I've been working in pink lately, without really knowing it. Yesterday I was working on that top painting and I stopped and looked around at how much pink I've been making lately. And I felt kind of like hiding it. Now why is that? Pink is one of those colors that has SO many associations, and most of them are sugary sweet and girly childlike, right? But pink is a color I often work with, and I'm really noticing, now that I'm noticing, how much I have always worked with pink. An artist friend once told me emphatically that she DOES NOT WORK IN PINK. I asked her why not because she said it in such a way that it made me think she thought working in pink would be "weak". She couldn't really answer. She just laughed and said she left that to other girls! Hmmm. I feel a show theme coming on involving the maligning of the color pink. In my own case I would have to say pink is versatile and powerful. I don't think what I paint in pink is weak or "girly". But it would be interesting to explore where this bias comes from and how pervasive it is. Any thoughts?
2 comments:
I love the new work. The pink is successful in your work because it's often balanced with some form of neutral, like the brown of the chemex filter or the creamy white of the paper. Those neutrals ground the pink, almost make it 'grow' up and become serious and stoic. I love the combo, the brightness keeps the neutrals from becoming too serious or boring. Keep at it!
Thanks so much Kathryn! I had not thought about how the neutrals balance the pink, but you're right. What choice but to keep going?
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