Messy Mixed Media Landscape

Mixed media mess... but I like it. I tried to recreate a color study I had done earlier. But the recreation lacked something. It was dull and lifeless, probably because I had a preconceived idea of what it should look like instead of painting from inspiration in the moment. So I set it aside. 

I was playing with pastels a few days later so I hit it with pastels and it started to look better. That gave me courage to keep going. 

Later, I found some scrap remains of abstract paper and glued that to the foliage. Add some raw watercolor and anything else I found and it started to look okay, But when I took a photo of it the texture and color washed out, So I hit it with some Photoshop as well. It's not what I intended, but I'm tired of looking at it and working on it so I'm declaring it finished Baahaahaa… my typical work cycle.

(BTW, the trees really are planted in a grid in real life. It's an artificial commercially planted grove with all the trees the same age and shape, not the typical random forest. I didn't capture the rhythmic pattern very well, but the one "natural" tree at the edge of the grove proves I can see and paint a gnarly tree also LOL... just so you know)

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Painting the Terrarium - So Far So Good

Always imagined an antique bronze or copper finish for the terrarium frame, and I'm getting close to the look I wanted - using good old-fashioned acrylic craft-paint.

Metallic spray paint looked too perfect, not antique and weathered enough. So I hauled out my paint-box and went to my favorite colors used in other projects. I wasn't sure how acrylic paints would work with this 3D-printed model, but they adhered well and gave me the texture and imperfect finish I was after. (see it unpainted straight off the 3d-printer here)



Sometimes the oldest and simplest techniques are the best. I brushed on the paint them wiped off portions of it to reveal the black wrought iron, er... the black PLA plastic underneath. I did not smooth it down again, so clumps formed along the edge like something that had been painted and repainted for decades.

I plan to add some more weathering - if I can remember how to do that. The technique is simple, but getting it to look right at this scale can be tricky. This is the first coat of paint, and as I remember I need to add some darker patches, some light and dark greens in the corners, then some bright patches in the "worn" areas.

And I really want to try the two-part instant patina paint systems. Apparently, the two paints interact chemically and give a very realistic antique verdigris without all the multi-layer painting. I'm all for adapting new technology, especially if it saves me time.

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