Rebecca Ledger

Watercolor and pencil

This year my inspiration came from what was close at hand — the garden, the forest path, and the natural treasures brought into the home. All of my paintings were imbued with a sense of appreciation and gratitude for the simple moments of beauty we encounter every day.

As summer reached its zenith, the embers of my curiosity were unexpectedly stoked when I stumbled upon black watercolor paper in an art supply catalogue. I had had a few visions that could do with a deeply saturated backdrop. At first I struggled to re-envision my painting process. Determined as I was, I decided to choose a very simple subject that caught my fancy — a Bing cherry — to study and to work out my technique. Things began to gel and each subsequent painting became easier, until it was almost as if I was sculpting the light around shapes that were emerging from the shadows. It was at that point that I realized that I gravitated to black paper for the same reason that I appreciate Rembrandt paintings: the glow of light that counterbalances the saturated shadows, the hint of mystery that contrasts focused brilliance.