Halfway through my project before I am starting my final draft I still have one big decision to make. I am deciding if I should use acrylic paint or pastel chalk. The good thing about the pastels is that the colors and shapes really come together nicely and vibrate against each other, for that was one of Rothko's goals. But the acrylic paint contains individual brush strokes that are priceless and are really nice to the eye.
Now, being a few days later, I have decided to use the pastels. After doing a lot of experimentation with both, the pastels work better and look a bit more liek Rothko's work. As you can see in the top photo the colors dont really come together and are just layered bluntely on top of each other. In the bottum photo the orange rectangle almost is hiding in the orange background. They come together and are layered nicely on top of each other. Even in the blue, some orange can be seen through it.
Looking forward, what I am doing for my final experimentation with the pastels is I am working with different background colors so see which one works the best. Also, I am noting what looks good on top of that color. I have noticed that some colors just don't look together and/or convey Rothko's intentions, trying to convey emotion to the helpless viewer. Not only do the pastels look better, but they are easier to work with. I can rub and work the chalk with my fingers into just the shape and shade I want. With the acrylic paint, I don't have the feel I do with my bare fingers.
Overall, I am looking forward to starting my final project as I will try to incoorperate all my habits of mind I have learned throughtout my experiements into one piece. The main ones are giving the top shapes a "shady" and indefinite edges, using my fingers to work the color into the paper instead of the pastel and to have the patience to allow for the dust and chalk to settly, using the spray that helps settle that into the page.
