Poinsettia Tree, 40" X 37" watercolor and fluid acrylic

Poinsettia Tree by April M. Rimpo

The inspiration for Poinsettia Tree started during a trip to Guatemala where the Poinsettia was a tree with blooms larger than I had ever seen towering way above my head.  I took several photographs trying to capture their magnificence just to discover that the photographs did not come close.  I felt I needed to paint them as they were in my minds eye to make them come to life.

I decided I wanted to capture the size of the tree by working in a much larger format than I normally paint, the image size is 40” X 37”, which meant starting from a roll of elephant size Arches Hot Press.  I selected Hot Press since I wanted to create an organic feel in the background by using an acrylic “batik” approach I had learned from Nicholas Simmons, applying sections of paint and then washing it off before it was fully dry.  This approach creates interesting edges and irregular patches of color.  However, instead of letting the batik dry before applying more paint I immediately applied several other acrylic colors to allow them to blend on the very wet paper. Phthalo Blue and  Dioxazine Purple were used in shadow areas of the foliage while Green Gold and other warmer greens were used in the green areas in the sun. I had applied a film mask over the flowers before I started to paint so the petals were protected from the flowing acrylic paint allowing me to work the background and leaves loosely. Since I feel watercolor is slightly more transparent than fluid acrylic I used watercolor to paint the blossoms of the poinsettia.


Recently I had limited edition archival prints made of this painting. A maximum of 50 prints will be created in each size and substrate listed below. 

Poinsettia Tree

40" x 37" image

48" x 45" bronze tone frame

$2590

Available through HorseSpirit Arts Gallery

410.461.3505 info@horsespiritartsgallery.com 

Interested in a print, contact April.

To see other paintings where I used a combination of fluid acrylic and watercolor look here.

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

What's in a brush?

I have a fairly standard set of brushes that I use in most paintings, but my tried and true synthetic brush that I use for lifting paint was beginning to show its age; it had lost its point and just wasn't right for my needs.  Since Nicholas Simmons had just announced his new signature brush collection through Escoda Brushes,  I decided to buy two of them to give them a try.  Previously I had visited the Escoda website to learn about their history and brush making techniques.   I purchased the Nicholas Simmons Series 2 set which contains:

• BARROCO Series 1410 Round Pointe #16

• BARROCO Series 2336 Mottler Single Thickness #18 (about 1.5" flat)

Often I don't like synthetic brushes because they don't hold enough water, but these Barroco brushes were very thirsty, holding a lot of pigment.  I love the round, using it instead of a Kolinsky round I have used for years.  The point is great, the tip springy, and the volume of pigment it holds is fantastic.

I recently finished a painting of a village in Flores, Guatemala and found the flat was great for working on the buildings.  Again it held a lot of pigment allowing me to pull the colors throughout the painting and the square edge stayed firm giving me crisp edges where I needed them.  I augmented these 2 brushes with a 3/4" Kolinsky flat that I have loved for years.  I can use it to quickly brush the surface when I want to remove a little water without moving around the color.  It was the only other brush I have used in the paintings I've done since the Escoda brushes arrived.   By the way, neither will be used for lifting paint, these brushes are too wonderful for that.

Nick - Thanks for the great brush collection.  I suspect Series 1 can't be too far off in my future.

Also see Konstantin Sterkhov's interview of Nick which includes his thoughts on Escoda brushes.

Combining Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor

Marbled Orb Weaver

Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor

16" X 20" image

24" X 27" brushed silver frame with white mat

$650

Available now in April's Online Store

After taking a fluid acrylic workshop from Nicholas Simmons I decided I finally had the tools at my disposal to paint "Marbled Orb Weaver". I had photographed this little spider a few years ago when he decided to hang from the side of my garage. I had been waiting for a technique that would allow me to paint her accentuating the marbling on her thorax while maintaining her glow. I wanted the background to be marbled as well, so she appeared comfortable in her surroundings. Fluid acrylics in combination with a "paint and remove" technique that Nicholas had shown us did the trick.

After experimenting with approaches to create the linear marbling for the background on scrap paper I decided I was ready to give it a try.

The marbling and all hard lined edge work was done in fluid acrylic. I started with the spider to make sure I could achieve the look that I wanted. Once satisfied with the marbled edges, I covered the spider with masking tape and worked on the background. I had used masking fluid earlier to paint the web so that paper would remain white.    

I chose a complementary color for the background compared to the vibrant orange and yellow of the spider. In addition to the "paint and remove" technique I used very runny paint so I could get great drips throughout the background. Once the marbling looked right, I used a very thin wash of fluid acrylic and opaque watercolor to add soft blue and lavendar tones to the background.

I chose fluid acrylic for most of the background since I knew once I removed the masking tape I may need to adjust the marbling on the spider and I didn't want to wash off the background.

A very wet into wet watercolor wash was used to add the spider's bright orange and golden coloring. Using watercolor for this step allowed the spider to glow in a way that I don't think I would have achieved with acrylic alone. After adding a few detailed darks and touching up the web, Marbled Orb Weaver was ready for prime time. This slideshow shows the major stages of the painting.

The following slideshow depicts the major steps described.

Some of my other paintings that use the technique of combining fluid acrylic and watercolor can be seen in these other blog entries.

• Through the Willows
• Aglow
• Missing You
• Basket Maker
• A Helpful Critique
• Art after Retirement
• Color Schemes
• Out of the Sun
• Keep Painting
• Harvest Time
• Poinsettia Tree

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.