Okay, here we go! Let me tell you about my little dive into “derek kaplan art.”
So, I stumbled across Derek Kaplan’s work online a few weeks ago, right? Immediately, I was hooked by his use of texture and color. I mean, seriously, the way he layers paint is just mesmerizing. I said to myself, “I gotta try something like that!”
First things first, I needed supplies. I raided my art stash, which, let’s be honest, is mostly stuff I bought and never used. I grabbed some acrylic paints (a bunch of random colors), a couple of canvases (nothing fancy), and a bunch of different brushes. I even dug out some old palette knives I’d forgotten I had.
Next came the “research” phase, which really just meant staring at Kaplan’s art online for hours. I tried to figure out his process, like how he builds up the layers and what kind of tools he might be using. I noticed he seemed to use a lot of heavy body acrylics, so I wished I had some of those, but hey, gotta work with what I’ve got!
I started with a base layer of a dark, almost muddy, brown. Just slapped it on the canvas with a big brush. I wasn’t trying to be neat or anything, just wanted to get some color down. Then, while it was still wet, I started adding blobs of other colors – some blues, greens, and even a little bit of bright red. I used a palette knife to spread the paint around, trying to create some texture. It looked like a total mess at this point, but I knew I just had to trust the process.
Here’s where things got interesting. I let that layer dry completely. Like, bone dry. Then I came back with some lighter colors – creams, yellows, and whites – and started adding more texture. This time, I used the palette knife to create thicker, more defined ridges. I also experimented with dry brushing, which is basically when you use a brush with very little paint on it to create a scratchy, textured effect.
I kept layering paint like this for days, letting each layer dry before adding the next. It was a slow process, but I found it really meditative. Sometimes I’d scrape paint off, sometimes I’d add more. I just kept playing around until I started to see something I liked.
And guess what? It didn’t look exactly like a Derek Kaplan painting (duh!), but it had that same sense of depth and texture that I was going for. It’s abstract, for sure, but I’m actually pretty proud of it. It’s hanging in my living room now, and every time I look at it, I’m reminded that art is all about experimentation and having fun.
So, yeah, that’s my “derek kaplan art” adventure. It was messy, time-consuming, and totally worth it. Now I’m thinking about trying it again, but this time maybe I’ll actually buy some heavy body acrylics.
