Quarantine after catching covid-19 lasted a month. Ten days after I was free to leave my house Ontario entered Lockdown Two, with extremely strict stay at home rules. I took this as permission to dig deeper into these pieces.

I made a new ‘ground’ sheet for another set of watercolour drawings, inspired by the two pieces I’d done in December.  The Windsor and Newton silver ink I’d used to soften a strong yellow was attracted to the oil pastel underdrawing lines, bright or dark and broody, depending on the light.

I tore the big sheet up into nine pieces, and started drawing the creamer again. Thrilled with the depth of colours and texture, with how the watercolour paint sat on the surface, and with the effectiveness of the pastel and chalk resists.

One of my curiosities about painting is how light reflects on the surface of the piece – differently, according to the reflective (or non-reflective) qualities of the media I’ve used. I love it when light ‘pulls forward’ parts of a painting while other parts recede. This series of five from the second ‘ground sheet’ is an exploration of that delight.