When I was on the art retreat in Greece, I got a lot more comfortable loosening up my approach. Building a painting from abstract layers felt like a real breakthrough for me, especially because I usually tend to work in a much more controlled way.
There’s rollers, patterns, texture, drips, writing, bits of color showing through other colors, and places where I deliberately let the edges blur and disappear.
With this lion, I wanted to have some fun with the surface and let the painting build up in layers.
I really like that some parts feel finished and detailed while other areas are much looser.
That’s becoming one of my favorite things about mixed media. I don’t have to make every inch behave the same way.
The lion obviously became the focus, but I didn’t want the background to simply sit behind him. I wanted all of those layers to feel like they belonged to the painting too.
And then there are those little moments when something just works.
For me, it was the paws.
I know that sounds funny because they’re such a small part of the whole painting, but sometimes you paint an area and think, Yep. Leave that alone.
The paws were one of those moments.
I also enjoyed letting some of the lion disappear into the darker areas instead of outlining everything. His body gets a little lost in the background while his face, mane, and paws come forward. It gives the painting some depth without having to explain every edge.
When I stepped back from it, the word that kept coming to mind was majesty.
Not the loud kind.
There’s something very still and confident about him. He doesn’t need to be doing anything dramatic.
So I’m calling this one Quiet Majesty.
It’s a 24 x 30 x 3/4 inch mixed media painting on canvas, and there are a lot of little details in this one that I think are better discovered up close.