psychedelic blue blood...

Blue Blooded wip, cps on Colourfix paper, 19" x 17"

copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is my newest piece, obviously in an early work-in-progress phase. I am working in coloured pencil (of course) and I am once again using Colourfix sanded pastel paper - this time in a blue colour. So far I have transferred a loose drawing onto the paper and right now I am pretty much drawing this as I go.

During my residency month, I spent some time revisiting my inspiration file and the photos I have filed on my computer for 'some day'. Some of you might remember my Swiss Chard Mosaic piece from last year, or as I like to think of it: my funky chunk of chard.

Swiss Chard Mosaic, Copyright Teresa Mallen

Well, I still have the photos from the Swiss Chard photo shoot and the one below caught my attention. (You might notice that this chard has a white stem. I took photos of both Rhubarb chard and this white stalked variety on the same day. Of course it was the Rhubarb variety that I used for my inspiration in the piece above.)

When I zoomed in on the photo, I noticed the image below. Immediately I 'saw' veins and blue blood! Woo-hoo, fresh inspiration for new work.



Right now my work in progress looks a bit more like 'Into the Blue Forest We Go' rather than 'Blue Blooded'! I also find it reminiscent of the psychedelic graphics of the 1960s. :-) I promise there has been no taking of LSD in the studio!

I eagerly wait to see what happens next. I am happy to work with a new palette of colours and I am also enjoying working on curves versus the linear quality of the cellophane piece. I find part of keeping things fresh in the studio is to work on something substantially different, in various ways, from piece to piece.

I probably won't get back to the blue blood until next week. Tomorrow I am off to buy pencils and then groceries. Following that, I shall start some serious cooking. My husband and I are hosting a pre-St. Patrick's Day party on Saturday night for 20 of our neighbours. We moved to this part of rural Ottawa two years ago and since then we have been very warmly welcomed. We are surrounded by eclectic folks - lots of horse lovers, retired but very busy couples and younger couples, all of us loving the rural lifestyle. So I shall be cooking up huge helpings of Irish Stew and buscuits, lots of decadent desserts (a white and dark chocolate cheesecake that is so rich you feel like you might just pass out) and of course there will be lots of Guinness to wash it down with while the Irish tunes play on the stereo. Spring has arrived early this year, there is much news to catch up on, a neighbour has come through a successful cancer surgery and another neighbour is moving after the death of her partner. We have much to celebrate and it shall also be a bit of a farewell party. Life is good! Have a great weekend everyone.

Cellophane rocks!

Continuing on with my cellophane inspired abstract...above is a picture of how things looked as my first layer of coloured pencil pigment was going onto the paper. At this point I was trying to follow my road map of white lines (my transferred drawing). As I worked, I ensured that the white lines were going to be covered. If I thought the transferred lines were too heavy, I lifted them with masking tape. I did not want them to show in the finished piece.

I worked on a drafting table but I put the piece on an easel to make it easier to photograph. It was also nice to get a vertical view every once in a while. Due to the size of the paper, I worked half of the time with the piece upside down on my table. This was so my arm wouldn't have to rest on the paper. I modified the drawing wherever I thought it was required as I went along.

The following picture shows the piece after more colour had been applied. I used Prismacolor and Derwent Coloursoft pencils. Some artists find the Prismacolor Lightfast line of pencils to be a bit dryer than the Premier line. I like the Lightfast pencils and any extra dryness works well on this sanded paper. I really like the Coloursoft pencils on the pastel paper. I also like that you can obtain lightfast rating information for each pencil from their website.



The next photo shows the work after I had worked it up to a more orangy red stage. At this point I taped the paper to my white board stand (used for teaching). I needed to work standing up so I could step back often to see how things were developing. Again, due to the size of the piece, I couldn't get a sense of the overall work without frequently backing away from it. As I looked over the piece I was checking to see if something was sticking out that shouldn't be, did something look weird, was there an undeveloped area, did an area bug me for some reason, how did my eyes travel over the image. I looked for lifeless spots, I checked the composition of the piece and I examined the relationships amongst the colours.

Taped to the right hand side of my sheet of art paper, you can see my reference photo that I printed out to use as a guide. It isn't a great photo (I just printed it off on some regular printer paper and the image was blurry due to the enlargement) but it was sufficient for me to grasp the direction I wanted to go in with this piece. I found it helpful to study the character of cellophane, that is I got familiar with how cellophane crinkles and folds and how it captures and reflects light. This was very useful information when it came time to suggest this in my art.

Here is the finished piece! I have entitled it: Cellophane Symphony. Please keep in mind that my goal was not to render a realistic image of cellophane, rather I wanted to use colour, line and form to create an abstraction of cellophane. For some reason, when I look at the piece, I think it depicts what sound looks like (gosh it is hard to describe this sort of stuff in words). Specifically, when I look upon the art, I make a mental connection with the sounds that an orchestra makes and as I listen to a lot of classical music while I work it seems appropriate for this to be a Symphony.

Cellophane Symphony, coloured pencil on Colourfix paper, 23" x 14" (58cm x 36cm)

Copyright Teresa Mallen

I know that this compressed image leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to getting the full effect of the piece. Here is a larger image of a small section of the work.

