You know me. I love a story driven by process, and Canadian painter Aleksandra Rdest‘s is a good one. Recently compelled to find a less toxic medium with which to work, Aleksandra’s creativity as a painter has been pushed to new limits and soared to new heights through the beauty of experimentation. Redeeming a technique that has existed for centuries {in fact, samples from the 1st century still exist}, Rdest chose egg-based tempura painting as her new, non-toxic medium of choice. The result is a group of very modern paintings created using a truly old-world, classical technique.

I studied tempura painting in my art history classes, but I had forgotten one very important detail in the years that have passed: it is only the yolk of the egg that is used to create the paint. As such, the artist has a deep yellow base from which to start creating their colours. This is not so problematic for producing golds and greens, but it provides significant challenge for creating true and clear blues and purples.

Aleksandra seems to have overcome this hurdle with grace and ease, though she says she is still working to refine her colour formulas.

The fast-drying nature of the egg-based tempura seems to suit the graphic, almost photo-negative aesthetic of Rdest’s paintings. I am very excited to see where this new technique will lead her work.

Aleksandra’s process makes me wondered what old world technique or handcraft – discarded in our age of technology and “all things new” – needs to be revived or reconsidered. Sometimes the new way isn’t in fact the best way, and I love that her passion for living a toxin-free life drove her to redeem this all-but-lost artform.

What discarded way of doing things could you redeem and make new today?

xo
s.