Crimminhasbeenworkingonmakingboldermarksandsuppressing
theurgetofusswiththingstoomuch.“Theworklosessomeofitspower
whenI dothat,soI havetoremindmyselfnottotinker,”shesays.
PAINTINGWITHOUTLIMITS
Crimminstillpaintsportraitsandisconstantlydriftingfromone
genretoanother.“Portraitworkisgoodforforcingprecisedrawingand
carefulcolorapplication,”shesays.“Withouta gooddrawingandskin
colorthatseemsalive,a portraitwillneverfeelquiteright.You’vegot
tobereallycarefulofyoursurfaceandthevaluesthatmakethethree-
dimensionalshape.
“Landscape,ontheotherhand,isa greatwaytostudycomposition
andcolorrange,”shecontinues.“Whenyouturnaroundandgoback
tosomethinglikea rock,youhavemuchmorelatitudeinyourdrawing,
butyou’restillworkingwiththevaluestocreatethethree-dimensional
form;you’restillwatchingwhereit undulates;you’rewatchingforcrev-
ices;you’rechangingyourmark-makingtogetthecreviceina rock.”
Eventually,Crimminwouldliketotrya differentmediumtosee
whatlessonsit mightoffer,butfornowshe’shappytokeeppushing
herboundarieswithpastel.“It’salwaysinteresting,”saysthelifelong
learner.“I’llgetbetterforever.”
AmyLeibrockisa Cincinnati-basedfreelancewriterandcontentmanager.
CindyCrimmin
(cindycrimmin.com),of
Acton,Mass.,is a former
foreignlanguageteacher.
She’sa signaturemember
ofthePastelSocietyof
America,theCopleySociety
ofBostonandthePastel
PaintersSocietyofCape
Cod,anda memberofthe
InternationalAssociation
ofPastelSocieties,the
ConnecticutPastelSociety
andtheAmericanSociety
ofMarineArtists.Herwork
hasappearedinnumerous
showsandexhibitions.
She’srepresentedbyThe
LeftBankGalleryinWellfleet
andOrleans,Mass.,and
FrancescaAndersonFine
Arts,inLexington,Mass.Turnthepagefora
waterfalldemonstrationLEFT
Sheltering Cove
(12x24)
BELOW
Slip and Slide
(11x14)
ArtistsNetwork.com 27