Swaddled | Pastel Art » Angela DiGiovanni

More and more I’m realizing what an outlet art is for me. It calms me down, takes me into another world where I’m focused and undistracted, and melts stress away. Last night I was in the thick of stress and frustration, so I stopped what I was doing, got cozy on the couch and whipped this woman and her baby out. Typically when I sit down to create a piece of art, I have no intentions. I let my hands and mind go free to intuitively create when I’m in this mode of needing to de-stress. I love to see what transpires, what is buried in my heart and mind. My work always tells me a story, and reveals something about myself… what I long for, what I’m feeling, angst I didn’t know was there, love I didn’t know was there. I love this process.

I named this piece ‘Swaddled’. The woman is swaddled in her black tunic, and she is likewise swaddling her baby in the black blanket (or maybe in her own tunic?). She is resting peacefully on a rug, sitting on her knees, enjoying the serenity of holding her baby. She looks up to find someone looking upon them, and she pulls her progeny closer to her chest. Vines of life grow behind them.

This was done in all pastels. Normally I mix a lot of media together, but sometimes that can feel overwhelming with too many choices to incorporate. Last night I just wanted a simple release of whatever was stirring in my heart. Painting a piece this size (9×12) normally takes me two to four hours, but this all bled out of me in about 40 minutes.

Besides creating an art piece, I equally love digitally manipulating my work once it’s done, to create a variation, or something entirely new.

This is probably my favorite variation. I’m a sucker for anything monochrome, black and white, or sepia. The bokeh lights look golden and make her look gypsy-like.