SPLASHY PROFILE by Michael Whelan, week 11 in his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project. All of the leftovers and palette gremlins are really just modified abstract paintings; sometimes I’m content to leave them in a fairly raw state without...
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SPLASHY PROFILE by Michael Whelan, week 11 in his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project.

All of the leftovers and palette gremlins are really just modified abstract paintings; sometimes I’m content to leave them in a fairly raw state without adding any more than is needed to convey the essence of what I’m seeing in the original shape.

Applying black gesso to a panel with a 3” Chinese bristle brush, I made a mark on a piece of palette paper to check the flow of the paint. It suggested a head of hair to me so I used the bristles on the very end of the brush to swipe in an eye, nose and mouth, making it into a profile. Before the paint could dry, I dabbed at the puddle with a paper towel held in my left hand, to lend the image a little more textural interest.

Source: michaelwhelan.com

TWO CHARACTERS (2016) by Michael Whelan, week 10 in his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project. This is literally a shot off my current palette! Like so many of my palette gremlins these guys began as errant fingerprints and paint smears that...
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TWO CHARACTERS (2016) by Michael Whelan, week 10 in his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project.

This is literally a shot off my current palette!

Like so many of my palette gremlins these guys began as errant fingerprints and paint smears that suggested shapes to me. As time passed, I added a touch here and a brush stroke there until the abstract elements began to resolve into recognizable characters. Kinda like automatic writing but with paint. 😉 Maybe they have been lurking in my subconscious for years just waiting for a chance to appear somewhere.

Source: michaelwhelan.com

TEN-GALLON TRAIL HAND by Michael Whelan, week 7 in his LEFTOVERS & PALETTE GREMLINS gallery project.

Well, he’s not a “gremlin” — but he did pop up outta nowhere while I was painting last month. While concentrating on something totally different, I glanced over and saw a “hat" amid the smears of paint on my palette. I had some pale ochre color on my brush so with a few strokes and some scrapes from the end of the brush handle, this ten-gallon trail hand appeared.

Source: michaelwhelan.com

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