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.
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.
As I play in my small Fabriano art journal, with zero expectations, I can see a change happening. I’ve got the urge to complete the shapes, replicate colours and patterns. This isn’t what I normally do, so I’m going with it to see what happens. It’s most likely a step on the way to something else. It doesn’t feel like something I’d pursue in its own right.
Cath Sheard Art 