I am excited to finally announce my new series, Crystal Paintings! These oil paintings have accents of crystals and gemstones. The goal is to use the crystals to further enhance the oil paint and draw the viewer’s eye to the focal point.
The idea came to me in early April. Once I found loose crystals and gems to buy online I jumped at the chance. I could not wait to get started. Although I paint, I wanted to work on something more “with my hands”. I practiced with a couple of older pieces and found instant success. I find the process of figuring out where to precisely place the crystals as satisfying as adding detail to a painting with a small brush. Adding each crystal one at a time is tedious but enjoyable.
I picked out five photographs I had taken over the years. I was looking for reference photos with strong lines and angles that I could manipulate to lead to my focal point. After the paintings dried, I laid out similar color crystals to further emphasize these leading lines. To finish I added either a clear quartz or citrine gem to the main focal point. The focal point is usually the lightest light next to the darkest dark. With adding the crystal accents, I found that less was a much better outcome.
I will debut the new “Crystal Series” this Friday at the James Island Town Market, part of their First Friday events. Whatever does not sell will be available for purchase the next day in my shop.
I cannot wait to do more of these and try some larger pieces!