My (art) holiday in Corfu, Greece
The last time I was in Greece, I had not yet started my artistic journey so there was no way I would've considered myself an artist. This time round, I came prepared to be fully inspired by the abundance of color, the food, the landscape and something that took me by surprise, the patterns of swimwear.
Bright orange lines, waves of blue, pink swirls and green dots. Striking and tested color combinations made a yummy palette all around.
I brought some watercolor paper with me, my trusty Winsor & Newton watercolor palette as well as my favorite pastel carrés by Conté à Paris.
Day 1/2/3 I was taken in by these colors and the landscape. I set about drawing and playing with watercolor only to become quickly frustrated by how watercolor can sometimes take ages to dry, I probably just use too much water. While I love the vibrancy of the colors of my pastel carrés, the chalk-like medium can smudge, and leave the place you're drawing on in a bit of a state.
One late afternoon wanting to find some seashells with my daughter, we did not stumble upon seashells but rather lots of pebbles. Ranging of course in various sizes, shapes and colors. The colors, vibrant as they are, but in greys, browns, greens and dark reds. A much more muted and of course natural palette than I had been using with my pastels.
These in my mind create a new dilemma, I can see the potential in anything. And should my trip to Greece be marked by colorful shapes, patterns or rather more natural and abstract compositions of stones. All of this is to be translated onto paper or canvas. You might wonder why this is important, and for me, I've been struggling to set parameters for myself in which to work. To really explore in depth a set of tools, way of working, shapes and colors.
However I like the idea of bringing something more natural into the world. To be adorned in homes of those that love the ocean. And now that I am reflecting on it in writing, I do see a possibility of marrying these two together.
Stay tuned for more…