I have become a bit obsessed with the idea of palette cleansers at the moment.
I am not talking about the spoonful of some complex foam creation between the courses of a Dégustaion (thank you, Masterchef, for teaching me about seven-course meals!), but I do mean something very similar.
I use palette cleansers in my everyday life – like a book that is not heavy and requires no real thought, after having read an amazing book series that has sucked me into their world.
It may be watching Modern Family after binge-watching four seasons of The Walking Dead.
It could be a yoga session after a period of intense CrossFit workouts, although let’s be honest, I will never need that palette Clenser!
And after a large or intense painting, especially if said painting decides it is going to be difficult and doesn’t quite work properly, palette clensers are essential.
Generally, my artistic palette cleansers are little drawings in my sketchbook, or playing with some digital art, or even something like zentangles, but this time, my palette cleansers became a surprise series of paintings all on their own.
I am currently working on the second of the Angels and Empress paintings (You can see the Morrigan here), and the moon empress (Selene) has been a dream to paint, that is, until I went to start her hair, and now I am stuck.
My vision of Selene has a very definite colour for her hair; however, now, I am unsure if it will work with how the painting has taken shape. I also know I need to dedicate a fairly long painting session to paint her hair, from experience that doing hair in two sessions doesn’t work or flow properly.
And unfortunately for Selene, last week I was also feeling a little raw, a little depleted, and a little fragile, so I knew that it was NOT the right time to dig into what could potentially be a difficult part of the painting. So I took her off my work desk.
Knowing I was feeling so raw, I also knew that I needed to paint something for my self-care, so I trawled through my current sketchbook looking for little sketches to paint and to cleanse my palette.
These little vignettes from my sketch book really catalogue little snippets in my everyday life, what I was looking at that day (how to grow Echinaceas, for example), how I was feeling (the teary eye) or my feeling like I needed a bit more bravery
And as I start to dive into them and add paint and let my mind wander and gently clear, I realise that the colour I had in mind for Selene’s hair was the right one, and once I finish these, I will be ready to finish her off.
From my whimsy world to yours.
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