 |
| The Dawn of Time © Teresa Newham |
For some months I've wanted to make another rock salt painting along the lines of Cosmos - something simple and tasteful in Raw Sienna and Cerulean Blue, perhaps with a touch of Cobalt Blue and some gold printmaking ink. I even had a name for it: The Dawn of Time.
 |
| the most difficult part - getting started! © Teresa Newham |
This week I gave it a go, using 300lb Arches watercolour paper. I lobbed on a lot of water with a big brush, plenty of colour, and a great deal of salt. Then I added some more water with a spray for good measure, and walked away to let everything dry off.
 |
| the first layer © Teresa Newham |
When I scraped off the salt the next day, I realised the Cerulean Blue didn't work on its own, but would add depth to any washes on top of it; so I added more water, more Cobalt Blue and so much salt I could almost taste it . . .
 |
| more Cobalt Blue and salt © Teresa Newham |
Once again I left the painting to thoroughly dry overnight. When I prised off the second layer of salt - not an easy job, as it was clinging tenaciously to the paper - I realised a transparent green was needed. The only one to hand was Viridian, so I wetted the paper yet again, added colour, salt and spray, and stood the painting upright for a while to see what would happen.
 |
| Viridian enters the mix © Teresa Newham |
The following day I applied another, weaker Cobalt wash and did a lot of spraying and waving the whole thing about to get the final effect (no need for printmaking ink!). The original title, The Dawn of Time, is vague enough to mean almost anything. So I kept it - because I have no idea what this painting is about . . .
 |
| the final result © Teresa Newham |
I love these 'mysterious' paintings that can be interpreted in a variety of ways! I think 'The Dawn of Time' is an excellent title. When I first saw this it did remind me of the primal chaos at the beginning of Creation.
ReplyDeleteThanks! A certain amount of chaos went into the making of it 😄
Delete