Imperfect

Swedes (30 cms x 40 cms, pastel on Hahnemühle Ingres paper 2016)

I’ve recycled an awful lot of watercolour and pastel paper these past couple of weeks.

Perhaps it’s the weather or the time of year, but inspiration has been thin on the ground. Last week I tried a pastel drawing of a celeriac on a pale background, thinking the combination of whites, off whites, pale yellows and pale greys might produce something interesting. It didn’t. That might work if you’re Basil Blackshaw or Aubrey Levinthal , but not for me. At least not now.

Then on Friday I found Ronell van Wyk’s tremendously inspiring paintings of swedes (rutabagas) and other root vegetables. On Sunday I read Rebecca Art Tutor’s post on the dangers of perfectionism and the need to let go.

With one mighty bound I was free!

Swede (11 cms x 18 cms acrylic on paper with collaged book page frame 2016) I tried to make the paint on the swede look as if it had itself been collaged.