Sunday, December 4, 2011

Markers by Julie Riker

6x8 oil on mahogany board

      It has been awhile since I posted here.  I have been busy completing a church restoration, and now that that job is finished I am happy to have some time to paint again.  This week I joined the Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters for a brisk morning paint out.  Cecelia found an interesting place for us to paint.  The Lincoln Colored Cemetery is full of old Civil War graves, most of them were older than the surrounding trees.  I decided to focus in on the shapes of some of the stones.  I was also experimenting with a new surface, a clear primed mahogany board.  I enjoyed using this smooth surface as an alternative to the canvas texture which I am sometimes fighting with.  The warm wood color also made a nice base which peeks through the paint in areas.
 
If you would like to see more of my work please visit my website www.julieriker.com

5 comments:

Unknown said...

The wood board does give a warmth in a place that is otherwise very cold. Glad to see you back posting again.

Ron Donoughe said...

Thanks so much for coming to the reception. I regret we didn't have a chance to chat. On another note, I'm curious about your panel. Did you gesso or shellac it? I use baltic birch panels with a coating of amber shellac. It raises the wood grain and makes a fantastic surface.

Christine Marx said...

Julie,

The grays in this are stunning. Where do you get mahogany board and also I want to know everything Ron asked too LOL. I have, in the past, fought with wood but I don't think I primed it properly.

Christine Marx said...

Julie,

The grays in this are stunning. Where do you get mahogany board and also I want to know everything Ron asked too LOL. I have, in the past, fought with wood but I don't think I primed it properly.

Julie Riker said...

Thanks Linda, Ron, and Christine!
I got the panel as a sample pack from Judson's a long time ago and finally used it. I am looking for another, cheaper source for these as I really enjoyed working with it. If anyone has suggestions I would appreciate that...
I primed the panel with one of my faux finish sealing products. It is a clear epoxy base, similar to Minwax Polycrylic. It raised the grain a bit and then I lightly sanded and applied another coat. This is all just an experiment...