Canvas 1022 - Irish Gold

My linen wrap is 44x40, my inspiration painting below is a proportional crop from "Buttercups".

REFERENCE

The gold was added first to gain more textural depth. I used a clear acrylic texture paste from Golden. It took several layers of gold build to get the sculptured look on the details below...almost like thick paint, only gold leaf.

CANVAS 1022 44X40 LINEN WRAP

DETAILS

It was more trial and error with colour. My larger working surface helped, plus knowing this was just the first layer of gold. Gold will be added throughout the whole process. I rather like how the horses appear to be in shadow (below). It also suggests a title too, "In the Shadows of Trees".

DETAIL

Unfortunately, the addition of purple (below), and keeping the horse in shadow moved the painting in an entirely different direction from my original plan. In truth, the painting took over and my original intent...."Buttercups" was forgotten! Not sure these still look like buttercups either....

 DETAILS

 

The details look like a free for all but all these marks start closeup and must make sense at 30 feet - part of developing edges. The darker  swirls are pure dioxin purple - what I call background noise.

Canvas 1022 is moving fast. The horses are now in good shape (below). Somewhere along the line it became more about light than even gold. This comes about by studying the light patterns at a distance - close up it's a bit harder to see. Often a slow process before the proverbial "light bulb" comes on as it did here. Gold "was" part of the light pattern, a glitzy colour at that! Oddly I was not connecting it that way until now..

DETAIL

MORE WORK AND A NEW TITLE

"IRISH GOLD"

I'm still following the light, only now it's with small gold flecks here and there... but very deliberate in nature. It's the dust particles when sunlight hits it. How far?.....good question. Whats not showing up well is some of the field gold is in highlight, like my dust particles, and given the amount of gold used its really quite understated...almost subtle. Very much like a pattern within a pattern. The first light pattern formed up around the horses. That was where it became about light.

Looking at it, "Irish Gold" is a better fit........ Signed but more work left here. 

ADDING DUST PARTICLES

DETAILS

 MERGING GOLD AND LIGHT

COMPLETED CANVAS

Irish Gold 44x40 oil & gold on linen gallery wrap (2-2-16 canvas 1022)

I always like when a painting opens the door to the next one. It makes the process faster, but more importantly the energy level stays in place longer. So now my fascination is light and dust particles...go figure