The Field

17x23 - Oil Pastel

REFLECTION ON WORK 

I love experimenting with new materials. Starting off with a colorful pastel background, I decided that I didn’t like it and covered it up with green and blue. Then, I had the idea to use a toothpick to scrape away that layer, revealing an almost ombre effect beneath it. I loved the colors and process so much, as well as the effect, so I decided to continue that on my larger piece. Originally, I wanted my entire piece to be covered in the green/blue, with detail on each section and lots of spirals. However, after I laid down my orange and pink background, I appreciated that a lot and wanted to incorporate it in my piece. I also found that having the toothpick etching all over would be too busy. It was pretty tricky to figure out what layout I should do because I didn’t want either portion to consume the other or overshadow it. The pastels worked super well with the colors and the emotions I wanted to portray (detail with a freeing but calming sense, brightness). Overall, the layout changed a bit to match those feelings compared to what my original idea was. Sometimes your initial envisioning fo your piece may seem right in the moment but really has to shift over time to meet the ideas you meant to portray. 

Although my technique didn’t change substantially, my layout did. My thumbprint piece consisted of one spiral, and was fully covered in the green and toothpick detail. From there, I decided to incorporate multiple spirals. As I worked, I decided that I liked the pink and orange background a lot, so I incorporated it. I also chose to not add detail to every section. My piece looked a bit rigid, so I experimented with the size and shape of the end spirals to create movement and visual engagement. When my piece didn’t match what I had envisioned, I made changes to it!

I think that this is super important because it reminds me that your initial plan can be super different from what you end up with. Art isn’t a rigid, set thing; it changes depending on what you want it to be. I also really liked the colors and I think I might try to make a piece with those colors. It helped me a lot with planning, composition, and colors. My next piece will probably not be very similar to that, but I think I might use those colors and keep in mind background composition ratios.