Back in the studio...

...after an illicit runaway day on Mother's Day, I'm inspired to play once again.  

Right now I'm drawn to those delicious metallic colours of Inka Gold, and can't seem to get enough of them.  

'Changing Landscape' 5" x 7" mixed media on gallery wrap canvas  © Win Dinn

Well, of course John thinks I've got enough of them, but he obviously can't be trusted with the real skinny, so let's not tell him, right?

They come in so many lustrous colours that I find myself putting them on nearly everything I do these days - sometimes over the whole of a piece,

sometimes in tiny accents that go almost unnoticed,

'Confluence' 10 " x 8" mixed media on cradled wood panel © Win Dinn

and sometimes from the background to the foreground and everywhere in between.

'Midnight Garden II' 8" x 6" mixed media on cradled wood panel © Win Dinn

And of course, the studio looks its usual wild self, with projects lined by by the score.

Looking at this post, you'd think that someone had taken a full 32 oz. jar of black gesso, and exploded it in the room.

Come to think of it....

Crackle...

...I'm in love with it.  Kroma Crackle is such a wonderful creativity tool, I'm seriously considering buying it by the case.

I was introduced to it by Meg Nicks, co-owner of the Sunny Raven Gallery in Canmore, and she's got me hooked.  This particular piece is partway dry (the dark splotch in the top middle is Kroma Crackle still wet from the bottle over top of black gesso), and it has me mesmerized already.  It's on a lamp base I scored at Gleaners for $ .50 - John has replaced the fittings and I'm playing decorator.

I've used this crackle  in several pieces, and love the width of the crackle lines, which clearly show the colour underneath.

'Confluence' detail 

'Confluence' mixed media on cradled wood panel 10" x 8"  © Win Dinn

The dried crackle, once fixed with liquid medium, readily accepts drybrush, Inka Gold, and other juicy colour.

'Treasure Box' detail  (Full view here)

When heated during the drying process, it provides additional gnarly texture.  In fact, the only drawback to this tool is the comparatively slow drying time (the top piece is in its second day of drying), and for the results garnered, even I'm patient enough to wait!

'Islands in the Sun' mixed media on cradled wood panel  © Win Dinn

I am wondering, however, if it's quite sane to be salivating at the way it looks...is that a 'normal' artist thing?  What's your current favourite toolbox necessity?  Comment below, and let's take a look!