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Cath Duncan Art Copyright 2020

Research into Protective Coatings For Artwork

A final protective coat is so important for the longevity of artworks. There are so many options these days for works on paper, as well as works on canvas, wood, or other surfaces where vulnerable mediums like water-based, chalk-based, mixed media, charcoal, etc have been used.

Choosing your finish is pretty technical … use the wrong one and you may smudge the charcoal or the water-based medium may bleed… a disaster on a piece that was finished and looking beautiful before you applied the protective coat!

One of my sticking points this past year has been a new-to-me feeling of dissatisfaction with canvas as a surface. I’ve been feeling drawn to surfaces that feel more natural, textured, “imperfect”, absorbent, “alive”, like wood and papers. In comparison, canvas feels manufactured, almost plastic, dead.

My son is home from school today so we did some art-making together. I did these simplifying landscape practices (Use 3 mediums and just 3 marks to draw the landscape), while he did his own thing.

I love the colours I found in St Ives… silver and yellow ragwort, soft sands, warm rusts, sages, aquas, cool greys, and deep browns.

These studies I created today are an initial exploration of the colours and I’m also noodling over the mediums I want to use too… I’ve used acrylic inks, coloured charcoal, water-based pastels, and oil sticks for these studies.

If you’ve been reading my newsletters, you’ll know that I’ve been doing a lot of experimenting, learning, reflecting, and writing this year, following a soft yet persistent whisper that’s been calling me to learn the things I need to learn so I can make the art that my soul wants to make. The thing is, despite a lot of art-making and a lot of learning this year, the art I’ve made has been all over the show, I haven’t made much art that I love, and I haven’t had the foggiest idea what this “art that my soul wants to make” looks like!

Our hike and swim at Nanjizal Beach, Cornwall is still on my mind and inspiring me creatively as I continue to look for ways to express what it meant to me.

These prices were made using scraps of the cards that I do colour and drawing tool testing on while I’m creating art. They’re a fun way to explore abstract compositions, and notice unconscious marks I make.

One of the wonderful ways that a daily art practice helps me grow is that with regular art-making it's easier to notice if you have habitual ways of doing things. Of course, when you notice a habit - just as in life - you always get to decide for yourself whether you enjoy the habit and feel it serves you, or whether you'd like to expand your comfort zone and change up that habit.

One of the wonderful ways that a daily art practice helps me grow is that with regular art-making it's easier to notice if you have habitual ways of doing things. Of course, when you notice a habit - just as in life - you always get to decide for yourself whether you enjoy the habit and feel it serves you, or whether you'd like to expand your comfort zone and change up that habit.

I was so surprised by all the vibrant oranges and violets of Cornwall wild flora… Bell Heather, Devils Gut, Mossy Stonecrop, Lichen, and more.

Another sketchbook practice session, inspired by our hike from Porthgwara Beach to Nanjizel Beach in Cornwall. I’m experimenting with a lot of different mediums and also surfaces.

We hiked the most spectacular route today… Porthgwarra Beach to Nanjizal, and the “Song of the Sea” Cave. The colours! The textures! The smells!

A generous teacher (Sam Boughton), wonderful classmates, an inspiring landscape, and wet, moody Cornwall weathet that behaved well enough that we could still play outdoors. I loved the simplicity, power, and beyond-control-fluidity of the ink. So much fun!

This year I’ve been holding the creative tension of, on the one hand really enjoying doing a lot of experimenting and learning and trying new things, and on the other hand, longing to land on a creative approach or process or focus that feels like “home”. Like it fits the shape of my soul and I can fully rest there and go deep for a long while.

I love to work in layers, and I really enjoy the richness that evolves out of a layered process. There’s a lovely sense of a story building, and it’s always interesting to see which parts of the early story endure, and which parts fade into the background as new elements are added.

As I’ve been embracing more intuitive ways of creating that begin with no plan, I’ve been taking photos of my artworks as they develop. I’m curious to look back and see their evolution. And mine!