Making of a Clematis Abstract - my process.

I was really excited to see my clematis bloom this year as it was its first. Great big duo colour double blooms …. I had to capture it in paint – as well as an illustration.

Canvas taped on foam board — Blank canvas on foam board

I have recently started using foam board to tape on my paper as I was finding masking tape peeled off my mdf board. The foam board is turning out to be great.

Tan, blues and green paint on canvas — Unused paint from last canvas

I start out my abstracts with acrylic paint, often left over from a previous painting, applied with a sponge brush in large, sweeping strokes and here and there some scrubbing.

My next layers often include adding stencilling through lace or stencils and drips of paint

Canvas and spray bottles — Spraying through lace

Pink, teal, yellow and orange lace patterns — More lacey layers

Colourful painting — Playing with colour and transparency

In this layer I add colour intuitively and play with transparency to hide or reveal areas of the background. I’m feeling bold and add strong colours, enjoying blending them on the canvas.

Finished piece — Adding a decorative layer to help different colour areas connect

In my final layer I have added brush marks where the colour blocks meet or blend.

I have used gold acrylic paint in this piece which doesn’t show so well in the photo.