The hardest lesson for Karen to learn - one that she was still learning, to be honest - was the proper order of things.
For instance: as a right-handed artist, it's best for her to work from left to right, especially when drawing or inking or painting. Otherwise the side of her palm smudges the lines, her cuff drags in the paint, she doesn't notice the hair caught in the gesso until it's too late. She can usually fix those mistakes, though. It can be a fiddly process, but Karen's gotten used to it.
Color is a different matter. With chalk pastel, colored charcoal, oil pastels; with watercolor and colored pencils; with most of the pigmented media she uses, really... she ought to work light to dark, as the latter will always muddy the former.
Dark will always irrevocably taint light, and there's no going back.
Working with media of varying opacity requires careful planning, patience to watch the piece develop slowly, emerging from the faintest of washes, like an old polaroid photo.
Karen's not always as patient as she should be.
(Again, she's still learning.)
***
The woman in front of her is not just a gallery employee, she's Vanessa Marianna.
Karen takes a deep breath. She can do this. She doesn't have her portfolio, doesn't have her business cards, what is she, new? Fuck. This is what she gets for thinking that today was going to be her day off.
Karen swallows, squares her shoulders, and puts on her best smile.
After all, this is hardly the worst situation she's found herself in.
Fill: "Untitled Portrait Series" 4/?
For instance: as a right-handed artist, it's best for her to work from left to right, especially when drawing or inking or painting. Otherwise the side of her palm smudges the lines, her cuff drags in the paint, she doesn't notice the hair caught in the gesso until it's too late. She can usually fix those mistakes, though. It can be a fiddly process, but Karen's gotten used to it.
Color is a different matter. With chalk pastel, colored charcoal, oil pastels; with watercolor and colored pencils; with most of the pigmented media she uses, really... she ought to work light to dark, as the latter will always muddy the former.
Dark will always irrevocably taint light, and there's no going back.
Working with media of varying opacity requires careful planning, patience to watch the piece develop slowly, emerging from the faintest of washes, like an old polaroid photo.
Karen's not always as patient as she should be.
(Again, she's still learning.)
***
The woman in front of her is not just a gallery employee, she's Vanessa Marianna.
Karen takes a deep breath. She can do this. She doesn't have her portfolio, doesn't have her business cards, what is she, new? Fuck. This is what she gets for thinking that today was going to be her day off.
Karen swallows, squares her shoulders, and puts on her best smile.
After all, this is hardly the worst situation she's found herself in.
She can do this.
- tbc -