A gouache study of three pieces of traditional Romanian ceramic ware arranged on a linen cloth. The blue-on-white glazing of the Corund style provided both the primary colour interest and the technical challenge — recording the texture of handmade glaze without making it look like printed pattern.
Each vessel was painted separately before being brought into relationship with the others. The cloth beneath was repainted three times, moving progressively toward a cooler tone that would allow the warm blue of the ceramics to read more clearly.
About the artist
Carmen Badea makes landscapes that are first of all honest and only secondarily beautiful — she is more interested in recording the light as it actually is on a grey Tuesday in November than in selecting subjects that lend themselves to easy pictorial success. The paintings that result have a muted, contemplative quality she considers more truthful than the bright pastoral tradition.
Alongside the oils, she maintains a gouache botanical illustration practice that is more precise and patient than anything else she makes. The two practices feed each other: the broad handling of landscapes loosens the botanical work, while the precision of botanical studies disciplines the landscape painting. She accepts commissions for both.
