As a little kid, finger painting can be one of the best ways to get messy. You're handed a couple tubes of washable paint, dressed in your least expensive clothes, the room is covered in newspaper, and by the end of it all, you've discovered the many ways those bright colors can be mixed into drab browns. Then it's bath time. As an artsy adult, you've probably long since upgraded to proper paints, brushed, and canvas, no longer needing to wash the paint out of your hair after every session (though sometimes...).
Not Iris Scott, though. This artist has taken the art of a messy childhood into the realms of fine art, creating vibrant pieces with oil paints and just her hands. Gloves keep her skin from looking like mine do after a session, even though I use brushes.
I love how the finger painting style makes all of her urban pieces look like they're being viewed through a rainswept window.
She gets such vibrant colors by skipping the classic palette. Instead, she paints directly from the tube, keeping all of the hundred-plus colors at hand.
The technique also adds a sense of movement to her works.
She paints all of her canvases with an acrylic base in bright colors. The final pieces are done in thick oil paints.
I can only imagine how much amazing texture the finished works have.
If you've seen any of her work before, it's likely one of her dogs shaking the water out of its fur.
I can almost feel the water flying. Duck!
See some more of Iris' work on the next page!
Here she is working on one of the dog pieces, giving a great sense of the scale of the canvas.
Even for images with plain white backgrounds, she creates complexity with tons of texture.
I think if I were to buy a print for my walls, it would be one of her vivid landscapes. I love that sky so much.
Another series that's particularly cool is her water pieces. You can feel the water rippling — and the fish look as though they could swim through the surface.
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