Meet Debbi. A Brooklyn-based abstract painter who works in SHAPES. After completing her master’s degree in sculpture, Debbi now brings the language of sculpture to her paintings.

Taking inspiration from puzzles and the history of quilting, Debbi builds her stretched canvases in complex interlocking pieces. “I make my canvases by hand. I start with the shapes. It takes me some time to build the stretchers. And then I begin the dying process. I lay out big pieces of canvas and put dye on it, then after I wash and dry them, I stretch them and then I start working abstractly in acrylic.”

Debbi experiments with opacity in her practice: the act of layering and building up color in different ways. Working with Liquitex Basics Fluid Acrylic, she investigated the flowing character and opacity spectrum of the paint. “Basics Fluid is good as it often mimics dye while still retaining a high amount of color. I really enjoy putting it on top of the dyed surface. Because it’s so fluid, it slides really easily across the surface… And my surfaces can be a little rough!”

Watch Debbi in action and check out more of her work @debbikenote on Instagram and debbikenoteart.com.