So, my plan to write a faithful blog has fallen by the wayside. It has been a month since my last artistic confession. As you can see from the collage below I have been doing some bits and pieces. I could have done individual blogs for each of these, but honestly? I can't face that. Consequently, I am doing one big catch-up blog instead.
My new maiden painting was a joy. I took a chance with her on a few counts:
I used the wrapping paper I had in my art room when I read that brown wrapping paper can make a pretty good ground for pastel paintings.
The wrapping paper allowed me to go larger than I have before, which I did. This caused a few headaches as I seem to have an aversion to large scale works and really had to make myself go big.
I painted in my own background, as with my purple lady, but this time I matched the pallet with the maiden. This created a lovely continuity in the painting. As the background intentionally had a smoky look to it, it made the maiden feel like she was coming out of the smoke and into the light.
The pallet for this one is a little different too. I opted for a more yellow highlight. I was afraid this would ruin her as it is such an unnatural hue, especially against the more natural browns I also used. It actually gave the figure the feeling of being highlighted by a strong warm light - like the setting sun or fire. I really liked this effect and it married in with the smoky background.
I actually relocated to my kitchen to work on her and really liked the change of scenery (and ready access to coffee). I good reminder that relocating your work can get you out of a rut!
From the images below you can see I also attempted a still life study. I haven't done one of these since I was in school. While it is not very good or creative, it was actually fun and I was pleased with the end result. It got me looking at something and trying to recreate it in different ways. This reminds me of something I read yesterday. That as an artist you aim to recreate something so that people know what it is, not necessarily exactly as it appeared. In other words, it is enough that someone knows they are looking at an ash tree, it doesn't have to be an exact likeness of the ash tree you drew from. After all, how would anyone know how that specific tree actually looked? And even if they did, they could appreciate you might have viewed it from a different angle, in different light, or your eye may have been drawn to different features. The point I took away from it was to draw inspiration from things around you or images, but don't feel compelled to do an exact likeness. It is enough that people understand what they are looking at. Their minds and imaginations can fill in any gaps. Quite a comforting notion to carry forward.
You can also see my wrapping paper has become a staple. Quite ironic as I recently acquired two pastel art pads. Still, it is a great ground for trying out new pastel ideas without stressing about wasting expensive paper. I am working through "Pastels for the Absolute Beginner" and it is great for that. I can just roll on the next blank bit and start a new sketch or painting.
Anyway, that will do for now. This was just a "still alive" post to get me back up to date before I get stuck in to anything else. As I stated, my devotion and discipline are sadly lacking. I could offer any number of reasons and excuses, but I know not one of them would defend not doing at least one little sketch every day. I'll try and do better.
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