Combining the whole pink and blue thing
When I’m painting these pink and blue abstract art works I tend to begin with the secondary colours first. It’s important to have a supporting cast of paints to help the stars of the show shine. In this instance that’s a definite reference to the pink and blue.
I normally organise things the other way round but for Mind the Gap I had to figure out the other colours before I could work out how to arrange them all. Too much in the wrong place and it’s game over rather quickly. These matters have to be planned as best as I can beforehand.
Shape creation
You can’t ignore the shapes I’ve painted on this canvas. There’s something very satisfying about laying down these rivers and swooshes of paint (my own technical terminology!).
To get a good contrast for the main applications of paint I made sure that the background layer was a graded lilac and pink affair – fused with a little white and purple for good measure. It’s important to have a strong foundation to work upon. Furthermore, the white was graded in the centre so that the colours have room to breathe as your eye gazes over it. White is such a good colour for creating break points.
Easy does it
Onto this lilac and pink layer I’ve used a pouring method to get the paints applied; paying careful attention to the accent colours of bright red and metallic gold. As these don’t feature highly it’s critical they are used in exactly the right amounts otherwise you’ll either miss them (not enough) or they’ll punch you in the face (too much). It’s always a fine line between success and failure.
Personally I like the burgundy best – it has such a contrast to the pink but without it taking over. I love this colour and think it’s very underrated.