Now the memory lines become fuzzy, but at least this is how I remember it now.
Hints of colour appeared in my works, which made me creatively uncomfortable (as my teacher told me then). Those moments or events are the ones that push you to something new, break the pattern, the mold, and create something new, richer and in many ways, more complete.
My technique had been polished quite a bit by then (in my opinion at least) and I produced some of the things which I am most proud of. Works that took days and days of detailed lines, endless patience and never-ending delight. But this was a slow process, graphically seen below:
Slow Crawl - pencil on paper, 2012
This one above and a couple others went together, fulfilling some of my surreal dreams, I managed to transcribe feelings into shapes, ideas into lines, and if that doesn’t inspire, then nothing will, I believe… I consider these to be my real first steps into art. Being able to speak in my language, it was a slow but firm ascent and progression. I loved it, I learned so much and would do it again.
Speaking of first steps….
First Step, pencil on paper, 2012
At the same time, as mentioned, I started using colour, and jumped in directly with oil paints. Somebody had sowed into me the idea that oil was difficult, and with that, something to be almost afraid of, so it took me a long, long time to dare to use it and dive into that wonderful experience.
I won’t say it was the easiest medium I had used, but the experience was of the most fulfilling ever.
Genesis, oil on prepared and textured paper
There’s a certain smoothness to it, how it mixes, and spreads, and the possibilities are virtually endless of course. I never used managed to break my own patters with it, I must say, but it’s because I jumped into other mediums. But I still have them somewhere back home, so nothing stops me really from going mental and trying something new.
Miscellaneous: I took my time to continue this post because many things happened in the meantime. I moved to a new flat, and that’s basically it but it took some effort and a lot of time and paperwork as well. So here I am now, typing from my new living-room, on my new sofa, enjoying the lovely new natural light!
More to come soon, art and life strive.