The past couple of days haven't exactly been fun. I was in the middle of studio cleanup so I already had a mess on my hands. As I was walking into my garage/storage room I noticed a puddle. I cursed under my breath at the cat or dog who decided to make a bad decision. But as I cleaned up the puddle the water kept coming. It was seeping under the bookcase. It could only be coming from one place.....the hot water heater! Fortunately I was home and caught it just in time to turn the water off.
Repairs are underway but a shelf of supplies had to be moved and a storage closet emptied. All of this adding to the mess I had already made. I have to get everything cleaned up and organized before my studio workshop next week! Sometimes making a mess can be good though. I made a fun discovery!
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| A Vintage piece of Wallis Belgian Mist paper |
In a pile of used foam core boards I found a pristine piece of Wallis sanded paper taped to the board all ready to go. I wasn't planning on painting today but that wonderful piece of paper called to me. Should I wait? Should I savor it? Do I have something worthy to paint? I didn't pay attention to the voices in my head that told me to wait. I pulled out a photo from my favorite place in Chicago and got to work. It was a fun diversion from the clean-up!
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| the block in with Nupastels |
Wallis Belgian Mist was a favorite paper of mine when it was available. I enjoyed the gray tone of the paper and the perfect grittiness to the sanded surface. My prairie meadow didn't need an underpainting so I blocked in a few shapes with Nupastels and rubbed them in with a piece of pipe insulation foam.
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| close up |
I knew that my set of Terry Ludwig's Shades of nature set would be perfect for the early December landscape. The colors in the prairie meadow were the muted colors of late autumn. A few dried seed heads were hanging on...some had exploded revealing their bounty of white fluffy seeds. I enjoyed weaving the grasses creating a gold and violet tangle. Hmmmm I wonder what other treasures I will find as my clean up continues?
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| Terry Ludwig Shades of Nature Set |
Note: Wallis sanded paper was the favorite of many pastelists. It came in white and Belgian mist and was a medium grade of grittiness. After some production issues it was hard to come by. I am not sure of the status of the paper now but I have come to enjoy using Uart sanded paper which I occasionally tone to the 'Belgian Mist' color.
2 comments:
Sorry you had a water mess, I REALLY know what that is like! Thank you for all your informative posts Karen and Happy New Year!
What a great find! Of course it was inspiring. Interesting palette. That set attracted me when it first came out, not sure if it duplicates some that I already have though. I love it that you can work that large and still finish in a relatively short time.
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