Feature in Gail Sibley's How To Pastel Blog!

What a lovely surprise I got this week, my work '' Still That Girl'' was featured in Gail Sibley’s September's Splendid Pastels, in her fabulous How To Pastel Blog. Some great work by the other artists too, just shows you what a fabulously versatile medium pastel is. Here is what Gail says about my painting..... 

'' Another close crop of the subject, but painted larger than life size. This time it’s Doc Marten boots, footwear that has been, and still as, a sign of youth rebelling against the norm, against the establishment. These ones are unlaced, ready to don or perhaps just removed. The energy of the marks suggest the latter as the boots retain the vitality of their owner. The activity and agitation of line describe the person as well as the shoes – active, confident, not taking any guff. And above all, not following the norm (except the trend to wear Doc Martens!). The title suggests a looking back, a memory of a girl who wore these boots with ballgown, a girl, now a woman, who carries the trademark personality associated with this footwear.The black and white palette, with grey mauves and the warmth of paper in parts to relieve the monochromatic colours, perfectly exemplifies the outlook of some wearers – these shoes aren’t made for those who sit on the fence, who are indecisive, who may look at all options and see many points of view. There is a diagonal line that gives a sense of the boots falling over but they are kept upright by the cast shadow to the right which moves away on the opposite diagonal. The application of pastel suggests speed, and hurried removal of the shoes, with no time to pause. All this once again suggests the character of the wearer who undoubtedly is out there living her life to the fullest. (A side note: the painting does remind me of Van Gogh’s paintings of boots.)'' 

September's Splendid Pastels, by Gail Sibley. I've included the link so you can pop into her blog and take a peek! Great posts about using pastels, inspiration and teaching. 

Be Inspired By September's Splendid Pastels

Gail's interpretation of both my painting and my character was intriguing to read; somebody who doesn't know me and yet hits the nail on the head. As for the Van Gogh comparison, it was funny that when I finished painting I had that niggling feeling that it reminded me of something, then at 4am I sat upright in bed and boom, it was there, my art history was slumbering but not forgotten. 

Funny about the Van Gogh thing, I've been told that about my trees too, but I'll be honest, he never was one of the artists I really admired; in fact '''Sunflowers'' is one of my most hated paintings ever, but having peeked at his landscapes I am beginning to appreciate him more. One of the reasons I disliked his works was the fact that I think his mental unstability is visible, the manic mark-making and wild swirls of colour, mmmmmm ....... leaves me reflecting on whether the same is applicable to me! Can you be a post influence?  Having only lived to the age of  37, he produced nearly 2000 works (could take a leaf out of his book, I'm so slow) lots of landscapes like the ''Landscape from Saint-Remy'', which I have since come to adore. 

So off to listen to  Vincent, ''Starry, Starry Night'' by Don McLean, the lyrics of which are beautiful, and my favourite quote about art is from Van Gogh too, so perhaps he has had more influence on me than I thought, 

'' Art is to console those who are broken by life .......... ''

Vincent Van Gogh