Sunday, May 15, 2011

Carl Sandburg was wrong!

Fog, 48 x 48 pastel on prepared panel

Even at this size, my panel did not bow or bend. My framer, Elizabeth Steinbaugh at Aurora Gallery, says that my success comes from allowing each wet layer (whether gesso, acrylic, or pumice gel) to dry completely with the board perfectly flat and horizontal. I was tempted to prop the board on its end for drying since it took up most of my available counter space, but if I had, I would have had an unusable curved board instead.

This fog did not come in on little cat feet, but rose like a wall to block the sun. Block failed. Sun scored.

3 comments:

SamArtDog said...

Fog is dense air. Somehow, you've succeeded in making dense light. I could look at this forever.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

Thanks, Sam! I feel the same way about this piece. And, since it's so big, I HAVE to look at it since it doesn't fit in any of my drawers!

Suzanne said...

Wow! I see how the new layers have developed, with the orange glow of underpainting becoming more subtle with your poetic sun still coming through. The feeling of even more depth as we look to the horizon.