Angel In The Shadows . . . Do You See What I See?

"angel in the shadows"

acrylic glaze on 5x5" birch wood

prints available in my etsy shop

Saturday I asked my hubby for a piece of birch wood. He always has some laying around in the garage. I wanted to try painting on a wood surface for the first time. So he brought me a 5x5 inch piece of scrap he had.

I added a coat of gesso first and when it was dry just tried adding some paint. I made glazes of my two favorite colors of the moment payne's and burnt sienna. I was just practicing adding paint to this new surface to see what it would do. I immediately felt the difference in how the paint moved on the wood and when I tried blending the paint I ended up just smooshing it around. I noticed that it gathered in some areas and wiped away on others. I liked how it looked with the wood grain showing through the glaze. It was all random. I was in no way hoping for a piece of art to come out of this. At one point I became very frustrated that I couldn't move the paint the same way as on a canvas wondering if I even liked painting on a wood surface.

I walked away and left it be till later on that night. When I went to go check on it my hubby got to it first and told me he loved it. I thought he was crazy until I looked at what came through. We both saw the image of a woman to the right who looks as if she is leaning up against a wall. Below her looks like rocks and water. I was shocked at the image and the depth that this piece has all without me trying to do anything but smear some paint around. It almost looks ghostly to me. It looked completely different to me when it was dry. This has become one of my favorite pieces!

So tell me . . . what do you see?