Total Art Soul - for artists

Hey. Thought I would put up a post to introduce myself. Im an artist living in Wexford, Ireland. Most of my work is figurative however I also make some abstract work.

Hi!

Welcome to the site! I haven't been by much, but..it's a great place! I saw your gallery. Really nice work! This may be a dumb question...but what medium is it?

Hope you enjoy being a part of this supportive and talented group!

Kathy

Hi Kathy,
Thanks for that. The paintings are done with acrylic paint on perspex (Plexiglass). They are painted in reverse, in other words I paint on the perspex but the works are shown not paint side out, but the other way around. Unlike my other paintings where I build up layers, these are different as the very first marks that i put down are the ones that are most seen.
Oh and not a dumb question at all
Oonagh

My God! How on earth do you paint in reverse! That's pure genius! How long have you been painting like this? What gave you the idea to do this in the first place. I love it!

Seriously? That is amazing, I wouldn't know where to begin! Love your work!

Hi, thanks for your kind comments. I started painting in this way in April. I was working on a series of portraits based on user profile pictures from social networking sites. I spent ages trying to get the feeling of the computer screen into the work but I didnt want it to be too obvious. I came up with the idea of painting on something shiny and tried lots of surfaces, eventually coming up with the perspex. I hadnt originally thought of painting in reverse but the very first time I used it, I turned the nice but very ordinary painting around and was really suprised to discover it was way more interesting the 'wrong' way around. Originally I only painted on the perspex to bring context into the work but I love it. I am now experimenting with painting different subjects on it. It has the great advantage of stopping me overwork my paintings as if I do - no one can see it! Its also funny to see how different the paintings are from both sides.
Anyway Ill stop now - sorry Im sure you didnt want a reply this longwinded!
Oonagh