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Hello

I hope this finds you well. I have found my artwork and my connections with nature continue help me stay positive during this very difficult time. Working 'Plein Air' is not easy during the British Winter, but it has helped me produce some exciting new work.

I am passionate about responding to subject matters in appropriate ways. By that, I mean I try to reflect a personal connection or feeling by adapting the way I work, colours, mark making, techniques, to communicate visually. I think this stems from my Design background and training that reflects the Bauhaus Art School approach of visual communication. I am also very interested in exploring the physical - textures, temperature, movement - in a landscape particularly.

Some subject matters are about stillness and reflection - such as my 'Shadows of Honesty' and Still Life series, and my approach tends to reflect this - calm, considered, more contained perhaps.

 

I am lucky to live right next to a open field/meadow and have created several artworks based upon views of it and views from inside it. I had not however, tackled the subject of snow until a few days ago.

I started by making quick, responsive pastel work before the snow began. There had been a heavy frost and so I worked quickly to capture some of this as the light moved over the field, changing the tones and lightness of frost as it went. My focus here was trying to record the structures and twists of the tangled growth; to understand what was going on.

Snow was forecast for the following day and so I set up my easel first thing and started as the snow began to fall.

Keeping up was frantic. I started my painting from inside the kitchen- I have glass doors looking out - and moved outside to finish up in the later stages. Working outside in snow is quite precarious with pastel, but not bad if the snow is relatively 'dry' and the paper doesn't get soggy.

I managed several pieces over the course of the day, having to retreat in the afternoon when the snow turned to sleet.

I am planning perhaps larger scale works based upon these initial sketches, but I also really like the spontaneous feel of them and that I have managed to capture a sense of movement, atmosphere and depth.

Working in this way has been a release from being so restrained and pent up in my everyday Lockdown life.

There may be more to come.

 

Thankyou for reading

Best wishes and stay safe,

Fiona

 

A reminder that you can join in with my pastel demonstrations on my Patreon site.

Click the link on my website for details and get in touch if you have any questions - I am happy to help!

 

www.fionacarvell.com