Lab Book #5, Making Connections

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the second painting in the Lab Book series. The lab book paintings are titled based on the actual number on the original lab book (which are still locked up at the Robarts Institute in London Ontario). In Book 5, "Making Connections", bridges criss-cross the picture space, with the doodles making connections across the gaps. In the background more doodles abound, mostly abstract forms and lines. The small numbers indicate the page of the lab book from which the doodle came. There are a few recognizable shapes, including tequila-pigs, my PhD supervisors head seen from the back, and a seashell. You can spend some time looking, click on the picture to expand the view.

The picture design began with the outlines of the bridges in the background. The doodle outlines were then overlaid. All outlines were done in faint watercolour, I rarely use pencil because it shows through in the final work. The colour of the objects were worked up slowly, and the secondary washes were applied to the bridges to give them depth. Finally the shadows were applied to give the illusion of a light source. 

Lab Book #5, Making Connections, watercolour 22 x 30" cold press, 2004 (No. 1993)