New paintings and regular art updates.
Acrylic on canvas painting, work in progress. Of trees and rocks or stones. But I don’t remember what I was doing with it. I found it in the summerhouse while I was helping clear it up. I must have started it sometime last year. Perhaps in the winter. I’ll have to make a story up? Maybe it was too cold in there and the water froze, or the weather changed and continuous rain put me off. I’m going to get my brushes out and try and finish it off….
https://marthakennedy.wordpress.com/portfolio-of-available-paintings-by-martha-ann-kennedy/
My friend Martha Kennedy has created a portfolio of her work that’s for sale.
She’s a talented artist and writer who lives in America. I love to see her paintings of ‘the big empty’, with mountains in the distance. And a ‘refuge’ for Sand Cranes and other birds and animals.
Living in a city in the UK I can only imagine the wide open spaces she sees. Or what I would call wilderness. X
Take a look…..
For the second time in a few months we are holding an exhibition at the Whitfield centre in Newcastle under Lyme.
The Group Exhibition is on in three weeks. If you are around come along and see some lovely artists and their work.
I will be doing some painting for another craft fair the week after. I hope to be doing small paintings of things like bees and flowers. I generally find images I’m interested in and work from them off my phone photo gallery.
Art everywhere,
Art and design
The world needs
Art
Life would be boring
Without it
Clothes, cars, wallpaper?
Bags, book covers, magazines
Adverts and films
Whatever we do
If its not in nature
It could come from you!
Create a pattern
Knit a dress
I love art
I must confess!
When do you feel most productive?
Something stirs inside me about a fortnight before I have an exhibition of my art (it doesn’t happen very often). I’ve probably had seven or eight solo exhibitions in my life and some group ones.
Suddenly I get the urge to create and I can produce several paintings in a very short time. It doesn’t matter what the subject is, I become very concentrated on what I want to produce. It’s like time changes and I can be working till 3 or 4 in the morning without realising how time is flying (is this flow?). At other times I feel less able to create, the switch hasn’t tripped inside my mind I guess.
Productivity has to have a reason. I need to be motivated to get work done. Every day I do a little bit of art, so over the years I must have been very productive, but now with my health I am slowing down. Something I could do quickly takes more time. I feel that, it makes me sad and annoyed with myself. I really want to turn the clock back a few years, but I guess that’s not going to happen, so I’ll keep trying to carry on. I use different media and have recently tried charcoal and pastels as well as my usual acrylic paint on canvas.
What are your favorite emojis?
I like the wave emoji, it’s actually based on a wood block print by the Japanese artist Hokusai. The picture is called the great wave off Kanagawa, and you can see the simplified version in the emoji.
You can actually look up the basis of emojis at a website, it’s called Emojipedia, https://emojipedia.org the description says :
The emoji search engine. A fast emoji search experience with options to browse every emoji by name, category, or platform.
We looked at signs and signifiers at college, and how one symbol or sign can include the idea of an object in it. The wave emoji is an example of a symbol that signifies the real object (a real wave) as well as the Hokusai version. Other emojis can be more or less abstract or realistic.
If you have never explored Hokusai then have a look for his work. He even influenced artists like Vincent Van Gogh who ordered prints from Japan and displayed them at his brother Theos gallery where he tried to sell them.
Emojis, more interesting than I thought!
My willow pattern painting of a large platter is up at Etruria Industrial museum now. I used two different reference photos of two separate patterns to make it more unique. I also designed the surrounding pattern myself. I tried to make it look like it was on display on a shiny surface, hence the reflections…. I’m feeling a bit better now so might have to go shopping. Oh what joy. But the fridge is empty. The eating machine (aka hubby) has been snacking again…
Poppies everywhere on these two summery paintings. I took them over to Etruria last week so they should be on display at the Etruria Industrial museum today (Friday). The left hand one was based on the wildflowers on display at Trentham Gardens, the one on the right is emulating a tile pattern you would get on the side of a Victorian fireplace. Both were previously displayed at the Arts and Minds gallery at Middleport. It’s good to have a couple of venues to show my work at. I just need then to go to good homes now. X
For years I painted the scenery for the Penkhull Mystery plays. This one was about the river Trent starting near Stoke on Trent and travelling towards Hull. Each year I would do one or two large sections of painting. The show would start rehearsals in March? And be on in July for one day only on the village green. I miss those days. The excitement as we prepared and made things. Brilliantly directed by Greg Stevens. And organised by him and Kate Barfield. It had everything. Music, acting, tragedy, comedy. Plus morris and molly dancing, a bower of song, a Maypole dance, eukelali players and choirs. I don’t suppose we will do it again?
Thanks to my friend Tim for the photo.
Eight years ago I painted this. I based it on a broken terracotta wall plaque that I’d had on the wall outside but I think the frost split it. It sort of reminds me of the green man theme and I think I actually bought it in a green man shop in Pickering in Yorkshire….. It was an acrylic on canvas and I guess I must have sold it as I haven’t seen it for years? You can get inspiration from all sorts of places if you look.
Mallaband-Brown