Money was short and Ruth had to make the best of what materials were to hand. Piper’s work would be a source of inspiration at this time, as she learns his unrestricted use of mixed media. Ruth said, “Mixed emulsion and oil – they said you couldn’t, but I mixed them together.” Applying the paint had been another problem, as she had no brushes, other than Derek’s cast-offs, so again she made the most of what was around her and with the broken stems of the goldenrod, growing in the garden, she brushed and scratched and smeared the paints onto the paper, which was often thin and of very poor quality.
This new series was based around the forest fires of the early 1960s.
Burning forest
Watercolour and Indian ink on paper
58.5 x 46 cm
Ref: DSC 0410