Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Why pink?

Why do little girls love pink? At three my granddaughter has specific colour preferences and pink is at the top of the list. I am so amazed by this. I've looked back through her history to see if there were specific instances I could connect this choice to, but such subtleties can't be traced. Perhaps it is all the pink that society foists on little girls and we perpetuate the choice without even thinking. I can't say I am that concerned that she loves pink; I have never gotten tied up in stereotyping debates. I think it's because I made my way in life and everything about my upbringing was stereotypical!

In honour of her love of pink I've purchased pink sparkling shoes to go with her princess outfit I'm making for Halloween. I couldn't resist. The cat is out of the bag. Nana loves pink too!
I also created this piece of artwork at the encaustic workshop which will be a Christmas gift for her. She already has four artworks in her collection.

A Fair Balance ( 8 x8 in.) encaustic, paper on board

At the encaustic workshop t here were so many beautiful colours to try out. The hot palette allowed me to create monotypes with the encaustic. This was a natural approach for me with my background in traditional monotype. I drew a design with the encaustic blocks on the hot palette. Of course it melts and blends beautifully and you can never quite predict what the result will be. Then I laid a piece of gossamer silk paper on top and created a monotype. After drying, I attached it to a board that I had previously fixed with watercolour paper. The layers of clear encaustic that completed the piece gave it a muted, watery look. It was very satisfying.

5 comments:

Kim Hambric said...

Your granddaughter is lucky to have such an art collection already. She is sure to treasure it as she grows up. My daughter swears her favorite color is blue, but somehow her closet is full of pink.

M said...

Thanks Kim,
Spending time with Sasha means a world of pink. If you notice in the work I've tried to include a little balance in colour. It was a fun post to write.

M.A. Wakeley said...

Wonderful color you have chosen for this post! Pink is my favorite too. It is less the sweetness of it and more the happy and calm feeling it gives me that makes it so appealing. It is hard for me to do a painting without it. I love your painting. Your granddaughter has fabulous taste.

M said...

Mary Ann,

I know it is your love of pink in all its forms that attracts me to your work.

beauty comma said...

the shoes are precious - i'd quite like buying a pair for myself! i'm sure the halloween outfit will be fantastic. it's also great that you are starting an art collection for your granddaughter.
i'm convinced that pink for girls is a cultural thing. our brains are very perceptive, and if little girls see other girls and women wearing this colour, they will probably perceive it as an identity thing. but i also think that pink has some very good properties because it's got the warmth and the stimulating properties of red without being too exciting!
i can see from the blogs i read that grown-up girls (myself included) also love pink. it's like watching a whole community of women saying: we want to be allowed to be girls again!