Canvas: The Deep

It should come as no surprise that I had this canvas with a background on it that I really liked. So much so that I almost didn't want to cover it up. That's always a problem. I'm not an abstract artist and I don't understand abstract art. So when I make a background or cover a canvas, it's with the intention of adding more on top of it. But sometimes I find myself just loving the colors and the movement of them and I have a hard time envisioning what should go on top.

This was a canvas like that. I had no intention of falling in love with the background. In fact, the background was like several I had done before only with different media. And I was just using up stuff. I had these Izinks laying around and I wanted to just use them up so I could pitch them. I wasn't going to buy more, I found a different line of similar products that I liked better. But in the process of throwing them on a canvas and messing around with them to create a bit of texture, I re-discovered why I had bought them in the first place: I loved the color! The blue was my absolute favorite and I just couldn't bear to cover it all up.

So a sea-scape it is!

The canvas is 18 X 24 and the background is composed of three colors of Izinks, which is a form of acrylic ink. I finally decided to mimic an art journal page I had done with tentacles and fish bones.

Because I loved the background so much, I didn't want to make it the background, if that makes sense. I wanted it to have equal "eye" time as my elements. I decided to use the fish bones stamp on tissue paper so the background would show through them. I highlighted them with white gelato to give them a ghostly essence. I wasn't sure what color to do the tentacles but went with contrast over my original thought of purple.

I added some embellishment with bubble like rhinestones. I had planned to draw in the little suckers on the tentacles but thought of my extensive button hoard. I added some neutral colors and some pearl buttons that fit the size of the tentacles and really liked the way they draw your attention right into that corner.

This canvas was selected to be displayed in a local art gallery this coming summer. This, along with my small canvas, Moisture, will be on display at the Gibson Gallery located on the SUNY Potsdam campus in Potsdam, NY. Moisture was the canvas I shared here a few posts ago:

This canvas will be part of a card deck I'm currently working on.
I'm still deciding on whether The Deep will appear in my future Calender project! (I'm thinking it will but can't decide what month!)
If anyone is in the area, stop in to see them in person. The photos never do them justice.
Take it easy,
-Wy