Grid-a-palooza?

Remember the grid exercises from a week ago? Well, I liked the exercise so much that I decided to do one of these in large, which means 40" x 30". And because I often combine multiple experiments into on, I used a canvas I had not primed but just sized with PVA glue (just for the record: the size is there to protect the fabric from the linseed oil which is acidic and destroys the fabric over time, that's why you can paint with acrylics directly on textiles, but it's not such a good idea to do the same with oils).

So why not prime it? Because priming changes the color and I wanted to keep the feel of the unmodified support (yes there are other ways, such as transparent gesso but that has yet other issues - such as the discovery that oil doesn't adhere to acrylic paint quite as well as some people think - it's the physical bond (adhesion) vs. chemical bond thing). Hmmm... am I deep-ending here again?

Anyway, here is that grid exercise, done in oils on cotton canvas that has just a sizing layer. What I noticed that the support is super absorbant! It sucked away oil and medium like you wouldn't believe. And some of the color struck through to the back of the piece (note to self: next time: one more layer of size!!) But it's a neat piece because I kept the original tone of the canvas as part of the composition. Which means that the white areas are painted, but some of the mid tones are not. The composition is a bit flatter than the other exercises I did and maybe I'll take it out again some time and work more on it, but for now I'm happy with the piece.


I also decided to set aside the latest piece on coffee bag I was laboring over for quite a while. I don't think it's done but I just don't see how to proceed right now, so it's hanging on the wall waiting for some inspiration. This one is done in acrylics on coffee bag (burlap). No sizing necessary there! The benefit of that is that the burlap stays nice and smooth and soft. When you size it, it gets harder which I don't like as much. I like to maintain the tactile soft quality of the material. This piece is - by the way - the largest painting I have done so far - ever. It is 36" x 46".