Last Day of 2024
24 x 18in. Pastel on Paper
Abstract sketch
I'm continuing to play around with intuitive abstraction.
Japanese Garden, Kew Gardens, London
I am experimenting with starting with loose pastels, then spraying with a fixative before painting over with acrylics. I went in at the end with a little more pastels. This is of the Japanese Gardens at Kew Gardens, London.
Messing around with abstraction
I’ve recently decided to revisit abstraction. I did a lot of it in the 1990’s but haven’t been interested since then. But for some reason I’m suddenly interested again. This is my first experiment. I started with soft pastels and then moved to acrylic paints. I think it turned out ok, and plan to do a lot more. I feel like it may help with freeing my mind and creating my style. Even if not, it’s fun to play.
John Brown with a Banjo
“John Brown with a Banjo” is a pastel painting and is roughly 8 x 11.5 in. Why the banjo? In the original painting he is holding a rifle, but my sister plays Banjo in the bluegrass band "Maw” and I decided to make and give this to her as a birthday present.
Portrait of Lizzie Magie
“Portrait of Lizzie Magie” Pastel on paper, 11 x 14 in. I saw a documentary about the history of the board game Monopoly and discovered that it was actually invented by Lizzie Magie. Not only that, but her original game was called The Landlord’s Game, and instead of celebrating Capitalism, is was a rather harsh criticism of it. I was inspired by her and decided to do her portrait.