Abstract Watercolors on Canvas

I've been having all sorts of fun in my art room! Watercolor paints on canvas is the funnest thing I've tried this year..... by far! 

I had a hankering to create some therapeutic abstract art so I pulled out some old canvases I had in my art closet and layered some fresh gesso on top.  After the canvases were dry I worked up some heavy watercolors and painted them right on the canvas. So fun! I should have done this years ago!

The watercolors act so differently on a canvas than on paper.  They don't absorb nearly as well, but that makes them all the more fun and interesting! The run and mix and eventually soak in a little.  You have to be patient and you have to use more paint than you would on paper.

If the runny nature of a regular primed canvas really bugs you, you can apply a watercolor ground before hand. I've never tried watercolor ground, but it's on my list now!

I did a little experimentation with clear glue and salt along with the watercolors.  That was a fun one! I felt like a kid again and I loved it!

And then I had to try the spray painting technique too- the more ways you can find to get paint on your canvas, the better.

The last piece I tried was a larger palm leaf pattern, again with watercolors on canvas. More photos of that one to come! 

Do you like abstract painting?

I find it a welcome break from the routine.  I find it liberating! I could experiment with all kinds of art mediums all day long and never get tired of it. I'm always excited to see what will happen when I use materials in a different way or combine things I've never combined before.  I know I'm a bit of an art nerd, gushing about all of this here, but it's my passion and I hope I never lose that.