“There is nothing permanent except change.”
—Heraclitus
THE SEASON IS CHANGING, my address is changing. Everything is in flux. It’s a bit unsettling and exciting too.
Shortly after my summer art show closed, actually the day the online part of the show closed, we bought a house. It was a bit of a surprise—just like the last time we bought a house.
I anticipated taking a couple of weeks off to recover from the show, but two weeks quickly turned into a month and more. Cleaning and organizing were the order of the day. My studio was dismantled and all my paints packed away in bins. The only painting I did was on walls and mouldings as I laboriously turned my very messy studio back into an Edwardian bedroom.
The house sold quickly and now there’s a lull before we have to pack ourselves up and move later in November. I haven’t painted in nearly 2 months. Yikes! Just writing that makes me twitch. But I’m quickly getting back into a creative groove, working small on paper with oil pastels in my husband’s workshop. It’s something I can do without flinging paint on the walls, which I suspect the new owners will appreciate.
My paint splattered studio floor, before we converted it back into a bedroom
A new medium
Oil pastels are radically different than acrylic paint, which is what I usually work with. They’re creamy and sensuous in your hand and on the page. The colours are rich, and they never dry. You can go back and work the pastel any time you want—even 2 years from now! The layering and luminosity are amazing.
I was crazy for oil pastels as a kid. A family friend gave me a set and the jewel-like colour made my mouth water. Now I’ve upgraded to artist quality pastels and a wonderfully soft French cotton paper. I push the pastel into the paper and spread it with a Bondo spreader (made for autobody work!), blurring and revealing. I even use a razor-blade (very carefully) to remove errant colours or to uncover a buried layer. At times I just experiment with colour abstract elements, other pieces are inspired by the local marsh and the big skies of Georgian Bay.
My work in oil pastel owes a great debt to American artist Marianne Mitchell. I took a workshop with her earlier this year, after being astonished by her incredible pastel pieces. She generously shared her techniques and material recommendations with the participants.
What happens next?
As part of this move, the landscape around me will change a bit. We aren’t moving far, only a 35 minute drive away, but it’s far enough that the land becomes more northern in nature. And the dominant water in the area is a river not a marsh. My work, even my totally abstract work, arises from the landscape. What will I paint? How will this change my work? I’ll only find out once I’m there and I’m working.
Thanks for reading!
Holiday giving
I’m planning on offering some of my oil pastel pieces for sale online in time for holiday giving. These small works on paper will be available to subscribers first, at a special price.
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