Painting With Nature
Words by Willow Glovermain and images by Rosa Scipion.
How long have you been painting and when did you first start experimenting with earth and plants within your art?
Nature has always been the foundation of inspiration for my art and over the years I have experimented with many of her forms to create. Formerly I studied Fashion Design and Development at LCF and as a nature lover nestled in such a consumerist industry, I was constantly searching for ways to make my clothes and the entire process sustainable. This lead to the investigation of dying organic fabrics with plant and natural matter. Making inks to paint with and dye baths is a similar process, the only variation is the volume.
It wasn’t until I ‘visited’ Ibiza and left my studio behind during lockdown, that I looked to my new environment - being the arid rocky land that makes up our beautiful island (in this moment it was summer) and I instantly fell in love with the new colour palette surrounding me.
The meditative process of collecting earth to make pigment paints and foraging in general is really what helped get me through covid. There is a direct correlation between spending your time in nature and being in contact with soil and the microbiome that have been proven to be so beneficial to our mental and physical health. I feel it is so necessary to share these simple and free techniques.
This is how cottærth was birthed.
How do you incorporate these elements of nature? What techniques do you use to create paint from them?
The process starts with foraging, many pigments have a beautiful colour but are too porous to paint with on paper (although these I still use directly on my skin!) and other rocks are simply too hard to pestle and mortar into a fine powder.
I sift and grind the Earth and simply experiment with mediums such as oil, vinegar, water and egg whites to create paints, every time is different as my style is quite intuitive and I never measure. My favourite way to play with mineral paint is with my fingers and using my body directly as the canvas. I really believe the combination of art and nature is pure liberating therapy.
Which plants do you most commonly use?
This totally depends on what I can find around me, what’s in season; for example canary prickly pear creates a similar tone to beetroot and is readily available in Ibiza too so I would always opt for what I can forage or what will be waste over buying. Recently I have been experimenting with pine for dying material as we have so many on the island and it is an invasive species!
I love the variation of colours you can get from algae and it brings such an intimate connection to the sea for me. Spirulina for example, gives the most vibrant greens and blues.. however I’ve not made this myself yet. A spirulina face mask brings so many benefits too!
There is however a parasite name Cochineal which is found on the prickly pear cactus, Opuntia engelmanii. This bug infest our islands cacti and throughout history have been used as a rich red dye once plucked and dehydrated. I would be interested in exploring this as a colour fast dying option.
In what ways to you feel connected to nature as you work with the elements - how do you feel this is reflected through the art you create?
The colours I use are a direct reflection of combinations I see together in nature from landscapes and plants. Generally I find the textures and colours I am drawn to, in both my art, also my style and homeware is very earthy so I guess I am being subtly inspired daily.
The act of painting with nature for me is the essence of the cycle of life. We flow constantly with the elements, evolving and changing daily. I love that nothing is permanent and I see this mirrored in the art I create. The colours will inevitably fade with time but an imprint will last forever. It gives me joy knowing each piece I make, whether it’s painting or clothes, will evolve, age and end its journey back where it started, back in the earth.
Are there physical benefits to playing and painting with nature? How have you personally felt these benefits?
There are numerous studies showing the benefits of submersing in our natural world. It’s in our innate nature to be in harmony with pachamama. I feel very lucky to have found this style of connection and to live on an island so abundant in the wild elements all year round. I almost always take my paints to a little calla or cave, it feels the most natural environment for them to be used, messy, wild and free!
So this beautiful process takes me out into nature in many ways and I feel it totally relaxes the nervous system! In Japan ‘forest bathing’ is now a prescribed treatment for minor mental health issues, which is where you literally go to the forest and sit amongst the trees. In its simplest form, earthing or grounding is a way of reconnecting to the earth's energy. This connection can be made freely by walking barefoot on the earth. I think this works with any natural environment.
How can women try plant-based painting? Is there a good way to start looking for ingredients around you?
My biggest advice is to drop the idea that we have to make a piece and simply allow play. You need nothing but your hands.. Experiment with placing different coloured rocks together.. maybe give them a little scratch on a surface to see how the trace they leave differs. Really it’s more about the interaction, your style will come slowly and the desire to research methods will follow.
Thank you so much for your questions and the opportunity to consider my own work - it has been thought provoking and inspiring. For any ladies based in Ibiza that are interested in diving in a deeper way creatively with nature, I will be holding regular Earth pigment lead workshops where we play with the elements and our feminine form.
LOTS OF LOVEEEE XX