scary women

Well, given the choice, I wouldn't be inviting either of these women to tea, any time soon!

Interesting how different I can look (yes they are both me!) depending on mood, attitude and lighting.

I am intrigued by how challenging drawing from a mirror is compared to copying a photograph. Despite the fact neither really look that much like me (they are, after all a mirror image)- I like them, each captured an emotion in a way i think photos often struggle to do. What do you think?

underwater inspiration

I've been looking at the work of Jason de Caires Taylor. His has created underwater sculptures that seem to have a life of their own. I've been quite entranced and it's been a good source of inspiration for my pastels. Check him out.

More Pastels

Same beach different clouds......

Adelaide

I've just returned from a week in Adelaide. We were lucky to have a beachfront appartment at Glenelg and witnessed some amazing weather fronts on the beach, thunder, lightening, rail clouds, sunsets and oh yes a bit of sunshine....

I took heaps of photos and am trying to get some on to paper. This is the first attempt.

I think the colours aren't quite right, so I'm going out to the shop to buy different blues. 

Still I quite like it. 

Phew...no more watercolour!

I'm giving myself a rest from watercolours. I've found them exhausting and too frustrating, I just ended up doing very little of anything. I'm giving myself a rest and going back to the scripted lessons. Chicken wire 3D sculpture is next, inspired by movement. Hmmmmmmmm..........


For light relief I have just doodled with pastels, these are the result. I have surprised myself. I like them!!!!

 Pumpkins

Lake Hawea surrounds

Lemons

My parents have been staying for the last 3 weeks, I get to see them rarely, so there's not been a lot of art activity going on. I've continued to read "how to", watching dvds and a little watercolour. Also of course planning future ideas.

This is my effort following Nancy Titchbournes DVD. Hope she isn't viewing this!

The main change was using a wash underneath the painting and of course filling the whole page with those pesky leaves!

Practice makes Perfect?

Well for those of you who were wondering if I'd completely given up my course....I haven't.

However, I have spent a lot of time reading, watching dvds and attempting to teach myself watercolours.

Its not easy, there's so much to learn and my pathetic attempts are barely worth exhibiting on a blog! However this blog is about development! so here we are... my shag from the Sounds, an exercise in masking and mixing colours wet in wet

and the Moeraki Boulders, a graduated wash, masking fluid and removal of paint for clouds, wet in wet for the reflections and boulders.

Best of friends

This one was an experiment in oils.
First time I've used oils since I started the course.
It was much easier to get the complexion and face sorted.
I am pleased with the eyes, two pairs, on a level, blue and brown, boy and dog, calm and anxious.
It makes me laugh.
My son hates it.

My dog has yet to show an opinion.

Fish

Mackerel

Fish are my latest passion, this is my attempt with watercolour.

I enjoyed it! using the masking fluid to try and get the slimy reflections. I used yellow and blue paint and allowed it to mix on the paper, something that it hadn't occurred to me to try before, I think it works well. I even framed it!

water colour

I have gone back to the set exercises in my course and have spent the last couple of weeks wrestling with water colour. I've learnt a lot and although I don't have too much that I'm proud of thought I'd put it out there and display some, just so you don't think I've been doing nothing! I think they look very watery, not the bold colours I had in mind...a learning curve I think......

Memories

I've returned to my favourite place. People.

Having had a "chat" with my tutor about the meaning of portraits and the importance of memories and bringing that content into art work, I painted my son. I wanted to capture the warmth of summer, the possessiveness of a 7 year old and his ice cream!

Its a mixture of memory and reality.

willow trees

I've just come back from Otago, escaped all those aftershocks for a week, although it's a long way to go for a good nights sleep! The drive there goes through some of the most spectacular scenery NZ has to offer-Lake Tekapo, Pukaki, Lindis Pass, Burkes Pass and Lake Dunstan.


Every time I go I get fixated by all the willow trees lining the rivers, last time it was autumn and they were orange and yellow, this time it was spring, so it was all yellow and green.
I tried numerous ways of trying to capture that essence of water peeping through bark: photos, pastels, watercolour, and once home- acrylic.


