There is an old joke about sending your spouse to the art supply store for white paint…
One of the fun curses of being in the arts is that learning is an active ongoing process and that extends to materials. I have been squeezing paint tubes for 40 years and I still am constantly comparing mediums, colors and brands. For the series of paintings that I have been working on, I am using a white framing negative space in a way that I normally don’t do. I have also been working on a new kind(s) of canvas so I have been experimenting with a lot of white paints. This means painting swatch after swatch just to compare the different hues that white paints have based on how they are formulated and then how they blend. Titanium white can have warm or cool tones based on its formula. I am even on the list to beta test a new white created by Culture Hustle, the company that makes Black 3.0 which is just about as black as the holes Bugs Bunny would use against Daffy Duck; this stuff is blacker than Plaka black.
One really cool paint that I stumbled across and have been working with is Metal Masters Reactive Iron Paint (link below). No, not a white paint but still really cool so I have to take this opportunity to talk about it. With my interest in materiality, this paint has allowed me to explore sculptural works that I couldn’t have realized without learning metal work or hiring someone to fabricate the pieces. The possibilities that this opens up are exciting. So far I have used it on three dimensional objects, but I am beginning to use it two dimensionally. It is really fun to play with; give it a go.
-d