I like how coloured pencils can yield pigment rich paintings like the one above and yet also execute a soft image like my rose below.

Center of a Rose, coloured pencil on Stonehenge, 18" x 8".

Copyright Teresa Mallen

So what about my original flame idea? Well, I enjoyed working on this cellophane piece so much that I intend to return to those flame reference photos for future work. I had no idea I would like working with such a subject. I guess it is because I enjoy patterns and shapes. Normally I am drawn to the patterns and shapes of nature - the lines and patterns found in wood, acorn caps, snake skins, etc. Working on a human made, plastic subject is the opposite of what usually interests me. I did find the cellophane quite beautiful, especially as it looked in some of my photo set ups. Often cellophane is overlooked as just the packaging around a gift. Making it the inspiration for a fine art piece seems like a sort of redemption.

Next up is a piece inspired by blood and veins...nothing gory though, I promise.

P.S. As Cellophane Symphony is a piece that I will probably be entering in an exhibition or two, please refrain from leaving comments that are of a critical nature (for example: suggestions on how you think it might be improved). Work entered into shows should be solely the work of the artist. While this piece is finished and I would not change it on anyone's advice, I still wish to be clear about this. Having said that, should you wish to comment that you think the piece is fabulous (without any helpful suggestions), I am sure that wouldn't be breaking any rules. :-)

cleansing my palette...

Carp Ridge Study, 2.5" x 3.5"

Coloured Pencil on Colorfix Paper

Copyright Teresa Mallen

Do you ever feel the need to cleanse your visual palette? Once I have finished a significant piece, I like to do something that will shake loose the former image and its colours and concerns. I picture it as the mental equivalent of my dog shaking the rain from his fur. (How do they manage to wiggle themselves so vigorously from their nose to the tip of their tail?)

So I did some visual cleansing by working on this small study. And the mental shake felt very good indeed! The chard pencils have been put away, my studio has been tidied and my drafting table has had a good wash. I am now ready to start a new piece next week.

So what do you do to cleanse your palette?

My colourful chunk of chard continues...

Chard WIP, 17" x 7"

Coloured Pencil on Colorfix Paper

copyright Teresa Mallen

Kind of need sunglasses to look at it now! Rather bright isn't it? :-)

Ah, but it is intentional. I like to work rather bright at the beginning of a piece. When I add further layers of colour, I can tone things down. This prevents a work from becoming 'dull' and when you work in coloured pencil, it is difficult to brighten up an area that is dull. Having said that, it would be easier on coloured paper as you can add light over dark on these surfaces.

Another reason for going so bright at the beginning, is that I want to capture the glow that is happening due to the backlighting. Going bright also gives energy to the final colour as the lower layers of pigment affect what we see. Here is an example: (and I know this is difficult to see in this small picture) for the stem of the chard I first put down a layer of a yellowish orange colour. I followed this with a deep pink (think fuchsia) and then I added an orange-ish red. Of course this will be more effective once all of the surrounding green gets established.

At this stage I have been mostly concerned with getting my shapes in where they need to be and I wanted to get a layer of colour down over most of the piece. Next I will work to build up colour and I will start being more mindful of the value changes. I rather like the chard at this stage so who knows how much this will get toned down!

So, back to the studio and again, thanks in advance for not giving me helpful hints in the comments section on this piece.

Swiss Chard WIP continues...

Swiss Chard WIP

Coloured Pencil on Colorfix Paper

After my planning and sketching, I have moved to working on the paper! Yippee!! As you can see, I did end up choosing the reddish brown Colorfix paper. I have transferred the line drawing and I am now starting to work on getting some pigment down.

To get started, I pick out large shapes and I define them with an initial layer of colour. This serves as a road map as I work. These shapes help orient me as to where about I am on the drawing. Of course I went for some immediate gratification. Now that I have the pencils in my hand I must get to some juicy stuff - so in went the backlit shapes. Ah, very satisfying. The oodles and oodles of green in this piece can wait.

As far as technique goes, my first layer is applied with a rather dull pencil. Once this layer is in place, I go over the shapes with the same colour, this time with a sharper pencil. With this step I am filling in more of the textured surface. Colorfix paper is a sanded paper intended primarily for pastel artists. I know that some artists wish to fill in the tooth of the paper, even when working on gritty paper (often they apply an underpainting). I like the paper showing through a bit so I will not be attempting to completely cover and fill in the textured surface. Having said that, I don't want so much paper to show through that the work looks blotchy or unfinished. Even when using a coloured surface, I create my colour by applying layers of pigment. I personally find that just using one or two layers tends to make a work look incomplete and hastily done. While many people use coloured paper to speed things up a bit and it does help you get darker values faster, I don't think this should be a reason to skimp on putting down pigment.

As you can see from the photo, I work all over the place. This piece is no longer a stalk of chard but rather a beautiful, richly coloured puzzle of connecting shapes and lines that I get to explore with my eyes and my pencils.

As mentioned before, this piece may be entered into competitions so please, no helpful suggestions in the comments. Thanks. And yippee, this is my 100th post!! Woo hoo!! I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to head back to the studio...