Dyptich:" Gold and Ruby Floaters," 2014

"Gold Floater" / "Ruby Floater"

Soft pastel on board, 18" x 24" each

I've been exploring thickly layered color fields with heavy sgraffito and dense calligraphic embellishment. This is pure pastel--no impasto gels or under-painting. Here, I've used a combination of soft sticks and pencils on Ampersand Pastelbord, a sturdy hardboard with a toothy marble dust, clay and gesso ground. It's less gritty than the sanded papers I often work on, but capable of withstanding the torture I put a substrate through.

"Ruby Floater" (detail)

                 
Color, color, color! This is as pure as pigment gets. No wonder I'm in love with soft pastels. I made a few deep sienna and blue-crimson hand-rolled sticks for this piece, with a pinch of pumice to keep the bite fresh. With all the layers, a really soft stick like Schminke just won't hold up to the elbow grease and pencil treatment. I used mostly Carbothellos in the calligraphy, a little Caran D'ache. The lower layers were lightly fixed with Sennelier LaTour.