Hi, I'm Dane and I want to share a little experiment I cooked up in the lab recently. Ok, so everyone loves birds right? And I think we can all agree that sea urchins are pretty cool, although very poky.
Carefully combine the two and you get a "bird-urchin" or Birchin for short. A Birchin is a multi medium, mind bending, earth expanding new species of......sea creature?? Below I will take you on a little photo journey of how I got from point A to point Z.
More info: danesart.com
I decided to lay down the background using Montana crackle spray paint. This was my first time using spray paint and thus the experiment began.
I did some testing on small canvases to get a feel for my new toys. The thicker the paint layer the wider the cracks.
On to the real deal. I gave this 44'' x 46'' canvas a gradient fading black to white. I left the middle of the canvas blank to prevent unwanted cracks where I would be painting later.
Next I painted in a rough urchin shape using white acrylic paint. I let that dry and sketched in the bird details.
They say that eyes are windows to the soul and how right they are. Here I am at Portland's annual Masquerade Ball. Its only fitting that I brought my creature to life while doing a little live painting!
Painting in the middle of a giant party has its challenges, but it was fun mingling with the people. Most common question of the night: "What the #$%@* is that??"
It's cool to paint with a mask on because you look like a super hero, but it's also kinda hard to see.
Four hours later and WHAMO! The first layer is done.
Back to the studio for some fine tuning, and here you have it. My creation in all its radiant glory! Here little guy, have a shrimp snack.
"mmmm... more shrimpies please"
