Autumn vibes

A detail of “Victoria Park Market”, Sennelier oil pastel on paper by Mary Cinque

I have to admit that I’ve never given much thought about Autumn. To me it’s the transitional season par excellence.

I live for Summer and Spring and I find Winter fun, if I think about Christmas decorations and lighting (not the food, I hate almost every single Italian Christmas dish!) and the occasional snow. But Autumn…Autumn usually comes and goes unnoticed, especially here, on the Amalfi Coast, where Summer has a very long tail (people would still go to the beach if it was allowed, in these days).

A detail of “Victoria Park Market”, Sennelier oil pastel on paper by Mary Cinque

So I was very grateful when I was commissioned a portrait of a couple, set in Victoria Park Sunday Market, and the brief was: “Autumn or Winter vibes”. I jumped on the occasion of doing something new. I almost always do. I like new things, and although I am petrified at the prospect of failure, I also try to remember that every time I try something new, I learn something new (it can also be learning new ways of failing, ha ha). I would learn something new about myself or about a new technique. In fact, the very Sennelier Oil pastels that are my main tool today, only few years ago were something very new and far from my practice, but then someone suggested I should give it a go and here we are know. But this makes for another story.

A detail of “Victoria Park Market”, Sennelier oil pastel on paper by Mary Cinque

Back to our Autumn-feel market portrait. I thought that Sennelier oil pastels would have been great to render a cozy, warm, autumnal atmosphere. So I started covering almost the entire piece of Claire Fontaine Paint’on paper with a warm yellow and then built the entire scene from there. Having a yellow background made sure the final scene wouldn’t look too dark and gloomy, as I wanted it to look like the couple (and the people looking at it) would feel like being immersed in a warm, golden, cozy cocoon. At least that’s what I feel when I stroll in a market; which is a relatively new pleasure to me. I just started doing it when I moved to London in 2017 and my boyfriend started working at Ottolenghi Islington restaurant. My boyfriend is an Art Historian and a very curious person, he likes to know what he is doing and to understand what’s around him; so his job and his passion brought us to almost every market in London. While he would look at the stalls, focusing on the food they had on offer, I would just immerse myself in the colours, sounds (so many musicians playing in the markets! I didn’t know that! My favourites were the ones at Broadway market in East London) and smells. And having the time of my life. Sometimes I would also sketch something on the spot or taking photographs as references for my drawings and paintings.

A detail of “Victoria Park Market”, Sennelier oil pastel on paper by Mary Cinque

Oh! There is one thing I like about Autumn: the smell. It’s what I smell outside in late dark afternoons in Agerola, a mix of burnt wood from the fireplaces and the pleasantly crisp air.

A detail of “Victoria Park Market”, Sennelier oil pastel on paper by Mary Cinque

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