Learning to Go with the Flow

Keely Mucenski

Acrylic on Canvas

The title of my work can be understood both literally and figuratively. Which is precisely how my abstract painting can be interpreted. Learning to go with the flow of life and not stress about the uncontrollable, but also the literal meaning of learning to go with the flow of the river. The painting was inspired by the Bow River, but that is not all that the painting is. It’s full of heartbreak, loss, hope, and new opportunities. We were told to use our emotions to help inspire our work's textural elements, brush strokes, and finishing glazes. Not only was this piece inspired by the Bow River, but it was also inspired by Becky McNabb. More specifically her piece In the Shallow. Her color palette and brush strokes grabbed my attention and I knew that I wanted my piece to have a similar effect on my audience. I used a couple of different media techniques for this abstract piece. I started by painting my canvases with a light teal-grey color. Then I used drywall mud for the smooth pieces and a gesso-like substance that was filled with sand particles for the pieces of my painting that were meant to represent the river banks or the edge of the river where the forest began. I found using both of these techniques for texture was great, I loved how the mud stayed wet long enough to remove it from my piece or manipulate it in any way I wanted. The sand-filled gesso gave an amazing texture to my piece. Next, I used acrylic paint for the sand-covered parts of my piece. I used a brush to get a base coat and then a sponge with a lighter shade to provide more layers and texture to those sections. Then I used a pencil to section off my piece in order to use four different shades of blues and blue greens to provide differentiation and flow between the sections. The acrylic paint was not difficult to use although I did find painting the sand-filled gesso more difficult as it soaked up the paint and required more layers. The difference between the shades of blue and blue-greens provided the effect of flowing water. This project allowed me to develop my personal style and it also gave me the opportunity to express my emotions in my art. This project showed development in my personal style of abstract art by allowing me to use both natural brush strokes and sharp pristine lines. I developed many problem- solving skills throughout this project as abstract art is all about layering and creating something and destroying it to create something completely different. Each layer is a new piece that in the end all comes together to create my final painting. I was able to problem- solve throughout my entire project. Firstly, the sand-filled gesso required multiple layers of paint. Then, I needed to determine how to make my whites pop without overwhelming the piece. For this I did a small amount of white directly from the tube and then the larger white portions I tinted with a small portion of light blue. This gave the white more depth and helped it pop without taking over the entire piece. This piece holds a lot of significance to me as it represents a lot of the journey I’ve been on this past year. When the school first began in September I was constantly stressed, overthinking, and overwhelmed. But as the year has progressed I’ve developed the skill of “going with the flow”. There is no point in stressing over something that I cannot control. The beauty of life is in the unknown, which I represented through my abstract piece.