Pansy

Pansy (Acrylic on Canvas, 32" x 25", 2006) is a further abstraction from a previous oil pastel. It was started early this year, but I didn't get motivated sufficiently to finish it until I was asked to have a work in a show ("Grant Me a Wish," opening May 6 at the Historic Cabarrus Courthouse in Concord, NC). Nothing like a deadline to get me going!

Working in acrylics is a real challenge, which is why I was dragging my brush on it. Through the years I have occasionally worked on canvas. Originally I found acrylic paint to be "slimy" and hard to manipulate, but either the paint has improved or my skill has evolved a bit (?), because this is fun! As much as I enjoy my oil pastels, there are size limits and protection issues that can be constricting. Bigger may not necessarily be better, but the change is very stimulating.

The canvas for Pansy was stretched and prepared years ago for a landscape with a little group of buildings in the center. I never got around to it; then my work changed, and I was going to use it for a close-up of two white flowers. Got the drawing on it, stared at it off and on for a year or so, and then changed my mind when the final image came to me. To paraphrase the old saying: if canvases could talk!