Artistic Polar Bear Challenge: 100 Ways In 100 Days. #88 - Acrylic Batik

Given that I am drawn to texture like a gnat to a bug light, it only follows that I would be lured into a goggle-eyed stupor by styles like watercolor batik.  Here's some great examples of the genre by Deb Ward and Sandy Maudlin.   The creation of a watercolor batik is a somewhat laborious process, as you can see Deb's explanation of the method here and here. I wanted to see if I could emulate this look using acrylics. 

I started by coating a piece of illustration board with Golden's Fiber Paste, which created a subtly textured surface.  When the paste was dry, it was covered with a coat of black paint.  The bear was sketched using  white chalk, which is easy to wipe off once the painting colors are blocked in. Heavy body acrylics were scumbled over the textured surface using an almost dry brush, so the paint was just hit the ridges of the surface.

Acrylic Batik Bear

This method lacks the beautiful, subtle delicacy of the watercolor batiks, but is interesting in it's own right.  I love the interaction of the scumbled colors.  Whereas sometimes you find yourself fighting with colors, or struggling with techniques, this was a very comfortable piece to paint.  Everything fell into place quickly and easily.

Artistic Polar Bear Challenge: 100 Ways In 100 Days. #87 - Pumice Gel

Alright, I admit to being a Textureaholic.  There's just something about the depth and interest in textures that make me all gooey inside.  Today we're going really textured.  I loaded a piece of illustration board with Golden's Pumice Gel mixed with matte gel for adhesion.

This stuff even sounded strange.  When scooping it out of the jar, it made a sound like you hear when pulling your boot out of deep, sticky mud.  It sort of has the look. workability and structure of coarse beach sand.  I loaded it up on the board fairly thickly.

Once dry, I washed the whole thing with thinned fluid acrylic for the background color, then painted the bear with a drybrush technique.

Pumice Gel Bear

I could really put on my mad scientist cap with this stuff, adding it in varying degrees to paints and gels.  So much fun to have....so little time.

Artistic Polar Bear Challenge: 100 Ways In 100 Days. #86 - Molding Paste

Today was a day to fiddle with substrates again.  Coarse molding paste was fairly roughly applied to a piece of illustration board.  Once dried, dilute fluid acrylics were washed over it.

Molding Paste Bear

The paste absorbed the paints fairly quickly, making multiple passes necessary to create any kind of chroma.  But the paint also crept, creating interesting blends and passages.  The roughness of the paste wasn't evident when fluid washes were used, a drybrush technique would have shown this in a better light.  Once again, more stuff to experiment with later.

Artistic Polar Bear Challenge: 100 Ways In 100 Days. #85 - Zentangle

I didn't even realize that Zentangle was an art form. I thought it was just what you doodled on a pad of paper while talking on the phone.  My thanks to talented multimedia artist Cynthia Schelzig for this suggestion.

 Zentangle Bear

I felt a little stuck at first because I was actually trying to focus on what to do.  The further along the drawing went, the more I let go, and the easier it became.  A great loosening up exercise.

Artistic Polar Bear Challenge: 100 Ways In 100 Days. #84 - Plant Collage

I was puttering around in the gardens this morning, trying to get a few weeds pulled before the next round of thunderstorms, heat, and humidity arrived.

The cat crop is coming in well this year.

The snapdragons, my favorite sun-loving annual, are looking snappy.

The shade garden getting it's touch of morning sun.

Gardening always puts me into a meditative state.  As my hands weeded and pruned and deadheaded, Right Brain was busy pondering what to do with the next bear.  Another 'Unusual Material Collage' seemed like a fun idea...but what to use?  Right Brain went right on contemplating the possibilities as the tending and cutting and watering continued.

Then I stopped.  The answer was right at my fingertips.

I toured the garden, eying and evaluation, snipping and plucking.   The prunings were brought inside, and an organic collage was created.

Fresh From the Garden Collage Bear

Here's a closer look:

The following plants each gave a little bit of themselves for this project:

• Impatiens
• Petunia
• Black-eyed Susan
• Japanese Painted Fern
• Daylily
• Coleus
• Hosta
• Sage
• Balloon Flower
• Purple Coneflower
• Celosia
• Coral Bells
• Astilbe
• Japanese Maple
• Hibiscus
• Barberry
• Smoke Bush
• Dogwood
• Oregano
• Catmint
• Japanese Forest Grass
• Sweet Potato Vine
• Wintercreeper
• Creeping Jenny
• Ajuga

All in all, absolutely the sweetest smelling art project I think I have ever worked on. :-)