Have you ever fallen in love? Do you remember what it was like the first time you were starting to really like someone?
You can’t stop thinking about them. You can’t stop talking about them. You want to spend all of your time with them. Everything is exciting and new.
I have a confession to make. I’ve recently fallen in love again.
With paint.
To be precise- oil paint made the old way (like the artists did in the Renaissance times). I’m falling so deeply I can’t stop thinking about it! The smooth, buttery texture. The way the colours blend so effortlessly together to create dreamy scenes as my imagination goes wild. When I wake in the morning I just can’t wait to spend a few quiet moments with my paintings and the colour- lightly running my fingers over the beautiful, earthy pigments.
I’ve dabbled in quite a few different mediums in my lifetime. The progression has been crayons- preschool poster paint- acrylic paint- pastels and charcoal- more acrylic paint and then for the last few years I’ve been using watercolour paints with the occasional touch of gouache and pencils.
I’ve always been very intrigued by oil paints and loved to watch fellow artists creating amazing works with them in various art groups that I’ve attended. But there were a few factors that always kept me from pursuing them myself.
I’m messy and patience isn’t my strength. I could just imagine oil paint getting everywhere and it’s not as simple to clean up with water as acrylics or watercolour paint. I loved that with watercolours you have to work quickly and you can have a completely finished artwork dried and ready to frame in no time.
The toxicity. I’ve never been able to stand strong smells and I was afraid that, even with a well ventilated room I wouldn’t be able to handle working with them. I know that other art mediums can be very toxic also, but oils always seemed especially harmful. My family have always been pretty aware of toxins in everyday living and made a conscious effort to avoid them. This has become even more important to me since I’ve had children of my own and a major health scare.
And then a season of change came into my life. Part of the change has been like a strong surge (COVID-19) and some of the change has happened gradually over time (learning patience and realising the beauty in enjoying slow).
Little by little I started to discover that it was possible to make your own art supplies. Like a lot of things in life we have forgotten about the old, slow and valuable ways that food, products and tasks were made and accomplished. I’ve come to realise the value in a lot of old practices like fermenting, permaculture etc over the years so when I discovered that (surprise, surprise) years ago paints were handmade by artists using natural ingredients, I was instantly intrigued and wanted to learn more!
There has been something absolutely captivating and charming about discovering rocks and other elements of nature that can be broken down into pigments and dyes to use in my artworks. This season of isolation has really drawn us back to the basics of remembering what is important and slowing us down from the hurriedness of everyday life. Maybe this was also part of the reason that I’ve been so mesmerised by the slow, beautiful process of searching for rocks, grinding them down, mixing oil with the pigments and blending them together on the canvas in a symphony of grounding, earthy, glorious colour.
I’ve still got a lot to learn when it comes to sourcing and producing my own pigments. There are many amazing artists out there who have been practicing these old paint making techniques for a while now and I love watching their videos, drooling over their pictures and learning from them. For the time being I have mostly been making my paint using pigments that I have purchased from Natural Earth Paints. The colours are just divine!
I became an even bigger fan of natural pigments when I found out that pure pigments are the most permanent of all pigments and that they last for thousands of years. The fillers and stabilisers found in many tubed paints decrease the paint intensity, so natural pigments show their colours better. Pure earth pigments are also not affected by sunlight, temperature or humidity.
The cooler Autumn/Winter days that we’ve been enjoying at Fig Hill Farm have brought with them afternoon walks up the paddock and the most gorgeous, stunning cloud formations and sunsets. I just can’t help but soak in the glorious views and then spend my spare minutes (in between working on commissions and other artsy business stuff) replicating these scenes with pigments and oil. Every medium has it’s benefits that I enjoy. In contrast to the fast drying painting process I love with watercolours, I’ve found myself relishing in the slow and easy process of creating an oil painting. I’m loving that I can sit my paintbrush down, covered in oil paint and come back a couple of hours or a day or two later to add to the painting. It's like dropping in to a friend for a chat or giving a loved one a kiss as you walk by.
I’m starting to grow quite a collection of ‘friends’ featuring the breathtaking Fig Hill Farm views, stunning skies and striking sunset clouds. Who’s keen for me to release a collection of originals in the near future? Keep your ear out for exciting things ahead!
Reference:
A lot of what I’ve learnt and shared here is from Tasha Cathey and her beautiful Instagram account @tashacathey_ .
The pigments I have purchased are from Natural Earth Paints. They sell pigments for both kids painting and professional adults work (we own and enjoy using both). The adults pigments can be used to make oil paint, watercolour, pastels and gouache.
*This is not a sponsored blog post.