June 2016

Georgia Kandiko: Mixed Media

Painting of an Elephant

Georgia Kandiko, an award-winning water media artist and teacher, is also known for her mosaics. She loves to experiment and try new things. After returning from an African safari, she has been inspired to paint the beauty of elephants.

Georgia began her demo by explaining that she would put down a layer of watered down matte medium which adds texture to the painting and acts as a resist. She always begins a painting with a small value study (not more than four minutes!) and chooses her three primary colors, preferring a limited palette. For this painting she chose to use new gamboge, French ultramarine blue, quinacridone magenta and a little cobalt blue.

She brushed the matte medium over her drawing of the elephant avoiding the eyes and the tusks. She then painted in her yellows (new gamboge) wherever there would be light areas, using a jumbo Black Velvet brush. She explained that the underlayment of the matte medium allows her to wipe away some paint and also serves to avoid “blooms” or “blossoms.” After applying her reds and blues, she mixed her primaries until they produced an attractive neutral “elephant color.” Staying with her value study, Georgia completed a full sheet painting of an elephant.