INTERVIEW
ABOVECanyon
Cauldron,pastelon
panel,101x81cmLEFTSolitudeIII,
pastelonpanel,
101x81cmsherecalls.“I useda veryold-fashionedtechniqueof
cuttingoutsomeshapesfromthephotosandputting
themtogetherina groupingtoformthemainpartofmy
composition.ThenI didmyusualprocess,whichis an
energeticunderpainting,justnotingthedarkandthelight
areas.Whenit cametothelayering,I wasabletoexpress
themyriadhappeningsthatgooninthelittleheadof
buckwheat.”
“Theinterplayofthecoloursstoodouttome,”
shecontinues,“butit allbecametoored,soI startedto
introducesomecoolcolours– a blueanda teal.Theteal
jumpedontothesurfacelikea reflectionoftheskyina
waythatstartedtothrowme.I becameawareofhowthe
paintinghaditsowndemandand,if you’reattentive,you
canrespond.AndI wassurprisedtodiscoverhowmuch
moreit becameabouttheatmospherearoundtheplant.”
Margaret’swildflowerpaintingsarecertainly
atmospheric,displayingthedramainherentinher
landscapes.AndSeedsofChangealsoreflectsthe
Americanartist’spassionforexperimentationandthethrill
seegetsfromtheunpredictablenatureofcreatingart.
Shecan’tquitepinpointwhenpastelsbecameher
primarymedium,asshepreviouslyworkedinwatercolour
andoilstoo.Infact,shehasfondmemoriesofattending
watercolourcoursesintheUK,whilevisitingherhusband’s
family,andpickinguptechniquesthathavefilteredinto
herpastelpractice.
“Thetraininginwatercolourwasverypowerfulforme
andI thinkI usea lotofwatercolourtechniquesinpastel
stilltothisday,”sheexplains.“There’sa watercolour
strategywhichis reservingthingsasyoumoveforward,
soyou’realwaysconcernedaboutthebackgroundand
theforegroundatthesametime.Thisis something
I alwaysconsider.”
Margaretalsolikesthefactthatbothmediumsarevery
forgivingandthatyoucanlayerdifferentcoloursoverthe
topofoneanother.Butshereservesthemostzealforhow
buildingupdifferentlayersofpastelcanaddenergyand
interesttoa painting,takingit somewhereshecouldhave
neverforeseenattheoutset.Sheis similarlypassionate
aboutmixingpastelsandconstantlydiscoveringhow
differentcoloursbehavetogether.It thisongoingdesire
tolearnandprogressherpracticewhichattractsherto
thepastelsocietiestowhichshebelongs.
“There’sanexcitementaboutrediscoveringthis
medium,whichhasbeenhappeninginrecentyears,and
alsoanexcitementaboutdiscoveringnewtechniques,”
sheexplains.“There’ssomanydifferentthingsyoucantry
thatit makesit reallyexcitingtobea partofthatgroup.”
Sohowdoherpeersinfluenceher?“Allthesethings
youseeotherartistsdo,theyhelpwiththeconfidenceof
beingboldwiththemediumandnotjustusingit aspencil.
Themoreyouseeotherpeopleexperimenting,themore
youfeelokwiththethingsthatyouaretryingtodo.”
Margaret’sloveofcreatingartis almostpalpable,and
it’sasif shesensesa similarkindoffeeling,aninvisible
pullfromtheearth,tugginghertodothiscreating.
“I usedtothinkit waslikeyouweregoingoutfishing,
thepainterwouldcasta rodandthencomebackwitha
catchornot,”shesays.“ButI’verecentlybeguntothink
ofit theotherwayaround,thattheworldis doingthe
fishingandcastingoutandcatchingtheartist,requiring
theartisttoseewhattheworldis upto.It’sthattension
betweenbeingthereintheworldand[focusingon]
painting– it’ssoengagingandthrillinganddangerous,
andmeasuresyourtruththewholetime.Youhaveto
keepvigilantandopentoit.”
http://www.margaretlarlham.comMy training was very
powerful... I use a
lot of watercolour
techniques in pastel