Creating Neo Deco – 28-12-24

Website link: https://corneakkers.com/neo-deco-28-12-24/
Print: https://corneakkers.com/print-neo-deco-28-12-24/
Printable: https://corneakkers.com/product/printable-neo-deco-28-12-24/

On the Brink of a New Year

This pastel drawing ‘Neo Deco – 28-12-24’ is a test really. At Brugman Art I found this new mix media paper made by Clairfontaine. Sturdy and nice 250g/m2 paper that comes in different colours. Lately I am having fun doing pastels again. That must be have been motivated by last month’s live model drawing sessions held in ‘De Blauwe Tram’. So there I am, on the brink of a new year. All things in due order: a brand new page I built on my website and enough artworks created in December. After a couple of months I picked up oil painting again. My project ‘In Hoc Signo’, based on a drawing under the same name, is waiting for completion. In between I had some spare time to do a little drawing. This is the result.

Need for Speed

Another reason for this pastel drawing was the speed I made last pastels with: within one hour. It made me realize how much fun it is to create a sort of ‘on a whim’. Basically with the same intent I made ‘Neo Deco – 04-11-24’. There is no real innovation in these, only cubist styling I applied. That’s enough for me for the moment. Normally I always striving for incorporating something new. Just like some kind of genetic mutation in each consecutive work. However, not this time. Instead, I tried to feel how this new paper would react to my chalks. Quite nicely I must say.

Green Paper

The paper itself has not an impressive tooth but it clings on pigment particles efficiently nonetheless. My eye felt on the green paper in the block. The result is a bit magical. The female form I forged looks like a green bronze statue. You could say this opens up a lot of new possibilities. Surely not the first time I used paper with color in it but a renewed acquaintance I quite like.

Pastel drawing on Clairfontaine Paint On Mix Media green paper (21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm)
Artist: Corné Akkers