SIOBHAN BEDFORD FINE ART
For a million reasons I’ve been a little obsessed with the pinhole watercolor pieces. With no idea how they might become art pieces. I’m good with that…I just want to see where it goes.
These are explorations of using them in photography. Then pushing the color limits in lightroom…with some wild psychedelic effects.
and…this set has a bit of a pretty antique vibe…I think.
sharing pin hole sketches today along with a post about posts…ah so very meta;)
So…about a year ago I switched things up and rebuilt this website. Like all things, it was a ton more work than I ever imagined.
I hoped that this new format would be easier for me to make blog posts. The good thing is…it is!
The not so good thing is…some people think that since the rise of social media…individual blogs are now obsolete. Apparently, with so much happening online no one has time for something as old-fashioned as blogging. I guess…I’m suddenly old-fashioned…who knew!
Something…I think a lot about is the need to stay close to the creative edge. To keep stretching into unknown places. To find the sweet spots where I’m following a path but not repeating myself. The only way to be there is to experiment and let things be a little messy…a little all over the place.
I want this blog to be a way to share the paintings. I also want to create a place to collect my random creative tangents.
Anyway…I’m thinking that in the coming year I’m going to use this space even more as a place to dip into the stream of consciousness. For the most part, I’ve been holding back because of some notion I have that a blog should be focused on one thing. I hate to say it but better for marketing…and all that blah. blah.
The shifts and upheavals of the pandemic are a catalyst to revamp a thing or two.
I’m not exactly sure what is going to show up here but I’m feeling an unexpected sense of freedom in being suddenly old-fashioned.
Please feel free to dip in here from time to time but going forward I’m not going to send out an email for every post.
I’ll send out a round-up post from time to time if something especially good bubbles up!
light from the front
back Lighting
A shift started in the spring with the Doodle Ladies and it has just carried through all summer. I think the pandemic rattled something loose inside me and pushed me to take a detour into works on paper.
In the studio, I’ve been playing around with pinhole punching in some very tiny drawings. That led to pin punching some bigger abstract drawings. Then before I knew it I was pushing the needle into even bigger drawings that became more elaborate.
This is one…I call them “Light Bright Ladies.” Although they could just as easily be called “Poppy Ladies” because I’m pretty sure they got their start from all the poppy photos I took this spring.
What I find interesting about these mixed media pieces is the way the light plays on the surface and transforms it when backlit.
It’s a little exhausting on the fingertips to punch so many holes through the paper but also surprisingly soothing. I just splurged on a fancy Pergamano tool so that should save my little finger muscles…(in case you were concerned;)
I like the braille effect when I run my finger over the surface. I also like to think of the process as paper voodoo or acupuncture for paper…it depends on if I’m feeling vexed or in a healing mood;)
Front lit
You might not see her if you look too quick…but she is there. Look for the eyes.
Back lit
These ladies are a little unruly…I mean ripply…to get these photos I had to tape them to windows and walls. I’m not sure how I would display this work as I’m interested in both the front-lit and the backlit versions.
This work is all still very experimental so anything can happen…But, one idea is to frame them pressed between glass but then I would lose that ripply unruliness that I’ve come to love. Another is to print them up along with all my mixed media lady drawings from this strange pandemic time into a book.
I’m not sure how long that book would be…since this strange time still hangs over our days.
experiments to be continued…
“If I cease searching, then, woe is me, I am lost. That is how I look at it - keep going, keep going come what may.”
PS….If you are not already on my list…Please be sure to send me your email at siobhan@siobhanbedford.com to be added to my VIP list so I can keep you updated as we get closer to the open studio coming September 19 -20.
Ducking out of sight earlier and earlier each day. No amount of knowledge of the how and why of the tilting axis of our spinning world makes much of a difference to me. It seems every evening, I’m still astounded by the shortness of the day. I stretch and yawn thinking to myself “it’s time for bed.” Only to look at the clock and roll my eyes…because it’s not yet eight:)
I’ve been trying but I’ve never learned to love winter. The low light and cold make me want to hide.
In my way, I’ve tried to befriend it. I focus on it as a time of cocooning. Deep thinking in the dark. A time to review the past year. Glean what is worth gleaning. Let go of the rest. Easier said than done. Candles help. Lots of candles.
You may have already heard of Hygge. It’s the Danish idea of staying happy in winter by getting extra cozy indoors. I’ve hung twinkle lights in every room and my fake fire place is surprisingly…really cozy.
Still, as we approach the longest night of the year the darkness feels more and more tangible. Something to hold and consider. Deep and heavy. I’ve been imagining darkness and light as threads that weave together. Stitching our days into years and making the fabric of our lives. Existence of one without the other is impossible. This is a lesson I learn again and again.
I picked this painting to share with you because I thought it would be a good counter point to the Winter Solstice. I started it over a year ago at the height of summer. It definitely has summer’s warmth with its coral orange. Though, at the moment it’s the emanating cool blue light that gets my attention. It reminds me of winter light.
I’ve been searching for a title for the piece. “Luminescent” came to my mind. A light not caused by heat. Something caused by chemical reactions or electrical energy. That idea of light without heat makes for some wintery thought. It seems light itself is more multi-faceted than I imagined. This weaving I’ve been thinking about is infinitely complex.
Tomorrow the light will shift. Its arc will slowly rise bringing with it a new year.
Maybe…I’ll learn to love winter this time around:)
“Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light.
”
Cosmic Lace: Luminescent, oil on canvas, 36” x 36” Available spring of 2020