New paintings and regular art updates.
I’ve finished a couple of paintings today. Pretty much as soon as I finished my MA work I picked up a paintbrush again. I’m part of a group exhibition on Saturday and I wanted to finish some new work. Dragons have crept into a couple of the paintings. The one on the left is ‘dragon saucer’ and the right is ‘ulysses’. Illustration has seeped into my veins!
I’ve started painting the saucer to the dragon coffee set that I photographed at the weekend. I’m gradually building it up as it’s very complex and I want to make sure I position the details as well as I can. I’m also struggling to get the effect of air brushing that is on the pottery. That will be difficult.
Part of my MA final major project. I have ordered a printed copy but it might not arrive in time.. It’s just good to have the pages. Some of them came out wrong, the image files on two pages were corrupted but I can sort them out. Fingers crossed it will look good!
Today I put childrens book together in a site called Blurb. I had saved all my files as .tif files and it needed them as .Jpegs so I spent HOURS swapping them. A lot of the jpeg files were not able to open. It meant that I had to change some of the pictures for different ones. I’ve ordered a one off copy for my course. The only problem is that it might arrive late so I’m going to have to take the photos to a printer and mock up the book as well.
Doorway at the Thai temple. So beautifully decorated. Golds and greens, amazing patterns. The celebration was outside so we didn’t go in, but I would have liked to. The skill and artistry is outstanding. I imagine the sort of skills you would need to carve church screens, or old furniture. Those skills are being replaced by computers or 3d printing. But hand carving and painting adds something special. Not clean and accurate, but human and possibly slightly flawed. It is fine art. X
A mixture of my cards for sale at Etruria Industrial Museum. Mostly green men and sea women, but with a card based on a painting of Cheddleton Station building near Leek, Staffordshire, England. I painted it in 2000, I think. I still have the original.
I have a lot of paintings that I never sold. I’m not a sales person and I don’t think I ever will be. I’m more interested in the process and result than selling art afterwards. I worry my family will be burdened with my art when I die!
A few paintings and some cards for sale at the cafe at Etruria Industrial Museum today. Its great to have another venue to show my work and as its open to people travelling along the canal I hope they will be seen more. I put in images based on nature but I may have the opportunity to place other works there soon. I’m obliged to my friend who is volunteering at the museum who invited me to take my work there.
Blue poppy painting I did in 2016, from a photograph by my sister. It’s going to a new home next week. I do feel like my paintings are my children. Leaving me, going out into the world. Or maybe cats, I seem to always have more here than get rehomed! Acrylic on canvas, about 8×12 inches.
I decided to paint something a bit different. I was calling it Medusa but a friend suggested Ulysses. I know the Medusa story but I’m not familiar with Ulysses so I think I had better look it up. This is another acrylic on canvas that I started late last night. I wanted to get a feel of paint on plaster, like a mural.
Mid way through this painting, the background blue is actually (and strangely) a mixture of deep green and dark violet. Who knew that would happen? I will calm the pink down and add more gold to make it more regal. I painted Draco in a storm, its tail and wings are being blown by the storm winds. I hope to add more detail as I work on it.
Mallaband-Brown