Painting Snail Sovereign

Snails, turkey tail and shelf fungi on a log….a detailed natural scene, pulsing with the energy of life.

This would have been a typical watercolor & gouache subject for me. But lately I’ve been enjoying acrylic paints again. One of the best thing about acrylics is that you are not as limited by the size of the paper, so I got to realize this scene larger than life.

Acrylic paint can be sticky and push around like wet plastic, drying too fast, and leaving brush strokes. Which is fine, if you like that effect, but I find working in thin layers allowed for more subtlety and control.

Lastly, the alcohol dripping technique and the plastic wrap impression technique are known ways to create textures in acrylics - and it’s really fun to do. The payoff is quick, and the effect creates a lot of abstract interest in a large space……no matter what subject you choose.

Start with SOMETHING - not nothing! It’s a fantastic way to push past the “fear of the white canvas”.

Follow along with the steps below, as I describe how I painted Snail Sovereign……. Try it yourself, and have fun with it!

Primed

The canvas I purchased was pre-primed so there was no need for additional gesso.

You could add gesso layers, let them dry, sanding between each layer to tamp down that bumpy “canvassy” texture.  I chose not to do that for this painting.

Got paint and mediums ready.

All the paints and mixes I use follow the same formula:

1.      Every paint color I choose is a Transparent color.  Look on your paint containers for a good transparency rating.  You do not want to use opaque colors, at least not until the very last stages of your painting.

2.     They are not Heavy Body colors, but are Soft Body colors.  “Fluid” types will work too.  I like controlling exactly how fluid my paint ends up by adding mediums, see below.

3.     Medium 1:  GAC 100.  I squirt a little of this into each of my colors.  It makes the paint thinner and more transparent.

4.     Medium 2: Airbrush Medium.  Same, for the same reason – you can get the paint even thinner and more transparent.  Could you thin your paints with WATER? Sure, but I don’t advise it.  The reason you use this in place of water to thin your paints is the pigment stays brighter.  Too much water can break down the pigments and make them look dull, streaky, or create “holes”

As I’m getting ready to paint, I set everything out but I don’t try to prepare all the colors I’m going to use in the entire painting first.  I just dispense exactly as much paint as I’m going to use in the moment.  This keeps paint waste at a minimum…. you don’t want to toss dried paint away!

Bright underlayer

First, I chose a bright, light color.  Yellow is perfect.  I made it bright, keeping in mind that this color will be on the bottom so all other paint layers will obscure this one to some degree. 

I added texture by taking clean plastic film saved from packaging, and pressed it down into this initial layer of thin wet paint.  I smashed it down with my hands and peeled up the plastic to reveal the texture.

For extra oomph, I added a second, or third, related color and did this a second time.  In my case, I chose burnt sienna and red.  This was quickly added after the first yellow dried.

Here’s a short video showing off my multi-yellow-sienna-red first layer.

I let this layer dry with the help of a hair dryer.

Sealed.

I painted on a layer of Soft Gel Medium, sprayed with just a fine mist of water. (keeping a fine spray bottle handy is good!)  You could achieve this by using a wet brush to apply it.  The idea is not to have huge gloppy “ridges” but just to be sure it’s all smooth and even.

I made sure it was all completely dry and covered before moving on to the next step.

Alcohol drip layer.

I mixed about a cup or two of darker neutral paint, with the GAC 100 and Airbrush Medium added as described above.  What I used was Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Umber, but you could use any neutral blend you like.  Another option would be Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna, or Alizarin Crimson and Pthalo Green, or Ivory Black.  I like to mix my neutrals since the results have a little more “life” and variation in them.  For example you can make your mix a little cooler by adding more Ultramarine Blue than Burnt Sienna.

I lightly sprayed the surface.

With a big brush I spread this darker neutral all over.  I made sure the paint was thin enough and transparent enough to still see through a little.  (The paint layer should NOT be thick – it should be runny.)

I poured some rubbing alcohol into a glass container.  Then, I dipped my fingers into it and “flicked” the alcohol drips into the paint.

The alcohol made bright dots appear, revealing the bright underlayer.  Using a toothbrush gave me smaller spots, and using more of my hand made larger blobs. I kept the dark paint areas from becoming too thick by dabbing with a paper towel.  This made more textural marks, which I kept.

Here’s right after the alcohol drip layer had completely dried.

I waited for this layer to dry completely before moving on.

Added glazes.

For more variation in tone, I mixed up some thin glazes of burnt sienna and pthalo turquoise and wiped them on randomly in spots with a cotton rag.

Sealed. Again.

I sealed off this layer as before, with Soft Gel Medium, mixed with a little water.  When you do this, apply with a big wet brush.  Be sure to apply this thin layer everywhere.

Let this dry or use a hair dryer to speed things up.

Made the Outlines.

I drew the outline of my snail and mushrooms directly on the surface with a white chalk pencil.  Then I went over this outline with my dark neutral tone on a small paintbrush.

I had planned the image beforehand, using a combination of photos of snails and fungi, specifically turkey tail.

Added Darks.

I mixed up some dark neutral paint as before.  I still was careful to keep the transparency there.

I outlined the main forms, and painted the darkest darks using the photo as a guide.

In some spots, I was careful to not add too much paint so that the bright spots continued to shine through.

Transparent Lights

Using “Transparent Mixing White” soft body paint mixed with GAC 100 and Airbrush Medium, I applied a white haze to many lighter parts of the painting, especially the background at the top.  I used a soft t-shirt material to apply and wipe the paint on to be sure the paint stayed smooth and thin.

Opaque Lights.

I mixed up some Titanium White with GAC 100 and Airbrush Medium.  This is far more opaque than the previous paints.

I painted into the light shapes and up against edges.  For the finest areas such as the gills on the mushrooms, I used a Molotow permanent white acrylic paint marker.

More Glazes…

At this point I added some nice soft colors into this for even more tonal variation and excitement.  I used some Alizarin Crimson (and GAC 100 and Airbrush Medium) and a rag, and wiped down some areas such as the tiny mushrooms on the right side.  I also used some Pthalo Turquoise in the same way.