Yoga pose XVII - step II... The kid is back!

After a shopping spree for art supplies, I spent about 30 minutes establishing some color scheme for this painting...

Last summer I bought a book featuring a retrospective of Molly Lamb Bobak's art as I was mesmerized by her use of oranges and purples along with accents of dark blues and greens... so there's a bit of inspiration from her here. Recently, I've decided to establish a dialog with colors and the evolving painting as opposed to plan things out to death. I'll soon find out if this is a one-way or a two-way communication! I'm notorious for doing all the talking, a marketing thing... that can be to my detriment!

In terms of experimentation, I tried a removable oil-based matte varnish from Liquitex (over an isolation coat of acrylic gloss medium & varnish) and liked the results: definitely matte but with a sparkle, and the texture of the canvas is retained. I will try this recipe on a highly textured surface. Breathing the vapors of an oil-based varnish was a killer though... so I need to find a way to ventilate more effectively. Up to now, I have favoured the waxy finish provided by a coat of permanent acrylic gloss varnish (over an isolation coat of soft gel mixed with water) followed by a coat of permanent acrylic satin varnish. In the end, I'm looking for better color enhancement and a minimum of fogging (a potential problem with water-based varnishes, especially on highly textured surfaces).

Note to self: I think super loose is the way to go with smaller formats (20 X 20 for this canvas) since at 3 feet, the observer is already far enough to imagine all the details!