Artist’s statement
Following a lifelong fascination with the technique of batik, I started to look for a new challenge to motivate my art work. Having retired from teaching I was able to travel more and combine this with some training in pastel and mixed media techniques. I was drawn to pastel for its rich pigmented colour and gained much inspiration from a visit to the Pastel Society exhibition in
London.
My surface of choice is textured or sanded, sometimes using gesso and primer for a textured base. I mostly paint with unison pastels from dark to light and from thin to heavy, glazing one
colour over another. I like to sketch landscapes from life, paying attention to values and choosing colours that work together. These may often be different from those observed. I work towards
creating bold impressionistic marks filled with light and colour.
