The Art of Letting Go: How To Cover Up The White Space
Every painting I create begins with a few playful first layers, which helps me loosen up and let go.
Hello! I’m so happy you’re here.
I thought I’d start with a little introduction to how I begin my paintings:
Every painting I create begins with a few playful first layers. They inspire the direction of my painting.
I also paint them whenever I need to loosen up. They’re a reminder that there’s no right or wrong way. And nothing has to be perfect.
Once I return to having fun, I let go. From there my creativity is free.
I often begin my backgrounds by squeezing 2-3 acrylic ink and paint colors right onto my painting surface, smudge them together, and add extra fingerprints to see what happens.
This usually helps me let go so that I feel free. And I love leaving parts of those abstract underneath layers showing through in the final painting.
There can never be a wrong way and it’s so fun just to smoosh paint around.
Here are a few tips for creating luscious layers:
🎨 Let each layer dry thoroughly
🎨 Limit your palette to 2-3 colors per layer
🎨 Embrace imperfections, let colors bleed and blend naturally
One of my favorite techniques for painting backgrounds is to pretend I’m painting an abstract. This creates all sorts of organic shapes and color combinations. I love to just brush the color on wildly, leaving the imperfections.
Then, for my second layer, I add water and 2-3 colors of acrylic ink (these can be new colors as long as your first layer is dry).
Once that dries, I add a sheer layer of one color to 1/3 of the background – acrylic ink works well for this and should bring more magic to your backgrounds.
When you allow your underneath layers to show through, you give your abstract background more depth.
As I add more layers on top of my background, I pay attention to the elements I love in those first layers. Sometimes I even take chalk and circle them so that I don’t cover them up.
These favorite elements then become parts of the hair, body, or wings of my whimsical characters. I love leaving parts of those abstract underneath layers showing through in the final painting.
Watch a fun tutorial to learn here.
If you try this project, leave a comment to let me know.
Do you have any favorite art supplies? Leave a comment and let me know… I’m always looking for new things to try in my paintings.
Happy painting!
xo Juliette