November in the Studio Red Line

Red Line

(These should appear horizontally instead of vertically but I cannot figure out how to make it work!)

Triptych each panel is 28 in x 28 in

mixed media on paper

by

Cathy Hegman

Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is near. Holidays are busy days with life and taking care of all the things it entails. I have been doing a bit more drawing and painting lately but mostly studies for later work. I have just finished a triptych that is about the connections of humanity. I am particularly interested in our ability to resolve our differences and be more homogenous with each other, I believe this is one of the highest forms of love we have for our neighbors. I think as I age I have become much more open to the views of others and I think it is directly connected to love and the desire for life to be more copesetic and pleasant. I believe one of the strongest problems is our ignorance of what others are experiencing in their lives and our ability to give support and love to them. I am trying to put my experience with this subject down in paint as a way of forgiving myself for my polarized views on different issues and people in the past and in hopes it will reinforce me to think things through before forming opinions. This first attempt is about how humans have the ability to have strong issues with each other but still manage to find a way to co exist in this world. We exist in a united front as humans, yet we all come to the line with our own problems and differing lifestyles both physical and mental. I have chosen to abstract the figures in this painting in order to give the viewer the chance to see themselves as a part of this line. I also find that in the abstraction the figures look like a line of trees and this represents support and stability in my mind. I chose to paint mostly earth colors even in the red hues to connect the whole idea to the earth in which we dwell. As far as the technique and use of media, all three begain as a loose drawing that mainly divided the surface of the paper, the I painted each with watercolor and gouache, you will note I scratched into the surface of the paint for added texture and to symbolize our differences. I let all of them dry thoroughly then I used water soluble oil pastels and colored pencil to add the accents and enhance the paintings. My goal was to keep this as abstract as possible but still retain the feeling of a unified line of figures that were connected by their shape and color. I have several more sketches in my sketch book for this series and I want to paint some of them on canvas and board as well. I hope I have inspired you to paint something in a series or as a triptych. Till next time!

Thank you for reading my blog and have a great week!

Cathy Hegman NWS, SAA, MSWS, MoWs, SW

All artwork and text posted on this blog are solely owned and copyrighted by Cathy Hegman and should not be reproduced or copied in any form or fashion without the written permission of Cathy Hegman. Anything included in this blog is solely the personal experience and thoughts of the artist and are not meanyt to be anything more than helpful guidelines for others to read.