2020 Needs A LOT of Improvement. For Starters, More Enchanted Forests.

People may comfort you and say, "Don't worry, you never really had any control over things. This is nothing new." A true, true statement. But when you need to feel like you are in control of something, even for just a moment, the best way to do this [in my opinion at least] is to create something that symbolizes kindness, magic, and wild freedom- or whatever it is that's important to you. So in the midst of this overwhelming thing that is -now-, I decided to try something new and play with metal leaf while conjuring forward something from legends.

I started off with a background, as usual. It was a beautiful day and the mosquitos weren't vigorous enough to seek me out in the sunshine; it's the little things that help when they can. Why stop now to mow the lawn when you could be painting?!

I have no direction or anything- that's the wild freedom. Just be. It feels good, just have fun with layering. My backgrounds are always messy and paint flies everywhere, so outdoor painting definitely suits this early stage.

If I am lucky, and I was, I'm able to catch some afternoon rain. After that dried I continued outside with- you guessed it- more paint, more layers. Life is complex- give it some layers. If your painting ever doesn't look good, you keep painting because that just means it's not done. Easy.

Ok, so after this dried for a solid day- I have all sorts of thicknesses of paint so I want to be sure it's super dry- I go ahead with the metal leaf size. What is size? It's amazing!! It's like a high-shelf Elmer's Glue that is very, very thin. It dries clear and stays tacky to the touch for 48 hours or so, something like that. For it to work properly, you can't let it pool up or your metal application will be screwy and will smear on you, which may or may not be what you are going for. Keep it thin.

Gold Leaf, Gold Metal Leaf, Copper Leaf, Silver Leaf, Variegated Metal Leaf- so many leaves to choose from. How lovely.

Then there is the type- leaf flakes or sheets? Sheets are more serious, flakes are more fun (and messier, and less economical perhaps). This is a process I recommend, yet again, going outside with. However, if you splurge on Genuine Gold Leaf, you will most likely want to do it indoors and collect the scraps for next time. I personally prefer to watch them float away in the breeze and turn your art into reality; life imitating art so-to-speak. If you don't see or feel the magic, try not to feel bad, but just know you are doing it wrong. For the rest, you'll need an actual beautiful horse handy. I do not, but I have the next best thing- a reference photo.

Once you are done applying & brushing off any excess metal, this is when I go back inside to start planning. You can also wait until you are in the mood to plan and continue on with abstract backgrounds if that is how the day is best spent.

Keep in mind the metal leaf will look different depending on the light. Outside, I couldn't see much of it because it was competing with the sun and in the dark of course you won't be able to really see it either. Inside here, with the light bouncing off, it really is apparent how much I've applied.

So here we are inside with a rough sketch. This is the part where I typically want to quit, but you mustn't do that- now's the time to keep going....Seriously, don't give up now; that would be the worst thing you could do besides starting over. You can't start over in life, not really, but you can improve. You are doing great, really! -Well done in advance.

I typically power through until it resembles the direction I'm going in before I take a break and work on it another day.

I work dark to lights with acrylic paint and worse case scenario, you can always paint over what you don't like, change up colors later, rearrange facial features, etc. All is well.

After the horse was fully developed, I went back in with a very fine brush and added more gold flakes in the hair (it just needed a little something to blend in with it's environment) and then finished up under the grass adding some gold leaves of grass. I thought of Walt Whitman as I added these on. Another nice thing about metal leaf is you can paint over it. For example, I over did the horse's mane, but it looked nice and delicate- what I was ultimately going for- as I painted back over some of it.

And then, before you know it, you're finished. How do you know when you're done? I know when I decide if I continue, it'll just look worse. When it looks it's best, you are finished. Kind of a quit while you're ahead and the painting looks like what you intended to do. Harder than it sounds sometimes! I guess the trickiest part is knowing when to acknowledge it. I typically give it a day or so, free up my perspective, and walk around the room from all angles with a gesture of thoughtful consideration. You are welcome to pace at a time like this if it helps.

The last thing to do is sign it and eventually give it a name. One down, a few more to go.

Thank you kindly,

-B