I’m a mixed media artist, but I’m not a very courageous one, unlike friend and fellow artist Pen Kirk. This year’s about play, and one of the things I want to do is incorporate more mediums into my mixed media.
This morning I grabbed 20 pre-taped 6×6” watercolour papers and quickly got pencil & watercolour down. I let them dry then pulled out oil pastels, watercolour pencils, stencils, acrylic paint, Neocolour I & II and greaseproof paper.
I’ve started working back into them, trying to use a variety of media and concentrating on play, rather than finished results. What mediums do I enjoy using together? What combinations make me smile…
This is how the pieces look after the first layer of paint & pencilI added Stabilo All pencil, and stencilling using acrylic paint.I added detail with stencils and acrylic paint.Extra colour with water soluble crayon, Graphitint pencil, and pastel pencil.I loaded oil pastels onto greaseproof, flipped it over and drew lines with a palette knife. Extra colour added with Neocolor II and Derwent Inktense.
The world is, quite literally, burning. Australia is experiencing terrible fires. Parts of New Zealand are facing temperatures up to 12 degrees higher than average. Then there’s the general state of the world.
It impacts on my art. Sometimes I look at what I’ve been creating and realise there’s blood, crosses, or the colours are suddenly more somber than usual. My shapes get simpler, the layouts less complex, and though my mind is looking for moments of quiet. These aren’t conscious decisions, but a reflection of what’s happening in my mind.
When I notice the colours are getting sombre I deliberately brighten my palette a bit, but I let the crosses etc come out. Creating is good for my wellbeing, and keeping my hands busy is a great antidote to doom scrolling and doom posting.
At the start of every year I do an online art course, this year I’ve chosen Cat Rain’s Collage Breakthrough course. I’ve been doing collage for 20+ years; there’s always something to learn, and forced action increases gaining momentum.
As with any course, I won’t talk much about the process, because that is their intellectual property. Instead I’ll share my discoveries.
We started by making collage papers and I used the gelli plate. We need a mix of plain and patterned. I used my favourite stencils and, based on Cat’s videos, decided to make some patterned papers using a brush for mark making.
We made grids of small collages, using two papers each, based on her guidelines. My first set was in a warm palette and I quickly realised I had light & mid tones, but no real darks. Also, the warm colours weren’t speaking to me. I made a new set of papers using blue and purple, mixed with black and white.
I made my first grid of 6 collages using the new cool papers, and straight cut edges, which is what Cat had demonstrated. Then a second set of 6, with torn edges and more organic shapes.
The next lesson was larger pieces, using 3 papers each, and I didn’t even bother using straight edges.
What have I learned or remember so far?
I prefer torn edges, more organic shapes.
I prefer a cooler colour palette.
I’m more likely to reach for stencilled papers than ones with organic mark making.
I don’t always use enough tonal contrast in my work.
Last year I decided to practice drawing, and quickly gave up. This year I got tempted again, but didn’t want to start, then quickly stop again.
In some of the leadership training I’ve done, we talk about asking why 5 times to get to the root cause of something. I decided to use the model and figure out why I don’t keep drawing.
Why did you stop drawing? I got bored.
Why did you get bored? The drawings were too basic.
Why were the drawings too basic? I was trying to learn traditional drawing techniques.
Why were you trying to learn traditional drawing? It seemed the right place to start.
Why do you think it’s the right place to start? Because that’s what we learned at art school.
And there I have it. I have been trying to re-learn using traditional drawing methods, without being in the class environment with the support of the tutor etc. Yet there’s no reason why I can’t just draw however I want, for the fun of it. I’ve started doing that, without worrying if it is right, and I’m enjoying it. There are two examples below.
On Bsky someone I followed posted this, and I have copied it because it speaks to me –
I will draw, even if it’s bad. I will draw, even if it’s challenging. I will draw, even if it’s been done before. I will draw, even if it’s imperfect. I will draw, even if someone else is better. I will draw, even if I have much to learn.
Af the end of the year I normally look back at what I’ve achieved, documenting the highs and lows.
When I think about the year that’s coming to an end, the first – and almost only – thing that comes to mind is the loss of Tony. From May, until his death on November 3rd, it was a hard slog which I couldn’t document here. We were together 33 years; that’s more than a lot of people get and I’m thankful for his love and support over all those years.
I’m grateful for the support of his daughter Yasmine, my partner Alan, friend Sandra, his brother Roger, my sister Ailsa, resthome staff and work colleagues.
There were other things but, to be honest, I had to go back through my blog to remember them. I entered the Awagami Mini Print Awards and received a Highly Commended, which was fantastic.
I enrolled in Wanderlust ‘25, a year long course, but didn’t complete it as Tony needed so much time.
I made art, sold art, taught and exhibited with Pen Kirk, worked hard, had a few short trips. Mainly I got through, which feels like a huge achievement.
Cath Sheard Art 