"Fright Light"
5"x7", Mixed Media on Canvas Board
© 2010 Bernard Echanow
Alice Thompson's "Spooktacular Challenge" for Halloween inspired both the poem "The Sorceress on Crow's Nest Street" and the the painting "Fright Light."
In June, in the dead of night, I took several pictures of a night light near which I had sticky tacked a couple of rubber spiders. I was preparing to submit to a "painting the night" challenge. I couldn't quite get motivated at that time, but I kept the photos.
Earlier this past week I did a couple of preliminary sketches while visiting a local coffeehouse. I followed up with a couple of quick drying acrylic underpainting sessions on Friday.
On Saturday I did most of the overpainting using oils and Galkyd Lite medium. I do not know how Gamblin's Galkyd Lite got named. It is hardly "lite" for it has the consistency and color of warmed honey. Undiluted it causes the paint to drag and can be used in for creating a "dry brush" texture - just what I wanted. It also speeds up drying time. On the palette, paint mixed with Galkyd Lite tacked-up and dried within a half hour.
Because the painting was mostly dry from using the Galkyd Lite, I was able to finish and photographed the painting today, Sunday.
13 comments:
Nice painting - good composition. Glad you finally painted the picture.
Thanks, Jean.
What at cute idea. I love the creepy bugs.
Always good to hear from you, Angela. Thanks.
Bernard,
I loved your poem and painting.
The coffeehouse for sketching sounds so artsy. You put a good deal of effort into your idea and it shows.
Don't forget you get to get guess twice because you painted something for the challenge ^..^
Alice,
Thank you. I wrote the poem over a weekend in short bursts of inspiration derived from your art blog. It was just pure fun.
Bernard
Love you scary painting! Thanks for sharing your sketches and story behind it.
Carol, thank you.
I can't decide if your painting is scary or fun, but I think that's a good line to blur. I also got a big kick out of your poems.
That is a brilliant composition and the colors handled are magical!
Padmaja,
Thank you very much for the nice comments.
I love this painting and others. For his composition, but also for its bright colors. The spider webs made me think of a French painter Symbolist Odilon Redon. Thank you for your visit to my blog.
Thanks, Viviane. And, thank you for introducing me to the forceful and thought-provoking images of Odilon Redon. What great imagination and skill had he.
Best regards,
Bernard
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