I like the acrylic best

trying to loosen up

I've spent today trying water colours, I'm trying to "loosen up" a little...easier said than done.

Ended up resorting back to pastels and thinking of a a very good friend. I hope she likes it. I hope she recognises herself!!!!

                                      

        

flowers-expressionist style

Expressionism isn't something I've thought much about before doing this course.
It is, I have discovered, however a huge part of why i like or dislike a painting.


So I thought I'd have a go, being more "free" with my drawing.


I have been wanting to do some big flowers for a while and my garden and my rediscovery of my SLR have given me that chance.


What do you think? Its A3 size!

Comic Strips

Normality returning slightly, what should I find as coursework but a brief to do a page of comic strip about an event that happened to you this week.... I just couldn't resist!

Relaxation therapy

Well this weekend hasn't panned out as I expected.
Awoken at 4.35am on Saturday by the Christchurch earthquake.
Luckily we are unscathed and safe. The rest of Christchurch hasn't fared so well.
I feel a bit numb, happy to be ok, relieved definitely, following instructions, powerless to be useful in helping others.
So a little relaxation therapy was in order this afternoon.
30 sec poses from posemaniac.com turned into abstract colour, a suggestion by my tutor.
I quite like it. 

Have felt 3 or 4 aftershocks whilst I've been doing it and the dog is under my table!

Photography

I've reached a point in the course about photography. I've always taken loads of snapshots, but its a long time since I've really tried to create a photographic art work. I got out my old SLR and was about to rush off to buy film, when my youngest son pointed out that my digital SLR can actually be used manually. To my shame I'd never tried! After digging out the manual, he's absolutely right! 
I spent yesterday afternoon running around the garden experimenting with exposure and f numbers.


Here are the results on my wisteria buds. Pretty neat eh? Just got to work out what I did.......

Abstract?

This is my latest art work

No not really, it's the bottom of my watertray with 3 curly paperclips, I discovered it today all dried up and desicated, nice though!

More Prints

Well having said I'd given up, guess what happened, yes I made prints that I liked!

Light and dark- tonal exercise

Things have been a bit quiet on the production front this week. 
All my time has been spent making stencils and collagraphs and I have very little to show for it! I have spent a lot of time trying to get ink to do what I tell it and failed miserably...like a naughty child, it does not want to behave!
...so for a little light relief I spent the early hours of this morning doing pastels whilst listening to BBC Radio 4 on the internet.


The programme was "How the Mighty Have Fallen"!- a history of obesity!

The task was to copy an old master, concentrating on tone and shading.

This is a bit of Lucian Freuds "Benefits supervisor resting". 1994

I think I learnt a lot, especially about shadow and shading and highlights. It has pacified (for a while) my bizarre desire to paint a fat person. My teenager says its "disturbing".


On reflection I think she simply isn't fat enough!

Print making

I'd been looking forward to this section and as a wet weekend approached, went out and bought inks and bits and bobs to get started. After several hours I had very little to show for it, a few rather dismal blobs in horrid colours, not deserving of the term "monoprint". As I was clearing up, rather than waste ink I combined a couple of plates and like magic the following suddenly appeared.

I know they don't look much but they're a start!

These are my efforts at collagraphs

I got quite excited with how well the stitching came out, the little bits of cotton tails reminded me of IUCD strings, so I made a uterus for it to go in!

Then I got really over ambitious and thought a baby would look good.....

???twins.....maybe not!

Hands!

I'm struggling a bit at the moment.
Not sure where I'm going. Feel a bit flat. So I've decided to not think too much and just get into the habit of practice. "Practice makes perfect" Right?


Since I like doing figure work, getting all those arms and legs looking like arms and legs regardless of position is a challenge. Foreshortening (the technical term) I actually like! It really is what makes or breaks a picture or image. My mentor has given me some websites to check out. www.princetonol.com
www.posemaniacs.com    www.istockphoto.com
Interesting sites. I wish some of them had some real people though, old, fat, ugly!
I will definitely use posemaniacs, which I have shown my son, who is into manga drawings big time!


