BUILDING ON THE PAST

SPACE, in my case, a lack of it. The final frontier.

I’ve been making art for what feels like forever and exhibiting since 1980. Over the years, I’ve sold quite a few works, yet my life remains filled with stored pieces, tucked into every available nook and cranny. While I continue to create new work, I’ve reached a turning point: it’s time to repurpose, recycle, reinterpret, and refine. 

I was seventeen the first time I drew from a nude model. That practice continued for over thirty years, leaving me with an extensive collection of figure drawings. I’ve already culled many, especially those on fragile newsprint, yet I still cling to some on less-than-ideal paper. Letting go is agonizing. I always find something in each piece that I want to preserve. When parting with a drawing, I take photographs to keep a record of what once was. 

Some works will remain untouched, their raw energy too vital to alter. Looking at them, memories surge up, hitting me like a punch to the gut. In those moments, I feel young again, only to be met with an unexpected sense of loss. Reinterpreting a past drawing is always an emotional adventure, but sometimes a shake-up is necessary to achieve a breakthrough. 

Now, unfinished drawings on good paper are piling up. Some, I paint over. Others, I develop further, finding new directions.

Building on a quickie line drawing

I have no idea where these explorations will lead. In my last blog post, I mentioned alternating between traditional and digital drawing. As I worked on the drawing above, I photographed its evolution to create complementary digital pieces, all while continuing my foray into oil pastels. The process became a dialogue between my past and present selves, emotional time travel. 

3 digital alternatives

Not quite yet what she is to become - digital

The oil pastel piece below depicts a mythological creature in urgent need of resurrection, as women’s rights and freedoms continue to erode worldwide. 

While researching, I stumbled upon a quote on French Wikipedia where men describe women as dreadful, emasculating Harpies.

Google translation:

It is high time to raise our heads! Masculinists are here to reaffirm the pride of being a man, in the face of feminist harpies. Lacroix is right: these viragos are ruining our lives. – (Élise Fontenaille, L'homme qui haïssait les femmes, Grasset, 2011)

I had to look up the word virago. Now that I know what it means, I like it.

Here’s my response: a *Feminist Harpy* in all her glory, brought to life with oil pastels. Her one visible talon is primed to set things right!