Cinque Terre is located in Liguria, in northwest Italy, and comprises 5 villages built into the steep cliffs along the coastline. You can find all sorts of articles, videos, photos about it, and to my thoughts it sounds like an incredible place to see. However, it is not something I will get to do next week, so I thought it would make a good painting study. The idea of living in a house, built on a cliff at the edge of the ocean – I don’t know, but it seems quite a fascinating way to live!
I was more interested in playing with the paint and experiencing how to use the Golden fluid acrylics than I was in making a finished work of art. I am finding I like them when they have dried a bit and become rather sticky but still maintain the consistency of cream. Opacity seems to improve as the paints become more viscous. This stickiness makes for some rather nice ways of creating color combinations – one on another – and texture. This is all play, and play is the best way to learn how to use something, I think. The plan is to continue and come up with an opinion about if I like them – I think I do, sometimes more than other times – as well as just exploring painting with them.
This painting was inspired by a photo taken offshore and looking landward. The houses cling to the cliffs, and if you look closely at the photo, you can see pathways and stairs leading from one area of houses to another. There were more outcroppings of rock in the photo than I have here, and I think it would have been a better painting to have included them. It looks like I have two rock columns madly in love, and having a good smooch! Despite that, I had fun playing with not just the colors, but ways in which to apply the paint – like rubbing it in with a paper towel in addition to a paint brush. Soft and hard brushes also have and impact, as does using a filbert, flat, or round brush. So much to learn . . .
Golden fluid acrylics, a bit of a fauvist or colorist approach, 15×20 paper.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 
I like the colors and textures in this painting. I can see a face in the rock column on the right.
I can’t not see the face now! And they are smooching 😀 love the colours, nice playtime!
Thanks, Anne. I had a bit of fun here, but was disappointed as it was way off what I had planned to do!
Haha! Glad you like it, Fraggy. I was amused enough to keep it once I saw it. It’s interesting to find things that you don’t see – always happens when I scan something I drew. Sometimes good, sometimes not. But this one made me laugh.
Always a good thing!
Having fun is what counts!!