I love to try out new materials. I just discovered Liquitex’s Paint Markers and I am so excited to try them out. They  contain high quality acrylic paint in a fluid form AND the containers are refillable. After trying out this yellow marker, I’ve ordered a variety of colours in the two different sizes they come in.

I wanted to create a painting of my gorgeous Turk’s Cap lilies using a limited colour range and with a softness that fits with a breezy summer’s day. These beauties grow on stalks that reach 6 feet high and they sway beautifully in the breeze.
Using the paint marker, I sketched the flowers onto my canvas which is 16″ x 16″. 
I drew with the markers as loosely as I could to create movement. I was mindful of the swaying nature of the stalks and avoided painting them in straight lines or painting them parallel to the edge of the painting. This makes the painting less static.

After the marker dried, I applied a coating of gel and matt mediums. This makes the paint slide and prolongs the drying period. I worked flat on a table. I added a touch of turquoise blue to my medium and gently filled in the background for the sky. Here I was mindful of laying down intentional brushstrokes that emphasized the negative spaces and created a light and dark pattern in the blue which also added movement.

The use of medium also creates a transparency of colour and allows me to scrape into the painting with a rubber tipped colour shaper. I also dip my shaper into my paint and use it to draw into the painting as you can see in this next photo and in the final painting.

I am thrilled with the outcome of this painting for these reasons:

• It has the softness and the movement that I hoped for
• it has the essence of the tiger lily that is a Turk’s Cap
• the addition of the Joe Pye Weed in the background helps to pick up the patterning in the grasses and in the petals
• using the paint markers created a lovely yellow tone in the scraping
• it makes me smile