Large canvases, built up in layers.
I never entirely know where a piece will take me. Painting is an intuitive process for me: each layer responds to the one before it, and the painting often ends up somewhere I didn't plan. Working on a large canvas gives the colors room to spread out and interact.
What stays the same from piece to piece is the order I build in.
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1
A base color
Every painting starts with one base color across the whole canvas. It sets the mood of the piece, and it often stays visible in the finished work, showing through between the layers above it.
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2
Two or three main colors
Next I choose two or three main colors, the ones meant to shine. I build them up in layers, letting earlier passes break through the newer ones, until they carry the painting.
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3
Accent colors
Last come the finishing touches. Small amounts of an accent color, like flecks of lilac and plum or a streak of orange through pale blue, give the eye somewhere to land.
- Medium
- Acrylic on canvas
- Scale
- 36 × 48 in canvases
- Tools
- A variety of brushes, including sponges
- Studio
- Home studio
About
Selina Li is a painter who makes large abstract works using acrylic. Her canvases move from soft, weather-like fields to sudden bright marks: a streak of orange through pale blue, or a lilac current running across blush.
The paintings are made at home and meant for bright homes that welcome in bold, daring color.
Her palette comes from things seen in passing, the color of a sunset on a building, flowers on a table, a sky through a window, pulled loose from their shapes until only the feeling of the color is left.
Commission a painting
All paintings shown here are sold, and commissions are open. I can accommodate a wide variety of canvas sizes and shapes, including rectangular and circular. Write to me with the size and concepts you have in mind.