Sunday, May 9, 2010

Blue Dancer


The Townsend pastels ("soft form") are very gritty-feeling and fill up the tooth pretty much instantly, but there are some wonderful deep rich blues (I own a handful of Townsends; I use 99% Unisons), and when I can get them to work, they give great results. (The red here was a Unison.)

The previous post's painting was also using Townsend blues. You kind of only get one shot at making it work, because so much pastel immediately comes off the stick into the tooth of the paper. Or at least that's what keeps happening to me. It's beautiful, but very hit-or-miss in terms of success.




Rumi, you're my rock star.




In Munnar. I walked by this and then did a double-take, came back for a photo and a laugh. I felt like I had just passed a live staging of a Thiebaud painting.

These types of "Western" sweets are still pretty rare (and not very good, my apologies if I'm offending someone) ...Indians mostly still go for traditional Indian sweets, which are usually based on solidified dairy with spices. (I, with my chocolate-seeking palate, don't like them at all, much to the bewilderment of The Husband, his relatives, and every other Indian I've ever met.)


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More art on my website: jalapfaff.com

10 comments:

Mona Diane Conner said...

Blue Dancer is gorgeous!

Gwen Bell said...

Love this, Jala! The thumbnail popped right off my blog and I couldn't get here fast enough to see the large post. I could tell it had great movement and grace. Great colors and title

Anonymous said...

Rumi is a rock star and you rock the world of pastel abstracts. Seriously, your prolific series is giving my eyes a new way of searching for composition and color relationships.

I think Thiebaud did a New Yorker cover a year or two ago of confections that looked like your photo, but without the cardboard and plastic housings.

Pam Holnback said...

I love this dancer! Great bold colors.

Yellow said...

I love it but find it sinister in an understaded way.

Jala Pfaff said...

Mona, Gwen, Pam, Bonnie, Yellow - Thank you.
Yellow, sinister? Interesting!
Bonnie, maybe he looks like such a rock star because he dresses like Elvis?

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

The cakes DO look like a Thiebaud still life!

Love the boldness of the dancer. I also favor Unisons but I also have a beautiful collection of pastels I have made myself -- the ultramarines glow with dark color and no grit.

This is definitely a HIT, no missing that I can tell.

loriann signori said...

Jala, the colors are so vibrant they jump off the screen!

Brian McGurgan said...

Yes, lots of vibration here! Beautiful color, Jala. I've got a small number of Townsend terrages, too, and am always surprised by how thick and heavy the color goes on - especially because they feel a little case-hardened and scratchy to me...

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Rumi's cuteness factor is off the charts!!
Love your work and the Indian cakes are so pretty.
Regional taste anecdote: A German friend sent us an entire box of Marzipan candy. It was SO BEAUTIFUL but yuck. We don't have the taste for it!!