BLANK CANVAS

Normally when I start on a picture, I have some idea of the direction it is going to take.  I have usually researched the subject or explored the idea in a sketch book, have done thumb nail sketches of the composition and have words in my head relating to the piece.  But with this large canvas, I just started with an open mind and no preconceived idea, except that I wanted it to be completely abstract and colourful.  Well, as you can see, that didn't quite work out!

'All I want to do is dream...' -  mixed media on canvas (76cms x102cms)

I started by putting texture onto the background with modelling paste and imprinted it with various  materials, such as bubblewrap.  After it had dried, I added paints and inks directly to the surface, moving them around with an old credit card and then let the canvas speak to me.  There seemed to be a space for a circle which I cut from sheet music and added. The colours had become dark and moody so from then on my good attentions of it being abstract disappeared and it became a moonscape.  Moons to me mean dreams and romance, and hence the words.  The moon was painted in a soft gold metallic paint taking care that the music still showed through. To give it a further dimension, I added foliage to the foreground using stamping methods and a liner brush, usually used for painting lines on furniture.