Experiments on canvas

In addition to carrying out experiments on paper, I still wanted to continue improving my skills when working on canvas, as this is something I plan to do a lot going forward in my practice. I have successfully fine tuned my technique when masking areas of paint on a paper surface, but have had bad luck in the past with masking on canvas, as the surface of the canvas isn't perfectly flat, meaning when I try to mask areas on the canvas away from a paint pour, the paint is able to seep underneath the tape, therefore corrupting the area I was trying to keep clean from the pour. It mattered to me that I figure out a way to find a solution to this issue, as I want to have the option of working on canvas occasionally for certain ideas/ paintings.

To conduct the experiment, I chose to mask an area of a painting on a canvas that I painted at the end of second year. The canvas features a blue nude figurative painting that I thought would be excellent to experiment with to protect the area from a paint pour as this mirrors the imagery present in Gehenna.



To mask the figure, I used tape that I cut to size around the proportions of the nude, I then 'sealed' the edges of the tape by adding multiple layers of paint (or gesso) over the top. I repeated this last step until no buckles or gaps in the tape were visible through which the paint could seep through. After, I then taped waterproof material (in this instance, cut up bin bags) over the remaining areas of the canvas that I didn't want the pour to infiltrate into, leaving a bare, unmasked area of the canvas for me to pour the paint pour onto.


   

Results

The results of the experiment were very pleasing, the tape/ paint method successfully masked the figure from being ruined by the paint pour, and the pour stayed within the parameters I'd masked off to pour it within. This was a useful experiment as it pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me find a solution to a problem that was previously stunting my work's progress. It pushed me out of my comfort zone as I was reluctant to paint over the nude (even though I had masked it) because I wasn't sure if the masking was going to be secure enough on the surface of the canvas. The blue nude was also a figurative painting that I was very pleased with so I was worried I'd lose it in the trial and error of the masking experiment, luckily this payed off and resulted in me breaking new ground with my work. This technique is something I will definitely use again in canvas paintings in the future.

Although I'm very happy with the visuals of the final result, there are some aspects of the process that I could have done more thoroughly. When I applied the paint pour to the surface, the paint had been sitting for a few days and had therefore begun to curdle in the cup I'd mixed it in, this means the paint pour area of the piece has a few thick clumps of paint within it that could have been avoided had I used freshly mixed paint, to avoid this next time I will make sure I only use freshly mixed pour formulas on precious/ final pieces.