I started this picture based on the words of Psalm 37 that had spoken to me a few days ago. “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit you way to him and he will act.” I wanted to use colour to express trust and delight. Blue is associated with trust and orange with joy (according to a search on the internet). They are also opposite each other on the colour wheel and are complementary. However the result was odd. I had done the words within a heart shape and initially did a pale blue heart with a darker blue outline and spots. But a blue heart just didn’t look right and I did’t like the spots. I did the lettering with a pencil crayon but then went over some of the letters in paint, which wasn’t such a great idea because when I went over the blue to blend away the spots, it of course ran into the orange. Blue and orange make brown!
I left it and watched a video of artist Nicholas Wilton talking about the use of colour. And the example of colours he used were blue and orange…. that got my attention! He then proceeded to explain that colours need to be mixed together to make richer colours. So, I decided to continue on the heart, adding colours to see what happened. I had decided to enjoy the process and not worry about the end result (more good advice taken on board).
I added more blues and greens to the background and went over the lettering again. It still looks dull. If I’d had an orange felt tip pen I would have used that. I decided to go over the blue outline to make it more definite and, I’m not sure why I thought it would be good to use the green just on the edge of it. But, using a brush that was too wide for the job and an unsteady hand led to the green spreading – so I just went with it and ended up with a green edging. The colour looks WRONG!!! Had I done the heart in red with a red or yellow ‘glow’ it would have been acceptable. Colours do make a difference. I don’t think this is one that will grace my prayer table. I can always do another one and get the background colours right before putting the lettering on top. I would probably used acrylic paints as they are far more forgiving – you just paint over the top of mistakes.
My next play was with water colours, with a thick brush that holds a lot of water so the result was very pale. I was pleased with it, but it felt unfinished.
So I used my pencil crayons and added circles of blended colour and then added some square outlines. It was difficult to decide when it was finished. But I think it is. I’m pleased with the result.
The lesson learnt today, that I want to share with others, is that it can be fun to play with paint and crayons and to not be concerned about the end result. I’ve signed up for a 5 day ‘Art2Life Breadcrumb Challenge’ that’s taking place next week, led by Nicholas Wilton. The aim is to help discern what sort of art or creativity is for me. Or in other words, within the area of creativity, what IS my heart’s desire?
Elizabeth Jones' Diary 