Good Mistakes

Years ago, I was trying new methods of working with pastels. I really enjoy painting with pastels, but they need to be applied to a board that has “tooth.” Tooth means a slightly textured surface in this instance. You can either buy a board or paper with tooth, or you can prepare your own board. I chose to prepare my own.

I purchased a “ground” to prepare my boards. A ground is a thick, liquid substance that has various particles and ingredients in it that, when brushed on a board and allowed to dry, create various types of surfaces on which the artist can apply their desired medium.

As usual, I was in a hurry, and I didn’t follow the directions exactly. I added color to the plain ground so that, when dry, it would be a colored board I would work with (I love color). I quickly brushed it on several boards, and left them to dry.

Later that day, I came to inspect my handiwork. I was surprised to see that there were highly visible brush strokes on the boards. There was so much texture and movement! I didn’t add the right amount of water or something. Though I liked the look, I wasn’t sure it would work for my purposes. And I painted it on so many boards! I didn’t want them or my efforts to go to waste.

I grabbed a board and began laying down some pastel, practicing with shapes and colors. I was excited to see the results. The background color showed up between the pastel strokes to create an incredible painting with tons of movement. I experimented with different colored boards for different subjects. Everything looked so good! And so alive.