Contemporary Abstract Acrylic and Watercolor Painting by Brad Rickerby

Seascape 1

8" x 10"

 Abstract Acrylic and WatercolorPainting on Matt Board

$47 (with 10% donated to charity)

Painting by Brad Rickerby

Available for sale.

I love this pretty and subtle little piece. It started off with the blue being sky, but when my girlfriend turned it over, we both knew immediately that it was actually ocean. So is the way of art.

This painting was created with acrylic ink (by liquitex) and watercolor paint. The sea (or sky, if you must) is Ultramarine Blue watercolor. I painted it onto a dry board but thinned the watercolor with a lot of water so the flow was easy. I placed a piece of wax paper on the blue area and rubbed it down over the entire surface area.

My acrylic ink was prepared in small squirt bottle. A combination of two inks were squirted just a little under the wax paper. The colors were Burnt Sienna and Sap Green. Next I squirted a combination of red and blue inks over the larger part of the board. I placed saran wrap over the uncovered area of the board and pressed the wrap down. Burnt Sienna was squirted on any area of the board the remained unpainted. The saran wrap was the bunched up to create lines and texture, but still covering the entire painting not covered by wax paper.

I put heavy books on top of the whole painting and waited until the painting was completely dry before removing the wax paper and saran wrap. The combination of the two covers make very different kinds of marks. You can clearly sea the pattern left in the ocean (err, sky) but the pattern left by the saran wrap is much more subtle and is better seen in the actual painting.

This one was fun and great because it leaves a lot of room for experimentation without requiring a huge commitment of time.

I am donating 10% of the proceeds of this painting to charity (probably the ASPCA) and will do so with other paintings until the middle of November 2011. If you are interested in purchasing this work it is $47.00 and you can reach me at brad@bradrickerby.com.

Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Acrylic Painting by Brad Rickerby

On The Run

6 x 12"

 Abstract Liquid Acrylic Painting on Paper

Painting by Brad Rickerby

Available for sale.

More setting my self free. I want to play with colors, to ignore line, form and composition. I want the painting to be about the interplay of the colors, how they change as they mix and intermingle. To hell with structure and restrictions. Just live. Just breathe!

I curled the paper and then set it on a downward slope, so the liquid acrylics would just run down the paper, leaving a trail of color behind them. Some of the paint I threw, some I just let spill on the sides and from the top. The paint pooled at the bottom into and ugly gray. So I chopped the bottom off.

I adore freedom!

Contact me at brad@bradrickerby.com for questions. comments or to buy the piece.

Contemporary Abstract Acrylic Palette Knife Painting by Brad Rickerby

Brilliance #2

6 x 6 x 7/8" Acrylic on Canvas Painting

Ready to be Hung

by Brad Rickerby

Available for sale, prints also available

This will be a short description. I set out to refine the techniques that I used in Brilliance #1 (see below). First, I knew this is what I wanted the outcome to look like from the beginning. So I set out with a plan that follow the experiment that I had previously used. I wanted more of the undertone dark colors to show through (which provides more depth and dimension to the creation) and I wanted the knife strokes to mix more colors within themselves.  Lastly I wanted the composition to be less linear. The idea was to let the more tightly planned painting look freer. I think I accomplished what I set out to, but that both paintings have qualities that are respectively better than the other.

Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Acrylic Painting by Brad Rickerby

The Three of Us, 24 x 18 x 7/8", Acrylic on Canvas

Gallery Wrapped, Ready to Hang

Painting by Brad Rickerby

Available for sale.

I wanted to paint something that looked like a Rothko, a painter I really love. I took a bigger canvas than I normally use and layered large areas with red and blue paint. I used no purple paint in the background of this painting. I used two inch brushes first and then moved down to one inch brushes.  Next came the yellow, three different colors of yellow in each block. I created the darker areas by blending in just the smallest amounts of yellows compliment, purple. Really, just the smallest amount. I painted the large block first. Realize that I had lost Rothko, but liked the painting. I my creation sit on its easel for two weeks trying to determine what to do next. Then the bottom blocks filled themselves in (well, not really). 

I like the final product and I enjoyed creating it.