Category Archives: Creative Process
Q: What’s on the easel today?
Work in progress
A: Amidst the noisy construction happening next door, I continue slowly working on “Jokester” (tentative title), soft pastel on sandpaper, 58” x 38.” I’ve just begun to add stripes into the shirt.
It is the fifteenth piece in the “Bolivianos” series. Read more about this work at https://barbararachko.art/en/paintings/bolivianos
Comments are welcome!
Q: What’s on the easel today?
Finished and signed lower left
A: At last! I’ve finished and signed “Trickster,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20.”
Comments are welcome!
Q: What’s on the easel today?
Work in progress
A: I continue working on a large 58” x 38” pastel painting tentatively called, “Jokester.”
Comments are welcome!
Q: What’s on the easel today?
Work in progress
A: Progress is slower than usual during the current pandemic lockdown. I continue working on “Trickster,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 26” x 20.”
Comments are welcome!
Q: Travel is an essential aspect of your work. How do you decide where to travel next?
In the Bolivian Andes at about 14,000’
A: Generally, I am most interested in exploring Mexico and destinations in Central and South American because they offer endless inspiration to further my work. I’m not exactly certain why this is the case. I DO know that I cannot get enough of travel to points south!
My 2017 trip to Bolivia proved to be crucial for my current pastel painting series. “Bolivianos” is based on an exhibition of Carnival masks encountered at the National Museum of Ethnology and Folklore in La Paz.
I had high hopes of making a return visit – along with a private tour guide – last February. However, since President Moreno resigned last November, much political instability, violence, and turmoil resulted. I would not have felt safe traveling to Oruro to see Carnival celebrations this year.
In the mean time I look forward to traveling to Chile, the Atacama Desert, and Easter Island next winter!
Comnents are welcome!
Pearls from artists* # 397
“Prophecy,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 58″ x 38″
* an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
Our species requires a greater capacity to see into the Real, not just the outer universe of the senses but also the inner cosmos of the psyche, the normally invisible dimensions. Near the end of his life, Jung said to an English journalist, “The only real danger that exists is man himself… His psyche should be studied because we are the origin of all coming evil.” It is a beautiful statement until the word studied comes up, at which point we are reminded that Jung at bottom was a rationalist: he refused to see that while psychology could talk brilliantly about the soul, it could never descend into its depths. For this we need imagination, madness, prophecy – art. We must understand that creative expression is not a pastime or distraction, but a psychonautic science in its own right. Allowed to operate in freedom, it can illuminate the darkness beyond our field of vision.
J.F. Martel in Reclaiming Art in the Age of Artifice: A Treatise, Critique, and Call to Action
Comments are welcome!
Q: What’s on the easel today?
Work in progress
A: For nearly two weeks this pastel painting, “Majordomo,” has been on “pause” due to the corona virus. I’m able to work on it now sporadically.
Comments are welcome!
Start/Finish of “Avenger,” Soft Pastel on Sandpaper, 58″ x 38″
Start
Finished and signed lower right
Comments are welcome!
Q: What do you enjoy most about being an artist?
With “Majordomo,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 20” x 26”
A: This is a question I enjoy revisiting every so often because life as an artist does not get easier; just the opposite, in fact. Visual artists tend to be “one man bands.” We do it all notwithstanding the fact that everything gets harder as we get older. So it’s good to be reminded about what makes all the sacrifice and hard work worthwhile.
There are so many things to enjoy! I make my own schedule, set my own tasks, and follow new interests wherever they may lead. I am curious about everything and am rarely bored. I continually push my pastel technique and strive to become a better artist. There is still so much to learn!
My relationship with collectors is another perk. I love to see pastel paintings hanging on collectors’ walls, especially when they’re newly installed and the owners are excited to take possession. This means that the piece has found a good home, that years of hard work have come full circle! And it’s often the start of a long friendship. After living with my pastel paintings for years, collectors tell me they see new details never noticed before and they appreciate the work more than ever. It’s extremely gratifying to have built a network of supportive art-loving friends around the country. I’m sure most artists would say the same!
Comments are welcome!
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