mardell rampton

Mardell’s paintings made with cloth, evoking serenity and peace, are an offering to you, to create and hold a space for sanctuary in a world in hyperdrive: more: faster: shinier: bigger, it’s hard to find space or time to retreat from the noise, the distractions, to find a place of quiet where we can step outside the constant stimuli. The paintings use cloth as a way of evoking calming sensations in your mind and body. The blue and grey colours here on Canada’s West Coast are vividly intense on a summer day, misty and muted during the long rainy winter - and are a natural fit to embody these qualities. The fluid linear patterns created during the composition of the artwork create a quiet and grounding rhythm. They invite you to slow down into a relaxing and restorative tranquility. The paintings are created from cotton cloth Mardell paints using a series of intricate processes. It begins with fixatives to help the pigment bond with the cloth. Japanese seaweed is used to thicken dye paints. Mark making tools ranging from twigs to paintbrushes create texture and movement as the dye paint is applied to the cloth. Finally the cloth rests for 24 hours while the chemical bonding of dye particles to cloth completes. Mardell uses just one single form, the rectangle, to compose the work. The rigid construct of the rectangle is softened thru the use of cloth, thru the organic shaping of each ‘rectangle’ and the slow intuitive marks of the hand. Thread is applied first with her domestic sewing machine and then stitched by hand to create varieties of texture, telling a quiet story with light and motion across the surface of the painting. Each painting is mounted on it’s own stunning custom metal frame designed by Mardell to elevate and enhance the art.