Nina Freeman demonstrates acrylic painting

Long Art Summer program
1-3 p.m. every Saturday
LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts
next week: Joyce Estes on painted silk

Nina Freeman
It took painter Nina Freeman a while to get to abstract painting, she said Saturday as she painted swaths of acrylic in abstract cruciform at LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts.

"Abstraction takes more knowledge of the elements to do it well," she said, explaining that she started out painting realistically and moved to abstraction as she gained confidence.

Freeman demonstrated her process, going slowly, thinking out loud about color, shape and line.

Freeman applying gesso so different sizes end up at the paper's edge. She starts with black or white -- using gesso for these colors because gesso is opaque, mixing the gesso 50-50 with polymer medium for its glow.

 "I limit myself to two or three colors," Freeman said. She showed how she makes a whole painting with only turquoise and transparent red iron oxide with black and white.

Burnishing layers of paint

After first paint has dried, consider focal point, depth, color.

Collage: adhere pieces with soft gel gloss; top with wax paper, brayer, top with a weight.

You can make collage material, using freezer paper with paint on top or craft tissue paper topped with paint, then Golden soft gel gloss. Top with wax paper, smooth with brayer, cover with a weight.

"I always work with the colors a lot before I begin on the painting." Another favorite combination is orange, cobalt teal, and green-gold. Above, Freeman is mixing two colors.

Techniques from Nina Freeman 
Check her blog for more.

• Add texture with brayer, print blocks, credit card, crumpled tissue.
• Get squeeze bottles from beauty supply store for gesso and paint.
• Use freezer paper as a palette.
• Make a portable painting surface with insulation material. Then ask the store to cut it to fit your full painting sheets.
• Murphy's oil soap cleans brushes. Soak hardened brushes in it.
• Show distance through: cloudy color, muted lines, less clarity. Titanium buff over a color makes it blend into background, providing depth.
• Show closeness through: big size, clear lines, bold color.