Pastel drawing ‘Tenerife Cactus No. 2’ by Sally Trueman
This week’s artwork of the week is a pastel drawing of a cactus by Sally Trueman. It has been beautifully captured by Sally, I’m sure you’ll agree.
This contemporary artwork is on card at 32.5 x 43cm and will require framing. Sally has used fairly muted colours tones, which work perfectly. Green for the cacti and the purple grey for the wall behind.
Here are Sally’s words about her wonderful artwork.
About the Artwork
I spent a month in the winter sketching in the North of Tenerife, where the climate provides the perfect conditions for a diverse range of cactus plants.
The unique shapes and sizes of cacti never fail to fascinate me. Some cacti have tall slender stems that seem to reach for the sky, while others boast round or flattened stems.
Although green is the most common colour, these plants also display surprising blue-green, yellow-green, and even purple hues. Each cactus has a distinctive charm due to its delicate skin, vibrant flowers, and intriguing spines. The way cacti slowly creep and grow into vast columnar or globular shapes creates a mesmerising, semi-abstract pattern.
About the Artist
The garden is my inspiration for my art. I work both in pastel and oil. Pastels require minimal tools, just paper and a stick of pure powdered pigments held together by a binder. I find pastel an extremely tactile medium that sits comfortably between drawing and painting. It’s a good medium to rapidly capture colour and changing light conditions in the garden.
When I paint in oil, I try to capture the luminosity of the garden; I am interested in the texture of the oil paint on the canvas. I like to build up a “heavy” texture, which creates a focus of interest. Thin glazes produce an area of emptiness within the canvas. These glazes allow light to appear to radiate from within the painting.
I frequently scrape and sand down the paint surface, and I then repaint the canvas, the result of subsequent scars on the canvas are crucial to the overall painting and are like calligraphic marks that are inherent markings, just like punctuation is essential to a written page. These marks can be dominant or subtle, depending on the layering of paint and washes. Sometimes, they can be so delicate that they are only faintly visible, veiled under layers of paint. On the other hand, they can be pulsing, defined and palpable in the foreground. Viewers often find my brushwork seductive, and they trail their fingers over the canvas to gently trace faint lines so delicate that they are hardly visible.
QUESTIONS TO THE ARTIST
Firstly, your artwork is stunning. ‘Tenerife Cactus No.2’ was from sketches you made while in Tenerife. Did you complete the artwork there, or on your return to the UK?
During my time in Tenerife, I created several watercolour paintings in a small portrait format using the Fabriano Classic Artist Journal, which is primarily for sketching. Although the paper is too thin for watercolours, I found the sections of white or tinted paper very useful. I also brought a small watercolour landscape format that allowed me to use a double-spread page for a watercolour sketch. To create a neutral tone, I would wipe over the paper with a used tea bag, let it dry, and then paint on top of it. I never paint directly onto white paper; I only draw on it. The Tenerife Cactus painting was done in my studio. I used Canson professional artist sandpaper, which has a fine grain and is abrasive enough to hold pigments without fixatives. I used a tinted dull Naples colour as my middle tonal value and added highlights and shadows, as the sand particles allow the light to reflect, giving the illusion of sunlight and heat.
Are oils and pastels your favourite medium to work with?
Oil and pastel are my favourite medium to work with. Many artists start by painting in the most difficult medium possible and that is watercolour, it is not a forgiving medium and it’s difficult to rectify a mistake. Pastel and oils are my favourite medium. Pastel allows you to almost blow a mistake away and with oil, you simply take a rag and wipe it off.
As well as your garden being your inspiration for your art, what else inspires you?
In the late 1970s, I began my career as a portrait artist. When creating a pastel portrait, I utilised the same technique as I used in “The Tenerife Cactus,” working on tinted sandpaper. I’ve included a portrait that demonstrates how tinted paper greatly facilitates the process of painting middle tones.
How long have you been creating your wonderful artwork?
I have always been interested in art. I love good abstract art, like Rothko stripes. I’m also very interested in raw and naïve art.
I wouldn’t say my art is wonderful, I think that nature is wonderful and how any artist interprets the world around them depends on their sensitivity, intellect and their own personal experiences.
Lastly, will you be creating any further artwork from your time in Tenerife?
No, I won’t be doing any further work from my time in Tenerife. The drawings of cacti kept me busy during the winter months. I am currently busy working with pastels to capture the colours of the garden before the summer is over and the garden goes dormant for another year. This will hopefully keep me occupied in the studio throughout the winter months.
SALLY’S STUDIO
SALLY’S GARDEN
