New Works by Vivian Olsen

"TWO AMIGOS"  MIXED MEDIA

Featured Artist for the Month of March

Every so often I like to break away from painting with oils and experiment with new ways of painting - mainly to loosen up. This time I started with Chinese brush painting techniques and did several fast ink practice sketches on Chinese rice paper.

I liked what I was doing but wanted to use a more substantial ground so I chose a pastel paper  and taped it to a board. I placed the board slightly vertically on a table easel. I had done pencil sketches of the burros so, using them as references,  I began drawing freehand with ink and a Chinese brush, loosely placing in lines and dark washes. 

After I had a good black and white drawing I changed from ink to watercolor. From that point on I continued painting with a loaded brush, allowing the paint to drip down. 

No pastel was added to the "Two Amigos"

"BABY RAVENS"  MIXED MEDIA

I loved the loose effect I was going for so I painted the "Baby Ravens" next. Using the Chinese brush painting techniques again I sketched in the forms of the birds with ink, then diluted it to fill in gray values. After brushing in some darks I added watercolor washes, still using Chinese brushes and using flowing paint. Finally, I finished the painting with touches of pastel and a hint of blue metallic watercolor which is sold as a powdered pigment. 

I'm energized by this new method and will continue using it to create energetic  and fun paintings.