Wednesday, February 25, 2009

the garden hose solution

Today, for my "less is more" challenge, I hosed off an old painting and to the music of Paul Simon's Graceland, I applied a minimal amount of pastel for "Graceland Pond." Now I'm looking in my art database for another old pastel painting to wash off. 14 x 14 inches, pastel on gessoed Wallis paper.

7 comments:

Carol Schiff Daily Painting said...

How brave you are to take a garden hose to your work. Love the results!

Anonymous said...

Ms. Newton,
How do you hose off an old pastel painting? Just wash off the old pastel with water...gently? Can this be done when the support is paper?
Thank you for your time.

And I really admire "Graceland Pond;" wow!!

BCanyon

Marilyn Farrell Webberley said...

Just beautiful! This has such a wonderful atmosphere, so rich; I simply sink into inner peace and contentment. Thanks. And thanks for sharing some words from William F. Reese. I just finished his new book, The Painter's Process, last night and am off to the studio.

Marilyn Farrell Webberley said...

Just beautiful! This has such a wonderful atmosphere, so rich; I simply sink into inner peace and contentment. Thanks. And thanks for sharing some words from William F. Reese. I just finished his new book, The Painter's Process, last night and am off to the studio.

Barbara Benedetti Newton said...

Here is a little more info about the garden hose solution. When I worked in colored pencil, I told my students about my "desperation tool" - a battery eraser for lifting unwanted color. I always advised testing it on the border of the painting first to make sure the paper wouldn't be damaged.

I guess the garden hose is my pastel desperation tool. The paper this works on is Wallis. I remember trying it on another brand with disastrous results - the paper just disintegrated. But Wallis is very tough and I'm not gentle. I have a spray nozzle on the hose and I really blast it to get most of the pastel off. Then, I shake off excess water, take it into the studio and pat (do not rub) with paper towels. Tape all four corners down to a surface and let it dry. Once dry and flat, I start a new painting on it.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much! and, my goodness, you were brave in desperation. And the results are stunning!

BCanyon

Jacki Newell said...

How beautiful and atmospheric. I could get lost in it. Thank you for leaving room for the imagination for me, the viewer.