Speaking of Art Blog

I’ll admit it, I love the detail when it comes to drawing, and for me, pastel painting is really just colored drawing. That’s probably why, out of all the art media I’ve ever tried, I love charcoal and pastels the best. I love implying lots and lots of detail, not necessarily spelling out every single line or edge, but giving the viewer enough information so that they can “read” between the lines and know what details I’m trying to convey. I love making something look so stinkin’ real that you can’t tell whether it’s a photograph or not. 

But it wasn’t all that long ago when I was embarrassed to admit that. Most people, including art students, have a preconceived notion of what they think a painting SHOULD look like – all loosy goosy with unfinished edges. With drawings most people expect and allow for more detail, but historically with paintings, not so much. They want to see something that looks fresh and somewhat primitive. They want to see the brush strokes, much like what one sees in a Monet painting. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Monet’s style and artwork. In his day it was groundbreaking and daring and to this day it still has a freshness that shows pure genius. But that’s just not…….me.

Over the years I’ve accumulated many copies of different art magazines, and I wish I could put my hands on one article in particular that really spoke to me. (It would take me waaaaay too long to search for it, so I’ll just summarize it here). The gist of the article was about how we as artists should not be shy about what or how we choose to draw or paint. If an artist is inclined to painting babies (even though it’s considered cliché by art critics), then by all means PAINT BABIES, but just do it so well that nobody will even consider dismissing your work just because it’s about babies. Suddenly I realized that I needn't be shy about loving to render detail in my artwork. It’s not only OK, but if that’s what I love to do, then I should be working to do it to the best of my ability. As the writer of the article challenged me, “Give your viewer the whole enchilada, not just a tentative, shy half.”

And so I'd like to share my most recent pastel, a triptych of three birds who have come to our feeders titled, Backyard Visitors -- a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a Baltimore Oriole.  As you can tell, I've embraced the detail wholeheartedly now and I'm loving it more all the time, no apologies necessary.