Portfolio

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, course, Design, Drawing, Illustration, Learning, Life, Not right size?, Portfolio, Sketching, WorkLeave a comment

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I’ve been working on my portfolio for college today. I’ve got to upload it soon to show what I’ve been doing. I was halfway through when I found out I should be uploading images at 72dots per inch (dpi?) and I’ve set it at 300. I think I will have to delete all the images and save them all to the lower size limit…. So annoying because it was looking good. But at least I’ve found out in time. I need to go back and read the course instructions.

I think I’ve taken on too much sometimes. Not because I can’t do it but because I’ve got so many other things going on. I like writing here because it acts like a diary and also let’s me get ideas down that aren’t part of the course. Plus with limited contact with people it’s giving me some freedom.

Model trains….

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Engine, Fun, Humour, Layout, Model train, Playing with trains, Random, Released, Southern railway, Steam engine, Stored, Train tracks4 Comments

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My hubby collects n gauge and oo gauge model trains and has set up a layout to play with them. He knows that this is an 044 side tank M7, southern railway engine…. just from looking at a photo. He said its an old fashioned steam engine that was introduced in about 1964. I find it fascinating that steam engines are still being used across the world. Maybe they will be used for decades to come? His layout is basically an oval with a siding. When it’s set up I will add a photo. The layout had been stored with cobwebs and possibly a spider or two for the last few years, but we’ve decided to release it into the wild (of the garden shed). It is about to become friends with the hedgehogs and the stray cat. I hope it survives.

White lily

Posted on July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Environment, Garden, Gardening, Life, Lily, Nature, Plant, Random, Thinking, Walk, Walking, What is it?Leave a comment

Another one has flowered, sitting in among the nettles and the convolvulus. There’s monbretia in there too.. What’s its newer name? Crocosmia I think. Its like when Fushias suddenly became Surfinias and Geraniums started being called Pelagoniums to differentiate them from the perennial ones.

I went on a walk on Tuesday and found myself pointing out the names of garden plants to my hubby. I don’t know why. I saw a couple of plants that I didn’t recognise.

What is this. From a distance I thought it was a fushia?

1980’s self portrait

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged 1980's, Art, Blending, Fine Art course, Learning, Life, Oil on canvas, Oils versus acrylics, Painting, self portrait, Youth2 Comments

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Oil on canvas

Forty years ago I was at college learning how to paint. I had lots of fun and did some painting too! I used to paint in oils until I discovered how fast and clean acrylics were a decade or so later. I’m a fast painter but acrylics go off very fast so my style changed somewhat. Instead of mixing colours wet in wet on the canvas I ended up trying to get my colours right on the palette. I think I probably ended up with a more splodgy style until I learnt to blend layers on the canvas.

Prompt ‘hanging’

Posted on July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Blogging, Colour, Design, Drawing, Picture, Sketching, Usk challenge, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Back yard colours. The Usk Stoke-on-Trent challenge today was ‘hanging’ so I got my new permanent markers out. I tried not to do any black outlines to make the colours jump more!

The picture includes our hanging baskets and a dream catcher that hangs in our back living room window. There is a little glass angel hanging in the dream catcher. When I asked my hubby what he thought he said it was a bit amateurish!

The only problem with permanent markers is that they dry up quickly. You can be half way through shading something and they run out. More in a couple of days.

Salad for tea

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged ccolour, Eating, Food, Gnocchi, Layout app, Photo, Poem, Poetry, Salad, Tasty, TeatimeLeave a comment

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Just wanted a cool meal

Lettuce and radish

Avocado and tomato

Tsatsiki and spring onion

Spiralised cucumber

Egg and celery

Potato Gnocchi

Low calorie Mayo,

Yum!

Moving paintings

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Building work, College, Commission, Lots to do, Painting, Spode, Storage, Studio, TiredLeave a comment

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I really must get all my paintings stored down at my studio. These are a tryptich of Jupiter. I need some work doing on the house, but I’ve got things hanging around that could be put away safe, they are up in the bedroom where I’m doing college work and everything is crammed together on one side of the room. Plus I actually have a commission. Someone contacted me. My first real job this year! I need to start getting things sorted out…. Spring cleaning – in late July. Perhaps I will get it done by September! In the meantime I need to get the college work done. The date for handing in work is soon. Help!

Wishing I was on holiday.

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bed and breakfast, Gulls, Holiday, Need rest, Sea breeze, Seaside, Shattered, Thinking, Tired2 Comments

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A little bed and breakfast, or a caravan, somewhere quiet where I can hear gulls calling early in the morning. The smell of salt air and the sound of crashing or gurgling waves. I’m not bothered which.

Waking up to sea breezes, maybe opening the door to a beach view. Somewhere to chill. Feel less stressed.

Going to bed as the moon rises, looking out at dark skies glinting with stars. Maybe a small glass of wine.

Oh, I would just would love to safely get away from it all. Lockdown and life are getting me down.

How to depict cuts in arts education?

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Idea, Illustration, Important, Learning, Life, Picture, Schooling, Sketching, Teaching, Work in progressLeave a comment

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I thought I would try and share my idea about possible cuts in art education. It’s along the lines of the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil images. In this case the image is of a school child. Maybe with one eye peeping out. Covering his head are the hands of other children, stopping him seeing art equipment, or hearing music or poetry. Stopping him speaking things like lines from plays or novels.

Art and creativity are so important to the world. Maybe you can push a button and get a car design? Maybe not. At the moment it still takes the efforts of designers, artists, illustrators, musicians, and much more to bring out the creativity of the world.

What are we doing if we consider removing Art from the curriculum? If we make it just the perogative of the rich? What happens if normal, ordinary people aren’t taught to have a critical eye, to have the ability to see beauty. I see a world which is almost turning into a 1984 situation. Dumbed down and quiescent?

God preserve me from student funding!

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A tragedy of errors?, Annoyed, Art, Beauracracy, Blogging, Five months, Frustrated, Illustration, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

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Or how to get very annoyed in five months!

I applied for funding.

They said ‘we need more proof’

I said ‘I sent it in?’

They said, ‘you missed a word’

I said, ‘here is that word’

I rang.

They said ‘the word was wrong, please re-send in CAPITALS’

I SENT THE WORD BACK.

I RANG.

‘We duplicated your account’

‘I can’t answer that, it’s on your other account’

I said, ‘I have two letters one reference 123456789,

The other 987654321,’

‘we will merge them’

A letter arrives, ‘we confirm you identity,

but you need to put in an application’

I ring ‘you had that in April’

Later ‘we have approved your finance,

Please ask your university to confirm you are on the course’

The university did.

This week.

No money yet

Emailed university

They replied ‘student finance say problem with your bank account’

I couldn’t make it up!

Grr!

Mallaband-Brown

Author: artbychristinemallabandbrown