As you know, the painting surface I normally work on is watercolor paper. I decided, however, to stretch my self on my last piece by using a pumice primed gator board as my painting surface. What a challenge. Today, I am taking another step into the unknown, I will be using "Pastelbord" by Ampersand for my next piece. I tried this board recently during a workshop I took with Claudia Seymour and was very pleasantly surprised at the results.
Pastelbord has a fine sanded surface that is capable of holding many layers of pastel. And, if you are familiar with my work you will know that I am a layering fool! The wonderful thing about this surface is that while I can continue to have my subtle layers of color, I can also have a painting that is pumped with color intensity,
which I am crazy about. You can see what I mean with this still life I created at the workshop.I have to say that trying new mediums and papers is not what I inherently like to do. It's much more comfortable doing what I know and using the materials I am accustomed to using. If I had not forced myself to stretch, though, and I do mean forced myself, my paintings would not be enjoying the color or richness some of these supports offer.
So, I encourage you to try something new. How sad it would be if your work could be transformed by a single sheet of paper and you weren't adventurous enough to try it.
What materials have you tried recently that made a positive affect on your paintings? I'd love to hear about it.
Hey Jet! love the ideas you have here. Trying new things is the way to grow. You know how stretched I can get. lol... anyway, I just finished a painting in oils. I've not used oils in over 8 years! Can you believe it?! Not to mention the sad shape my tubes of paint were in...more like bricks. But I rediscovered my love of oils. And, I'm now in love with painting African children... check out my African Angel! still dig acrylics for fast, textural stuff tho. I remember the days of pastel/watercolor and pencil fruit.. from our days at the HEB. Remember the air brush? Those were stretching days... no? mo
ReplyDeleteAlways a joy to see what you are up to Jeannette, and you did not disappoint me with this still life.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the new surfaces. I have never tried the gatorboard and pumice, intriguing.
I like to stretch myself though, so maybe in the future I will.
Love your work, always.
Rae
You know, Mary, looking back at our days at HEB, I can see how it all helped us to develop our art... at the time, not so much. It is so exciting to hear the enthusiasm in your voice about painting your African children. I can only imagine what you will create and can't wait to see!
ReplyDeleteRae, Thank you for commenting on my post. I am so glad you did because it made me check your blog again to see what you've been doing. I am in love with the style you have been developing recently! The veils of color are absolutely gorgeous, they are mesmerizing. I will definitely be following your progress more closely, now.
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