8"x10" pastel on textured gator board
The New Year is upon us and most of us set goals for ourselves. I've been thinking about my goals for days, but have struggled to come up with some realistic goals for myself that I will stick too. So I've decided to continue on the path I chose for myself for last year. My goal….. to draw , paint, read art books, take art workshops and get into my studio everyday. I know I can be better and I have seen improvement in my work over the last year. It's almost like an addiction ……something I must do or feel I really need to do.
For today's painting I decided to challenge myself with trying out a new surface. I am very inspired by the work of Tom Christopher. He uses textured boards as his surface for the pastel. So I took some gator board, applied a coat of clear gesso and then a coat of fine pumice gel with a brush. A close friend of mine had sent me a photo that she had taken and thought I might like to paint it….. perfect for a textured board.
here is my drawing on the textured board
I decided to do a watercolor underpainting to cover up the white board.
I just painted in the main shapes from the photo without any detail and chose vibrant colors hoping to let some of the color show through the layers of pastel. It was very different from anything I had tried before and I know I will have to try more of this to become accomplished.
My thoughts for this year's work…… to push myself to find a direction with my paintings that is all my own. To take what I learn and turn those bits and pieces into something that comes from my heart. The reality….. my paintings are just pieces of me.
Happy New Year
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