Pickle Party
Using a combination of acrylic ink, coloured pencil, and primarily oil pastel on MDF board, I created this artwork intending to capture a mundane but important moment. My primary reference was captured by my mother in August of 2022 during a sweltering afternoon spent pickling 25 lbs of cucumbers. Pickle Party is an expression of the love that cooking, especially with my loved ones, carries for me. In cropping the image, a visually engaging composition was created, focusing on the movement and expression of the hands which compounds the ephemeral moment captured. This framing also leads the eye to focus on each detail that builds the image: how light falls on the counter, the warping created by the pickle jar’s glass, how edges overlap or contrast. This piece allowed me to work on balancing detail with varied colour work in less elaborate areas, as well as creating depth and form within skintones.