I’ve just done something I don’t remember ever doing before. I have abandoned a picture after a relatively short period of struggle with it, simply on the basis that I came to hate the paper I had chosen to use. Normally I relish the experience of adapting to different surfaces, but on this occasion the effort seemed to be wasted. I found myself in a constant struggle against the paper, and with no feeling that I was finding aspects of it that could be exploited to good effect.
The paper I had used on the previous piece I completed was one I have rarely used before, namely something called “Mi-Teintes Touch”, produced by the well-known manufacturer of paper for pastellists, Canson. It felt like a dream, and from the moment I began working with it I can say that I was enjoying the way in which the pastel responded to the surface. I would have used the same material for this new effort, but sadly I didn’t have another suitable sheet. So, I fell back on the standard paper made by the same company, namely a variety they call simply “Mi-teintes”. I have used it quite a lot in the past, particularly in the early days of my working as an artist, although not recently, but on this particular occasion the task felt like an up-hill struggle from the outset. Absolutely nothing seemed to work in the way I wanted. So: I have thrown in the towel, and I’ll make another attempt at the same subject (which I do like) when I can find a more congenial support.
There are several possible explanations for this experience, the most likely one being that my manner of working has changed over time, and techniques with which I was comfortable as a beginner no longer suit me.
The lesson is probably a salutary one, because I do know that in the past there have been occasions on which I have soldiered on with a piece despite the difficulties I have encountered, determined to make things come right in the end. Now I realise that there can be combinations of materials, support, subject-matter and technique which simply do not work …. and perhaps cannot be made to work. It appears that the old adage, that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is not inevitably true. At least, I hope so.