Mylinda Farr — Scattered Native Florets 1, Pencil Bloom Series — ArtCentre of Plano

2024, Pencil and acrylic on 300 lb paper, 22x30x.1 in. To describe my “Pencil Blooms” series of art, I begin by pressing graphite onto paper using quick, deliberate and short pencil strokes that dance in and out to form flowers that bloom large. Paper, to me, is a surface I relish with its crisp, clean and familiar feel. Pencil is nostalgic as it premiered in my elementary school art drawings. Inside this humble grayness, I proceed, finding a calmness while I aim my brush, filled with saturated ink colors, almost to the edge of each line. Grace is always embraced when the paint touches the line or even goes outside the line as I feel it adds movement and softness. I am always left surprised as my incidental paint strokes push out unique shapes of color while simultaneously revealing the negative space between the marks of graphite and color. Color now becomes the star as the penciled floral skeleton yields its supporting role. Through this series, I communicate a plant’s blossom as a delicate yet confident and modern beauty.