by Michael Poitras

A STUDY OF LIGHT Through Acrylic

I have often pondered the lack of depth in my paintings. At first, I used darker and lighter acrylics to give contrast, then began incorporating impasto techniques to give physical depth, as well as depth through color. 

Even though I was often satisfied with the final result, something about the pieces would tell me I was thinking through the wrong medium. After some reflection, and through some insightful comments, I realized what I wanted to manipulate was not the paint on the canvas, but the reaction between the acrylics I was using and light.

I began by researching the process I would need to use; the best materials to use; and the best practices and standards to follow. I worked with an LLM (ChatGPT) to adjust recipes based on ambient environmental factors, desired outcomes and the refractive values I wished to maximize in each piece. Through a back-and-forth trial and error process, with no exact measures or laboratory tools, I am able to push the theoretical limits of how light can react with acrylic. 

Above is a color template of my third work in this series through different stages of cure, angles, and lighting as well as a negative edit, taken to demonstrate the interaction of color- as per Josef Albers -with the qualities of layering and maximizing interactive values. [Josef Albers was a German-born American artist and educator, considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. He is known for his work on colour theory. Ed.]

My final goal for this project is not stated as an image or scene but as a compilation of refraction, reflection, pigment suspension and uniformity.

I’ll leave you with a final thought:  all the pictures below are the same pigment. Which is most saturated?

[ The process creates highly reflective surfaces, so light and fixtures are clearly seen as white.]