Latest posts by michael wilson (see all)
- JORDAN RIVER - February 5, 2019
- Inspired Art - August 2, 2018
- Waiting for Inspiration - July 31, 2018
- The Bridge between Painting and Photography - July 31, 2018
Creating a drag painting is a distinct departure from ‘thematic’ painting. Pre-establishing a theme to a painting is a naturally restrictive process. It is planned out with sketches and follows the artist’s guidelines. A drag painting however relies heavily on chance effects. A certain effect or image can be imagined and even anticipated but with a drag painting the artist’s hand is ‘hidden’ and the result can never quite be determined. I will point out below a few drag painting methods.
A drag painting relies on a hard, flat, primed surface. A squeege presses the paint into the surface. Large and smaller squeeges are used and so, a large surface is always more effective. One of the challenges to this type of abstract painting is to keep the actual colors sharp and vibrant. In the drag effect they can sometimes become muddled when mixed together.
For myself I will often complete the initial drag painting in a day or two at most. Then after drying I might take another week or two to ‘play’ with certain effects by brush. This is done to highlight an area that needs more punch and even to tone down an area. I will also use strips of colored tissue paper which adds a layer of accent to the painting before the final coat of varnish is applied. THese several drag painting methods can yield incredibly exciting results if you are willing to give up on elements of control and allow chance to be part of the creative process.