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Posted on 1/5/2022 2:37:52 PM
By Susan Gainen
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When a curious art lover asked how I made Friendship Rings, I realized that I needed to explain Painstaking Exuberance, my little spot in the Art Conversation.
Painstaking Exuberance in Five or Six Steps.
1. Make a pencil drawing. In this case, and for all of the rings and links paintings, I have to make sure that the "over and unders" work so that the rings look as if you could pick up one ring and all of the others would follow because they are all connected. Sharp pencil and a good eraser required. My favorite pencil is the General Pencil #6H.
2. Cover the drawing with Clear Gesso. In the Olden Days (or in traditional art classes) the product that offers the protection that modern gesso provides was made by boiling rabbit skins. No rabbits die for my work. I buy acrylic gesso (clear and colored) from art supply stores. (Note: This also requires a Moment of Gratitude to the late and much loved Tracie Thompson, who introduced me to clear gesso.)
3. Wait for the gesso to dry -- usually overnight suffices.
4. Then, color! Using tiny brushes (0, 1 or 2, depending on the brand), I paint inside the lines, again, minding the "over and unders." When I began painting in this part of my life, I began with watercolor. In the last two years, I have gradually moved to acrylic paint, and now I've landed on acrylic inks: Ziller, Golden High Flo, Liquitex and Daler-Rowney. I love acrylic ink because the colors are clear and unambiguous and BRIGHT.
5. Then, outline each piece. This is really painstaking, but enormously pleasurable, outline each ring or link with one of these: a Micron pen, a tiny paintbrush using carbon black ink, or a fountain pen with carbon black ink.
6. Sometimes, I'll coat the painting with Golden Brand Clear Leveling Gel, which does exactly what its name says.
When I started painting in 2009, and landed on this model, I realized that for most artists, their work is named and categorized after they get really famous, or after they die. Unwilling to wait, I thought about what I was doing and named it The School of Painstaking Exuberance.
