Extra Dry With An Olive

On Saturday, I was commissioned to do a painting of a martini glass based on the martini painting I donated to the Paper Kite Studio "free art" event in August. I started the painting on Saturday afternoon and worked into the wee hours of Sunday morning. When you're on a roll, you're on a roll.

I used a 9x12 gallery-wrapped canvas for the project. I initially created a pencil sketch of the design on the canvas, and then I transferred the design onto tracing paper. I then painted over the original sketch with three coats of Winsor & Newton ivory black. After the paint was dry, I traced the design onto the canvas and started laying in the color with titanium white by Premiere.

NOTE: If you're looking for a great acrylic paint at a reasonable price, try the Premiere brand. This paint is so smooth and easy to blend. I'm also amazed at how long this brand of paint stays on a palette without drying out. I work with a wet palette to add moisture and to prolong use of the paint, but this paint literally did not dry out while I worked on the painting throughout the night. The back of the paint tube contains a www.nicolecrafts.com Web address. I purchased the paint at A.C. Moore.

I found some fabulous music on Youtube while painting. If you're a Stones fan, you must see the version of Loving Cup as performed by Jack White and The Rolling Stones. Love that twangy voice that Jack uses for this song. Unbelievable! Here's a link.

Also, another gem I found on Youtube is some awesome footage of Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones. This "jam" music makes for great background music when you're painting. Here's a link.

Getting back to the painting project, the olive makes an appearance! I used DecoArt Americana brand paints for the other colors (green, red, and yellow).

Here's a splash of yellow.

Next comes the lettering. I have to turn the canvas sideways to paint the lettering. My drawing table is a bit messy at the moment.

I put the finishing touches on the painting last night, and I showed it to my client today. She loves it! I'm happy that it turned out to her liking.

Art prints will be available in the near future. I'll keep you posted.