On the 29th of September, we had Michael Ward posing in his suit of armour as our contribution to Cultural Days. Since we last had him seated (see my June 2018 blog with the multimedia version), we had him stand this time. This is pretty impressive- posing for three hours in 300 pounds of armour! Since I did not have easy access to water or electrical power as we were working outside under a canopy in the plaza, this time I worked in pastels on pastel paper. You will see that I am wearing gloves." Pastels" sounds so "safe" but, because they are very concentrated pigments, they can actually be toxic, No blowing so as not to inhale particles and the gloves are to prevent skin ingestion. You might recognize that they are gardening gloves with a nice breathable back so that they are much more comfortable to wear than latex gloves. Latex gloves can be problematic too as particles from them can go into the air when they are snapped on and off. Art is enjoyable but it is well to be cautious about how you handle materials.
Michael enjoyed watching the reaction of little kids passing by - they could hardly believe what they were seeing! ...and then the parents were trying to explain it to them... I could, with the pastel that I did and the reference photo I took, make a finished painting- but it is not likely I'll do one unless someone commissions one. This pastel will take up less room than a canvas!
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