Lagoon at Twilight (Fore and Aft) by Julie Ketcham, MN 2005
8.5" x 11"
Artists Note: This picture has metamorphasized over a couple of months. When it began, it was
a clean slate of brayered soft greens and blues with no scenery, no mood and no "place". As the
Stampscapes trees, rocks, reeds, wildlife and water were added initially, the scenery began to
come to life, but without dimensions; there was a place, but there was still not a "feel". So
layering began. First, dye inks were added by sponges and applicators to soften and deepen the
water and sky. Then pigments were sponged and applied to add dimensions and depth overall,
metallic markers to add depth and shimmer to the water, chalk and pastel pencils to add "substance"
to the water and treeline, and chalk, dye and pigment inks to the sky were added to create an
aura of mystery and mood (and fog). Finally, gel pens were added to create the movement in the
water. But when all this was done, it just didn't "feel" like a place I wanted to go. I added
shadowed trees in the "fog" along the tree line but softened them so they were less "bulky";
and sharpened reeds in the front to create more depth and distance, but it still didn't feel
right. It was too "surreal"somehow. So oil pencils were used over the entire piece to bring
the water to glowing life, and create a lightness to the dusk skyline and dimension to the clouds,
and create that alive, still, totally private cove that is less "dark" somehow. This, although
artistically not a "polished" piece, is now more a place I would love to be; mysterious but not
eerie; magical but not dark. I have enjoyed going there over the last couple months and watching
it change, grow and expand, through the layers. It was always a refuge of tranquility and utter stillness,
but it has grown into a place of hope. -Julie Ketcham 10-21-05
