gel, garnet gel, gesso, and a then gloss glazing medium. The colour is all Golden Fluid acrylics – I buy the small bottles and just love them. When I first get them I smear some of the colour on the lid of the bottle so I can see the colours when they are all standing in the drawer they’re stored in – saves me picking up the bottles and checking the colour as I work. I put the paint on with brushes, my fingers, a palette knife, a sponge and even a syringe I got from our local vet. My hands always tell the story of what I’ve been doing, what colours I’m into at the time…
Works in this series are for sale in my Etsy store. 
How did I manage a peaceful night’s sleep at full moon? Light dinner with a friend, two small gin and tonics, and sheer exhaustion 😉 It felt good to almost sleep right through the night, despite the silvery light of the full moon pouring in through the bedroom curtains.
Despite that, I couldn’t help but delve into my moon images for a quick play round with colours and layouts. Here’s one of my current favorites. I think it appeals to me because it’s dark and moody without being drab, I always enjoy purples, and it has a sense of unreality about it. By the way; is ‘unreality’ a word? Probably not…but I hope you know what I mean.
I have been wanting to experiment with adding Golden Interference Fluid Acrylics to my other paints, and this might be a good time to haul them out and onto my art desk. The reason I hesitate a bit to use them is that someone I went through art school with used them extensively for some amazing works, but found when it came time to exhibit them that it was rare to find lighting that suited them. Without appropriate lighting she felt the that often the whole point of the works was lost.
I think in my case though, the interference colours will be an added extra, rather than the main focus of the work. I’d like to try them as a bit of highlighting on top of some really dark glazes; indigo, purple and Atelier Interactive’s Red Black. Their tube Red Black is an amazing colour; I use it a lot – from deep and dark, to just a hint of colour mixed with white or titan buff. For me it’s a very versatile colour, and one I hope they keep producing for a while yet.
Cath Sheard Art 