November 29, 2023
On my walk a couple days ago, I noticed white pine needles on my driveway, specifically, the subtle variations in color: all different tints of a color that is just a hair oranger than burnt sienna. I have been using pine needles and leaves from my trees in my monotypes, but for some reason, on this walk, I thought, I should make a brush with the pine needles. This led me to looking for something to use as brush handles, and I came up with the pliable stem of a hickory leaf and a small stick from an oak tree.
These items all have special meaning for me because they were found in my woods; so much of my work is connected to the beauty of the natural world, and the relationship I have with the land I live on. I am also excited about these three materials because they are from native trees, and my husband and I are working hard to re-native the woods.
I used florist’s tape to wrap the pine needles around the two different brush handles. Dry pine needles are obviously very brittle so I knew I could not use them with a heavy paint. I experimented with acrylic ink.
I was very pleased with the thinner-than-thin lines they created, and was surprised how much ink they could “hold”. I was very gentle with my mark-making, but they held up better than I expected. This paper is going into the sketchbook. And my new “brushes” are being set aside for future work - this is just the kind of subtle mark-making I am looking for in my next painting.
Do you have creative endeavors outside of painting? What are they and how do they relate to painting? Do they feed one another in any way?
Experiment with reds. Pull out all your reds and mix them with different amounts of white. How many pinks can you make? Which is your favorite? Free paint with all that pinky goodness!
Have you taken any classes recently? I would love to hear about classes you have enjoyed!