I want to know what a pigment will do, not just what color it is.
Will it stain the surface, settle into texture, or gather at the edge of a wash? Will it obscure what is underneath or let it show through?
I’ve spent years experimenting with paint mediums. There is a mad scientist part of me that enjoys testing limits as much as making the painting. A smooth, uniform application isn’t always what I’m after. I’m interested in a cloudy passage, a broken edge, or two colors meeting without completely blending. The way pigment moves and settles can be more interesting than an effect I deliberately paint.
That makes the medium and surface part of the exploration. I want to compare a thin wash with a fuller mixture, a smooth ground with one that has tooth. I want to see what survives drying—not just what looks beautiful while wet.
The challenge is learning which variable made the difference. Was it the pigment, the mixture, the surface, or the amount I applied?
Understanding that doesn’t take the discovery out of painting. It gives me a way back to something worth exploring, rather than hoping the same accident happens twice.
