"Paths I Have Walked", pastel, 16" x 28" © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Paths I Have Walked, Pastel

Paths I Have Walked, Pastel is 16″ x 28″ in soft pastel on 2-ply acid-free natural illustration board. The original and prints on paper and canvas are available.



ABOUT THE ARTWORK

This painting was the featured art for 2016: Sun Shadow Ice & Snow, Seasons on the Panhandle Trail and depicts me walking through a favorite section of the woods along the trail where the sycamores and maples grow straight up toward the sky from the flood plain and it feels like a green cathedral.

I’ve never done a self-portrait of any sort. At my first Panhandle Trail exhibit in 2014 I set the standard for exhibits to follow by walking through the woods to Robinson Run to get water for my big enamel cooking pot and walking back gathering wildflowers for my display. I don’t usually think of myself as a subject in my landscapes but liked the idea of myself walking along a familiar path dressed to meet the public in my festival clothes, carrying flowers and a bucket of water. Because I have so few photos of me and find I both like to see them and need to use them in promotions, I asked a friend to photograph me in this activity after the show. They quickly became some of my favorite photos, and I’d always wanted to do a painting or two from them. I have never been the subject of one of my paintings, but kept visualizing this painting, especially when I had come into a really beautiful vintage frame that would be perfect for my idea. I added touches of different gold finishes to the details of the frame and it all came together.

A decade ago I called my first poetry ready “Paths I Have Walked” because so much of the inspiration for my poetry, other writing art and photography came from finding paths all over the hills and valleys where I grew up and following them wherever they led, and also following some other paths out of this place, giving me experience and a perspective. I had used this title on my 2011 poetry book using Dusk in the Woods on the cover. When I cast about for a title for this painting it came to mind fairly quickly; I also have future plans to set up my writing website and I’d planned to use one of the photos from the series of me in the woods so it all ties in together. I will write more later about the symbolism of this piece in my life today, but for now I will just say it feels entirely suitable. I have the feeling we will be seeing much more of this painting, and though I feel a little self-conscious that it’s kind of a self-portrait I’m glad I’ve finally appeared in my own art. Somehow that becomes necessary after time.

SHIPPING

Shipping within the US is included in all the prices listed. All shipping is via Priority Mail. Prints are shipped flat in a rigid envelope. Canvases are shipped in a box to fit with padding. Since this original is small it is also shipped in a box with extra padding.

FRAMED ORIGINAL

The frame is 24″ x 36″ solid wood with a detailed carved finish to which I added a gold wash and a green gold wash. The mat is 4″ wide, soft yellow-green flecked with a black core.

GICLEE PRINTS

The giclees are printed on acid-free hot press art paper for a smooth matte finish using archival inks. Giclee is the highest quality print available because the technique uses a dozen or more ink ports to capture all the nuances of the original painting, including details of the texture, far more sensitive than any other printing medium. Sometimes my giclees look so much like my originals that even I have a difficult time telling them apart when they are in frames.

I don’t keep giclee prints in stock for most of my works. Usually I have giclees printed as they are ordered unless I have an exhibit where I’ll be selling a particular print so there is a wait of up to two weeks before receipt of your print to allow for time to print and ship.

DIGITAL PRINTS

Digital prints are made on acid-free matte-finish natural white 100# cover using archival digital inks. While digital prints are not the quality of a giclee in capturing every nuance and detail of color, texture and shading, I am still very pleased with the outcome and usually only I as the artist, could tell where detail and color were not as sharp as the original.

The giclees have 2″ of white around the outside edges. The 5″ x 7″ and 8″ x 10″ digital prints are centered on 8.5″ x 11″ digital cover while the 11″ x 14″ has 1″ around the edges because the digital paper is 12″ wide. All are countersigned by me.

CANVAS PRINTS

I usually have at least one of the smaller sizes of canvases on hand, but order larger ones as they are ordered here because customers often want a custom size. Smaller canvases are a 3/4″ in depth, Canvases 12 x 16 and larger are 1-1/2″ in depth. I set them up so the image runs from edge to edge, then the sides are black or white or sometimes I slip in a color that coordinates with the painting. This canvas is black on the sides.