Editorial

by Barbara Benedetti Newton, May, 2010

Yesterday I ran into an old friend; a very accomplished colored pencil artist who has worked exclusively in that medium for twenty years. She also still teaches and I find her dedication to the medium admirable.This encounter led me to consider how our paths have diverged. After a dozen years of still lifes in colored pencil I found myself terribly bored so I changed mediums.

At some point, we begin to know a medium so thoroughly there are few surprises. Making more of the same art may become primarily about producing a product rather than about being fulfilled on a creative level. To rekindle our interest in a medium and in our work in general, an adjustment of content, style or process may do the trick. A leap of faith in our work is sometimes the result of a conscious decision or it might come about more slowly by way of artistic evolution. During the period when an artist is searching for a new path to explore, they may find themselves taking risks with their work that they wouldn’t normally consider.

I have loved my years with pastel but I sometimes tire of traditional landscape scenes. I began to look for a new way to express myself. That is why the paintings in my studio are hanging onto the walls for dear life or hiding in their storage areas hoping to go unnoticed by me. But I am finding them one by one… the pastel paintings that are candidates for rework. This rework process has entertained and challenged me for about a year. I unframe old paintings, wash or wipe them off, turn them upside down (or not), contemplate the ghostly image that remains, and paint again. I’m surprised to find myself drifting toward abstraction.

As an example of this process, I’d like to call your attention to the two paintings in the upper right corner of this editorial page. The bottom image, “Red Row” has been posted here since November 2009. For the February 2010 editorial we added the upper image, “Chain of Events.” You may be interested to know that “Chain of Events” is actually “Red Row” turned upside down and reworked into an abstracted landscape. This is one of about twenty paintings I have reworked. It has been great fun and I encourage you to try it if you ever find yourself in need of a break from your regular work. Also, I’m pleased that my abstracted landscape paintings – paintings that began as playful exercises - are being accepted into exhibitions.

And, that brings me to a bit of art business. We are well into the show season and paintings are going out from my inventory for shows across the country. I have a computer database as well as paperwork to document their travels (as explained in my February Editorial) but sometimes all I need is a quick visual. Following is a brief explanation and an image of my easy method for seeing what’s in and what’s away.

Each framed painting is labeled with the painting number (from my database) and the title written on a strip of tape. Most of my paintings are framed in wood frames and it is important to find a tape that doesn’t affect the wood surface by leaving an adhesive residue. The tape I use is one I found as a colored pencil artist; I used it then to border a drawing as I was working on it. It gives a clean edge with that medium and doesn’t damage the paper. It is 3M Safe-Release #2070, 1” x 60 yd rolls. It has a white, paper-like surface to write on.

My system is simple. A piece of this tape is used as the label for the painting. I write in large letters with permanent marker so I can see the label without getting down on my hands and knees – my framed paintings are stored under my counter below my flat files. When paintings go out to a show, I remove the label from the frame and stick it on the wood above the painting area. I can see at a glance which paintings are out. When the painting comes back from the show, the label goes back on the painting and it goes back into storage.