New paintings and regular art updates.
Mother
Gone
Not forgotten.
Strong
Gentle
Caring
Intelligent
Hard working
Moral
Ethical
She held it together
When we needed her
I wish I could hold her hand
Hug her
Tell her how much I miss her.
I was just discussing abstract art with a fellow blogger. I liked the person’s art because it was a self portrait but done in a very loose style.
I said I thought it will give them freedom of thought. I think of Picasso. He went from realism to abstraction, he had all the knowledge of both in his fingertips…
I don’t know if this makes sense but I’ve selected a few Picasso images to try and show what I mean. I’m not sure I understand Picasso but I do think it’s something to consider. When I was younger I was dismissive of his art , then I learned about Guernica, a village in Spain that was bombed and that Picasso memorialised in his painting of the same name.
Forty years ago at college. I liked painting objects that were not necessarily beautiful. I did a series of oil paintings on board of tin cans. Sometimes on the desk, even propped on an easel.
I think I might have these stored upstairs somewhere. I still have old folders of drawings too. Being an artist is not just about selling things, or fame, it’s about trying to understand your mind. The trouble is, being a mind, it can change. One day I will think about a subject. The next I will have a new idea (or two or three or four?!). I can’t help it. I love it
I was up till six am painting a self portrait in the hope of entering it for the Sky Portrait Artist of the year competition. By Five thirty I was shattered so I only vaguely painted in the background. It’s not really finished, but I thought it had a bit of something about it… But when I tried to register later the site wouldn’t accept my email address! I ended up contacting their enquiries but when I tried to resubmit I was passed the deadline! I might think about more work on it and enter it for a local open exhibition….
I might enter the Sky Portrait Artist competition so I tried to do a sketch to base a painting on. I’ve only got tomorrow to get it done! Madness…. Or I might enter the drawing instead
Painted three years ago. Another favourite painting I did a few years ago… Its based on the Willow Pattern which was a design produced by a lot of British potteries. There are lots of variations but most of them contain love birds and mountains, fishermen and priests on a bridge. Pine trees and the iconic Willow tree. I’ve painted it on a canvas and also as part of the scenery for a play.
I was in my studio trying to paint the swirls of clouds near the poles of Jupiter photographed by the Juno probe.
Now I’m staying home most of the time to stay safe. I want to go back but I don’t want to see people if I can avoid it. I will go back, hopefully when I’ve had the vaccine.
I’m in an Group called Orme Art and we did a winter challenge to take squares and copy a Bonnard painting. This was the result…
I’m not sure how many people did this as a few did more than one, but it’s interesting to focus in and see the different techniques used, from felt pens to pencils and paints….
I remember the long hot drive to Robin Hoods Bay a few summers ago. It was so hot in the car that I had the window open. I had no air conditioning and the temperature was rising steadily. My right arm was being burnt by the morning sun as we crept our way slowly North and East through Yorkshire. Its a large English County and full of cities, towns and villages, but also farmland and moors.
We visited a cottage in Robin Hoods Bay. It was upside down, with the bedrooms on the ground and basement floors, and the living room upstairs. The photo is my painting of the view from the living room. We spent a lovely few days visiting landmarks and beaches, but at the end I became very tired and aching, I thought I had bad sunburn… It turned out I had shingles. It was a memorable trip, but not necessarily for the right reasons!
Remembering more about our trip to Robin Hoods Bay.
Be warned! The village is very steep with a single lane access road from the roundabout at the top of the hill down to the concrete slped area at the bottom next to the pub… what is that called? Slipway… There is an old chapel sitting back on the right hand side, and there was a shop selling hats as well as the grocers shop and newsagents. Lots of touristy places where you could buy hippy things like geodes and scarves. Its really a delightful place to visit if you can climb up and down a 30?degree slope! When the sun is shining it is a perfect sight. There are other, larger, towns nearby, Whitby and Scarborough, all on the North Yorkshire coast. But to me this was the most picturesque I have visited, which is why I had to paint it!
Mallaband-Brown