I was charmed, fascinated by the imagery that emerged but I also suddenly doubted.
Were they powerful? Would anyone else see mystery or beauty in them? After making nine images with this process, I suddenly remembered that I had purchased a pack of black mat board ATC’s. Aha.
I have loved the luminous mandala work of Judith Cornell where she draws a complex design with white pencil on black paper before adding any color at all. I grabbed my magic wand called White Pencil and a black ATC and voila, a lifetime ago or maybe about ten days ago, my life changed then and there. Rather than describing this artwork as being devoted to shades of grey, I realized my passion wants to be called: devotion to shades of light. I love that word play. Shades of light describe my truth. I cannot stand in the sun without casting a shadow, even if it’s only under my feet. The coupling of light and dark is inviolate, nature’s way of teaching us how life works. That truth compels me to keep exploring. Something unleashed itself in my soul and I can’t stop making these images which get more and more mythic as I go. I’m on fire.
Looking through the value finder takes away the hue and facilitates seeing the contrasts between darks and lights. That contrast generates drama, illuminates truth. Contrast focuses attention, makes life interesting.
Recently I’ve stumbled on the glorious, constraint of making Artist Trading Cards ( ATC ). Tiny images, 2.5” x 3.5”, I began with colorful acrylic washes flowing across the bits of white paper. After the paint had dried, I used color pencil to sculpt images from the paints’ meanders.