painting with nature: using natural pigments from PEI
With summer holidays, I've been pushed into painting at different times and different places. I've been painting en plein air on the beach, and I love the way that the piece then becomes connected to place by painting this way. I wanted to take that one step farther by using natural pigments from Prince Edward Island in my paintings.
For these, I started by soaking the canvas in salt water from the Northumberland Strait. It triggers a connection between art and ocean. Then, I added PEI red dirt -- the same dirt that stains your socks and sticks to your car and stays in your heart even after you've left the island. The dirt, with its rich, rusty colour, became the natural pigment that seeped into the canvas over time. It's like a PEI dirt shirt, but, you know, art.
I love the unique colours and patterns the natural pigments created. It reminds me of PEI red sand beaches, and the way that the waves create these little ripples in the sand.
After the natural dying process, I began adding the abstract marks and paintings of seashells and shorebirds that are central to my Beach Day paintings.
I'm wrapping up the final painting for the Beach Day collection, and I'm excited to share these pieces with you. They're a blend of art and the East Coast. Beach Day paintings will be available in early September -- a piece of summer to enjoy all year round.
