The Unveiling

I think it’s fair to say that canvas and paint markers have been kind to me and I am for the most part happy with the materials I have been experimenting with. My two main quibbles are: 1. Markers tend to start off well but not soon after you will find that the nibs deteriorate and your vision of fine lines through the whole canvas starts to fade; and 2. Stretched canvas is convenient, however, it can be a bit frustrating to work with if you want to use larger pieces and need to apply pressure which could lead to bleeding and warping.

That said, after a couple of months of testing and starting over, I believe I have arrived at what can be called the first instalment of ‘Imperfect Balance’. It’s a triptych as previously mentioned using 10 x 10 inch medium grain stretched canvases and oil based paint markers.

The triptych (First Encounter) begs the observer to accept that not everything we see in the first instance is what it seems. It then goes on to challenge that if we can accept the trivial imperfections around us, we get a glimpse of how things might look like when all is in balance and in symmetry.

First Encounter

Are we there yet?

It’s been about 5 months since I got hold of my oil based markers and a few weeks since ‘Imperfect Balance’ was conceived. The set has moved on a bit but there’s still work to be done.

And as I am still exploring my own style and direction, I would like to share with you the process in which one of the canvases takes form.

For my first project, I decided to venture into the world of canvases. Previously, almost all of my doodling was done on paper so this will be a good test to see if canvas is a good medium for me. To start, I decided on the 10 x 10 inches medium grain. Masking tape is used to loosely manage borders and a couple of fine pencil lines are added to further guide the concept. The rest of the canvas (and majority of the work) is created freestyle using only the Pebeo oil based markers.

And here is my progress to so far. Enjoy!