Pastels

The two pieces have been created specially for II International Biennial Pastel Exhibition in Nowy Sącz in Poland which opens on 15th October 2004. Work will travel for the following 2 years in Poland, Slovakia, Netherlands and Italy together with other artists’ paintings from all over the world which have been selected by the judges especially for this exhibition in mind. 

For more detail of the exhibition contact www.mbwa.mnet.pl

1st piece - The idea for ‘The Labyrinth’ has developed when thinking about life and how complex it can be for some people through events and their personal experiences. In my thoughts, I saw images of intricate geometrical mechanical shapes marking out different routes and directions. An intuitive feeling has emerged that life reminds me of a maze full of events that everyone has to experience and go through in order to live a full life. Sometimes, we have a choice which direction to go, and sometimes the destiny selects for us the next step in life.

The composition together with square shapes has been carefully selected to impose those directions which tend to lead the viewer beyond the outside of the format to emphasise that life is a cycle which runs beyond our expectations. 

The colourful rainbow effect is the reflection of happiness, which we experience during our existence. The Broken into powder pastels have a symbolic meaning that human destiny is to be born, to perish and to turn to ash.

2nd piece - ‘The Two Worlds’ is a reflection of my own life route. Having been born in Poland and living permanently in England, I feel that my private world and my personality have been enriched by two interlacing different cultures. The large wheel symbolises the larger part of my life spent in England. It is visibly connected to the smaller one which indicates permanent and very close contact with Poland. 

I tried to match colours very carefully: red tones to express positive experiences in life, and blues for its negative moments.

Just a few words about creating work: The moist paper is applied to board as well as covered with dry pastels. After drying, pastels are fixed. Each piece takes at least approximately a week to dry to obtain the final form. 

To see more of my pastel work, click here

Mono printing

Mono printing is a process whereby only one print is pulled from the printing plate using printing inks or paints. This process has been practiced for many years by famous artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Escher and many more. The process involves making ‘one of a kind’ print by manipulating paints on a non-porous surface and transferring them to paper stock. No two prints are exactly alike, but a related series of images can be created - an added benefit of the mono print. 

There are many different techniques applied to achieve a mono print: drawing directly onto the printing plate then taking a print; drawing on the back of sheet after it has been placed onto inked surface; rolling out different colours onto plate and taking a print; using stencils, stamps or objects, using different printing surfaces, inks and paints. 

The list is endless depending on your imagination and availability of resources. The series of mono prints representing female faces was created by using press print board and interesting paint effects - metallic, acrylic matt as well as gloss. All paints were applied directly onto etched board and different coloured paper. This needs to be carried out with speed as the paints dry quickly. 

To see more of my Mono prints, click here

Batik

Batik is an ancient Indonesian tradition of using wax and dye to decorate fabric. The word batik originates from the Javanese ‘tik’ and means to dot. Contemporary batik while owing much to the past is diverse from the more traditional and formal styles and creating methods. 

When working in batik technique different papers are used instead of fabric. However, paper is much more difficult to work in batik than fabric - it rips more easily. Selected areas on the paper are blocked out by brushing or drawing hot wax over them and sometimes wax crayons or masking fluid are used to create different effects. The parts covered in wax resist the dyes and inks, and therefore remain the original colour of the paper. After dyeing the work travels onto ironing board where it receives the final touches and shape as the wax is being removed by ironing it.

This technique is mostly preferred by me because of its unique qualities and each piece becomes individual in its own right. I recommend looking at the series of poppies produced by the same technique. 

Despite the subject being the same, they have been created on different papers and in larger format to underline attractiveness of this technique.

To see more of my Batik work, click here

Watercolours

Watercolours have evolved through teaching the subject at Adult Educating classes where I often demonstrated various techniques in this media. This has evoked my own curiosity to communicate through this media and I begun to realise that it is the most exciting and expressive media to work with as it is thought provoking and often produces unpredictable and surprising results. For me, this surprise element of watercolors makes it the most challenging medium which maintains my interest and motivation to experiment with. 

As well as being a demanding medium, it requires precision, good observation and planning skills which engages with quick results and lacking complete control .The soft, flowing, complex or random effects possible with wet in wet techniques are the signature of the watercolor medium and the key to many great watercolor paintings.

I have moved from the accepted definition of watercolors into the area of mixed media which opens up a huge new range of possibilities. I conduct experiments by applying varies techniques which include watercolors and inks, oil and soft pastels, wax resist and masking fluid methods, which make it the most addictive forms of expression. The process of masking and working in reverse, building up, altering, editing, scratching out and rebuilding allows a painting to develop a life and energy of its own so that the painting gradually comes to life.

To see more of my watercolour work, click here

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