Layers and Layers……

Texture has been a theme in my work often to the detriment of the realism and I am quite fine with that, as realism is not my goal with my work. This new series is all about the layering of patterns to create a new texture. I often think of my emotional baggage as layers of my life that build to reveal who I really am in this world. In my work the refraction of that larger thought is found in this new series which for me touches on something from long ago in my life.

My figures have almost always had a heavy headress to carry, and I have somehow felt it was an apt reflection of how I feel about the emotional struggle of everyday life. The heaviness with which we are tasked to balance our lives each and every moment. Memories have a way of gurgling through the everyday and bubbling up like a spring into our minds.In this new series the figures are still balancing their environments but I have felt the need to add more to the figure. This series will be the Big Skirts. All of my work is based on previous work, the evolvement is often perpetuated by a memory or memories. When I was really young I had a habit of loving to lay on the floor and look up at things, the world seemed much more interesting to me. I would often find myself being in everyone’s way and once I tripped Johnny Mae as she was making a pan of gravy. Johnny Mae almost always wore long gathered skirts. We would always tug on her skirt when we wanted her attention. I got burned on my face from the spilled gravy. I remember being rocked in the rocking chair in my mother and dad’s bedroom . It was a strange old coccoon shaped rocking chair that had seen many years of rocking and somehow this chair was always where I remember being comforted. I can vividly remember the big pink and white roses on the wall paper in our old house. Most of my life they climbed those walls and live on my memories. The roses appear in many of my paintings as those very roses and that rocking chair brought comfort to me in a strange way that even now I cannot explain. I am giving the roses credence once again in this painting.

The technical side or the part most people might want to tune out on…

The process of layering patterns in pigments is quite different for oils than acrylics. I have done this for the last 7 or 8 months with my acrylics and wanted to try this with oil. It has been really much slower as my mind wants to keep adding but the oil paint has made me slow it down quite a bit due to the drying time. I think this has been really good for me, it forces me to linger on not only the process but also the painting as a whole and not only this series but also the ones that were before it and the ones to come.

For anyone still reading and somewhat interested in this piece. It is on aluminum composite panel which I sanded and applied 4 layers of gesso sanding between each coat. I am using oil paint,oil paint sticks, walnut oil, dorland’s wax medium and sometimes layering with both dorland’s and gamblin oil medium mixed in the pigment. I am layering patterns so not really any solid layers of pigments being used, after the first intial block in. I use rollers, homemade stencils, patterned rubber stamps, jar lids, cups, anything not nailed down that might create a pattern in paint. The patterning is often blurred with a knife or spatula. I want to get to the chaos and then reign it in just enough to satisfy my soul.

These are all details and when I finish this piece I will post the final painting. Stay tuned!

Detail of the early stages after the concept is worked out I start to add the first ayers of patterns working both in and out of the figure. None of it is significant at this point as it will be layered again and again.

the detail of the layers shows the patterns that meander and come in and out of focus

adding patterns back again

More layers of patterns start to make the distinguishing patterns less recognizable and more enmeshed in the surface giving a richer texture and depth of pigment

Adding more details to the painting such as a butterfly to signify the delicate wispiness of memory

Meanwhile two more are being formed….

Stage one

Stage one

stage two

After a long hiatus from blogging I thought it might be good to start it up again. I listen to podcasts and the other day on one of Joe Rogan’s he mentioned how helpful it was to post a podcast or blog. It hit me that he was right, for most this is quite boring and uneventful but maybe someone out that likes to watch paint dry as much as I do and will glean some nugget of info from this and that will make it worth the time.

Thank you for reading my blog I appreciate your time more than you know. I hope it is helpful and if not maybe just slightly entertaining.

Take care

Cathy Hegman

All artwork and writing on this blog are the property of Cathy Hegman. Please do not copy or distribute it without the written consent of Cathy Hegman.