I have resorted to what feels comfortable and has that emotional link, which seems to be so important to motivate me. Sorry guys, its my family again!

  

Symbolism and Surrealism

Well this project was a bit of a challenge. I'm not used to having to imagine stuff. I wasn't much grabbed by the exercises suggested, but enjoyed browsing the internet looking at Dali, Picasso and a chap called Hieronymous Bosch (Dutch painter, 1450-1516 approx). What a fantastic name, our next guinea pig will definitely be Hieronymous, or possibly Jerome as apparently that is the English translation (not so much fun, but fine for a GP).

I particularly liked this painting

What amazing faces

I later found out that maybe he didn't paint it at all......possibly a "fake" a few hundred years later, still pretty good.

I decided I'd do a sort of modern parody, I liked the four in the corner and concentrated on them.

This my effort, I'd explain it but that wouldn't be in the true spirit of symbolism would it? I'm not too pleased by it, kind of lost interest a little half way through, but fun to try something different.

I miss my hubby

My husband is currently away, boy is the house quiet without him, no mess, no music, very calm....boring!!


I decided after the life portrait that I need a bit more practice on faces and eyes, and constantly thinking as I am of my loved one, I decided to paint him. I was thinking of 5 portraits, a sort of quintych, well we'll see....

This is him.

I'm quite pleased with it, isn't he gorgeous? Just another four weeks til he's back.

I've hung it up at the head of the breakfast bar, so he's with us when we eat!

and as for the eyes, I'm very happy with them.

Life drawing

Well having given up with the video/dvd. I thought I ought to at least try some life drawing.
I attempted some self portraits.  Well what a palava that is! How do artists do that???
Nowhere in my house is a mirror big enough for me to use easily.
The little mirrors all catch me a funny angles, with bizarre foreshortening, and how do you not get the camera in the picture?!  I guess I'll just have to talk someone into photographing me. I prefer to work from photos, the light doesn't alter (cheating I guess), but hey if it's available use it!!! You can't tell me Leonardo wouldn't have had a digital SLR!

I look as cross as I was!

Painting on alternative surfaces

This task I wasn't looking forward to, not because its not worthwhile, I have over the years painted all manner of things, murals, eggs, even scooters. But the DVDs just can't get the essence of life drawing, not their fault, but to have someone in the room, or even taking your own photo allows you to put you mark on the picture, move around, get your own angle. Doing work from the stills on the dvd isn't the same. If I learnt one thing in the last month its that I need some emotional tie to any picture/project I do. These didn't have much.


First the sketch

I liked the bottom half of her (no disrespect).


Then for the "alternate surface", feeling as uninspired as i did I grabbed a redundant box sitting in the corner, 

I enjoyed the way the legs curled around the box, the shiny surface made the paint slip around a little, I quite liked that too.

I added two strips of copper foil to the bottom, I think it picks up the colours and reflects the light. So after all that whinging I ended up with something not so bad!

Self portraiture

Next task is to produce a painting that says something about you, a self portrait in the loosest sense. I was only allowed two colours plus black and white.

I chose a beautiful cobalt turquoise that i saw on special when browsing the art shop and a burnt umber.

I really didn't know where to begin, after a few false starts I just went with the colour.

it so reminded me of windy seascapes, I began to think of Cornwall where I used to live.

I remembered all those fantastic books I used to read to the kids, MIchael Foreman, Michael Morpurgo. I got out some old photos and had a go at St Ives wharf, Alfred Wallis style.

Just playing really but then the picture below arrived.  I love it! It sums up my dreams and my past and my future. Not happy with the faces, but then you try doing skin tones with just white and brown!

The quote is from a Jack Johnson song (credit to him), and in the song is "Love is the answer, at least to all the questions in my heart." God I wish I could write lines like that!