So pretty….morning light showing off the jewel like colors.

Studio Workhorse.... GOLDEN High Flow Acrylics

Christine Sauer March 31, 2019

Pictured here in the morning light, these amazing paints look like little gems on my studio table. There’s so much to love about these GOLDEN High Flow paints. Their rich, intense color that flows off the brush like watercolor but is permanent when dry, and the ease of pouring, dripping and splashing this paint is just some of what makes it a “go to” paint in the studio. Because it’s highly pigmented a small amount goes a long way too.

Here are some of the ways that I work with these versatile paints.

Various ways of pouring and on different surfaces (substrates)
Staining rice paper (Hosho and Kozo) and tissue for collage and finished work
Drawing with Fineline Applicators and in refillable markers
Glazing with or without glazing medium
Washes of color
Flinging paint by hand

STUDIO TIP: The High Flow Bottles have a small ball in them to help keep the paints properly mixed. It’s important to shake them vigorously prior to using. You can hear the ball rolling around when you shake the paint. I save the used bottles to make custom color mixes because of the ball. Keeping the colors well mixed is trickier without the ball.

Stained and painted tissue collage

Line drawing using Fineline Applicator

High Flow Acrylic poured and puddled on acrylic paper

High Flow Acrylic poured over Heavy Body Acrylic

Flinging High Flow by hand and pouring from the bottle

High Flow Acrylic poured, stained collage paper and drawing with a FineLine Applicator

Hosho paper stained with High Flow Acrylics

High Flow Acrylic pouring, "Ebb and Flow", 12x12x1.5" on cradled panel

High Flow Acrylics make the perfect drips

High Flow Acrylics in FineLine Apllicator and with Marker Top

Mounting Paintings on Paper to Cradled Panels

Christine Sauer June 14, 2018

The parade of paintings on my work table are lined up for next steps in the mounting process (above). For the last several weeks I've been working on this project. The pile of small works on paper has been growing steadily over the last couple of years. It's impossible to keep up with uploading them to the website. Presenting them framed is cost prohibitive but I wanted a way to present at least some of them rather than being filed in a drawer for an occaisional viewing. The idea to mount them to cradled panels came about during an exchange about this dilemma with an artist on Instagram. After auditioning several paintings that would work for this kind of presentation I created a small test piece with the palm sized painting below. I love the way it turned out! More of these may go on the to-do list!

The cradled basswood panels were prepped with GAC 100 and then gesso. Mounting the larger 9x12" and 11x14" paintings went well. I used a thick application of GOLDEN's Soft Gel Matte, slathering it on with a palette knife like frosting a cake. The paintings dried perfectly flat! It was amazing considering that several pieces have collage and various types of acrylic paint on them which makes the surfaces uneven and some of the papers were buckled a bit. The sides are in process of being painted. There was an overstock sale at Jerry's Artarama on Ampersand Floater Frames for the 11x14" size so I purchased several to try out. Looking forward to putting those together.

Christine Sauer "Luminous"  11x14" acrylic and graphite on paper on cradled panel — Christine Sauer "Luminous" 11x14" acrylic and graphite on paper on cradled panel

This mounting process not only solved a problem but has also inspired many other ideas for other paintings and collages that i look forward to exploring soon. If you are interested in more specific information about mounting art to panel or are interested in purchasing a piece please email me christinesauer@christinesauerstudio.space.

Christine Sauer, "Collection:Bundles"  11x14", acrylic, collage and Inktense pencils on paper on panel — Christine Sauer, "Collection:Bundles" 11x14", acrylic, collage and Inktense pencils on paper on panel

The Marvels and Mysteries Collection

Christine Sauer March 31, 2017

These abstract paintings, for me, have a sense of revealing the surprising and the mysterious. The title, “Marvels and Mysteries”, is inspired by a favorite childhood book, “Marvels and Mysteries of Our Animal World”. This was one of the many books about animals, biology and nature that I pored over as a kid. This fascination with biology and nature often percolates up through my art in imaginative and unpredictable ways.

Christine Sauer "Marvels and Mysteries II"  24x24"  $900, acrylic, mixed media on canvas — Christine Sauer "Marvels and Mysteries II" 24x24" $900, acrylic, mixed media on canvas

As this collection of abstract paintings developed, they appeared to reveal mysterious and invented natural events or processes, a kind of organic soup of life. Complex, lively surfaces were created by layering acrylic paints and sometimes collage in an improvisational manner. Vibrant color and lush texture coalesce to engage the viewer to take an up-close look to discover visual surprises in these invented worlds.