Here is a picture we painted at the Acton library today on 7/30/25. It was so much fun, and I learned so much from the kids that were there. Children are truly the greatest teachers. If we pay attention!
Exploring Mixed Medium Abstractions through Expositions at Libraries, Cafe's, and Galleries throughout New England
Exploring Mixed Medium Abstractions
There is so much happening today in the art world for us to explore. If you look at the whimsical posters I have created at the top right of this blog you won't immediately be able to identify the different steps I used to create each. But there were many. The first was to create the pour paint for use as the background of the image. Look up pour painting on YouTube and you will learn all about it. Including how to create a pour paint. My advice is to use a white gesso to cover the indentations of your canvas. This will help when you convert to a digital image. Create your pour paint on an overcast day. Then take a picture of it when the paint is wet. It doesn't matter much which camera you use. Just a good quality. The most important thing is to not have a bright reflective spot. The overcast day will help with that.
Next I use the DeepAI free App to create my images which can be stored without the background, and then enhanced with either an inexpensive Microsoft photo enhancement app, or Affinity Publisher. Affinity has Publisher 2, Photo 2, and Designer 2. These cost around 60 USD each. They are very well designed and easy to use. Also VERY inexpensive compared to the others out there. You buy them once and use each whenever you need it.
The next step is to begin creating. I use the Affinity Publisher to begin. First I put in the background, which can be an AI/photo enhanced background, or a digital image of a pour paint, also photo enhanced. Phot enhancing a picture of a pour paint is very effective for altering the colors. You can even change the colors, and make it more sharp.
Next I will overlay the various other images onto the background. Moving them around and changing their size. Words can be added too. Even images that I have taken with my camera. Macrophotography is a fantastic tool because you can created different patterns of things you find in nature that will add to the pour paint as a background. In time you will discover that the natural world on every level is a combination of different patterns. Which patterns can be duplicated through the pour paint medium.
The bottom line here is that what you create is ONLY limited by your imagination. Also what you create will be exciting and wonderful. You will fall in love with your own artistic creations!
So have at it. I will be traveling around to some of the libraries closest to where I live for Show and Tell Events. Hoping that Mothers and others will take what they learn to children. I would love to see what they develop too. So have created a FB page for anyone to show off what they have.
Henry
henrygrover222@gmail.com