As Simple as a Bubble - Pastel Artwork 2021

This piece was inspired by the simplicity, yet pure joy of bubbles.

The freedom they represent as they bounce around in the wind, the innocent laughter from the children, the amazing array of colours. They only hold a rainbow of colour for a few seconds before they disappear. Even though it is swift, those few fleeting moments were worth it.

This piece reminds you to pause….relax…..and take in life at that moment. Life is too short. Live life in freedom and in the rainbow before it is too late.

Acrylic and Pastels 2021

About the Artist

Stacey Bennett is an award-winning pastel and charcoal artist from Jimboomba, QLD, Australia. She immerses herself in the primal act of creating, using music to help her tap into the heart of her subject. Contrasting colours and tones, feature heavily in her work. Her portraits are bold, expressive and empowering while her landscapes are moody and uplifting.

Learn more about the artist

Awards and Exhibitions

“As Simple as a Bubble” was exhibited at the Quota Jimboomba Art Show 2021 where it was voted and awarded the People’s Choice Award winner.

How As Simple as a Bubble was created

The materials

Black acrylic paint and water
Paintbrush
Faber-Castell pitt pastel pencils
Rembrandt soft pastels
PanPastels
Clairefontaine Pastelmat Paper

The Process

As you can see from the compare image slider below, the original reference photo was of my son blowing a dandelion, not bubbles. I chose to use this photo because I liked the way I had captured his face. This happens sometimes, where I may use a series of different reference photos combined to achieve my desired end result.

I knew I wanted this artwork to be a mixture of realism and expressive abstractism. To help achieve this I used a variety of colours for his skin. Many people have commented that the colours look like the reflection of bubbles on his skin.

At first, I had not planned for this piece to be on a black background. It was only about halfway through I decided to experiment with a black acrylic wash. My biggest concern was whether the paint would be “streaky” and if it would retain the tooth of the paper to take on the pastels.

However, after two coats the paint dried well and was still able to take several layers of pastels.

Work in progress video

The bubbles were created randomly and I used a generic reference photo to help understand the colour and structure. Take a look a the time-lapse video below to see how I created the bubbles.