New paintings and regular art updates.
I saw this rainbow light reflected on my brushes this morning. It was being caused by a holographic sketchpad that was on the cupboard next to the brushes. The pad has been there for ages but I’ve never seen this before, it must just be because of the angle of the light. I might try and base a drawing or painting on it. Today’s
I think I need a walk in a calm wood, something gentle and cool. A place with clear paths that are not overgrown and tangled. Somewhere for quiet thought and calm moods.
We may be going soon en plein Air to draw or paint at the Dorothy Clive Garden out in the countryside. I look forward to it, the quarry garden is depicted in the photo and it is a tranquil place for a visit.
The cat sits outside
In the dark
By the door
Looking at me.
I call her in
She ignores me
Her head starts to move
But not to come in.
She’s watching a moth
She’s sitting on the pavement
As cars drive by
Calmly watching
Flitting moths.
I shut the door
Give up
She’s happy.
When you’ve got a painting partly done it’s interesting to use a photograph app to play with it and see if there are things you can do to change it. Having done this I don’t think I will take it in this direction, but I may change things a bit. I need to have calm areas as well as jazzy patterns, otherwise I think it will be too much just an all over pattern.
When we sang at Bethesda Chapel last weekend this brilliant banner that my friend Kate had painted was on display hanging from the balcony.
The banner depicts an octopus, whale, fish, a ship and people. I meant to ask what it was meant to represent because I don’t think it was created for the Animal Apocalypse show, but it certainly was appropriate. It is painted in a lovely style, slightly abstracted. The colours matched in well with the colour scheme of the Chapel. Maybe it will be brought out again if we do another performance. X
The debate over politics continues. Boris Johnson has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party but remains as a caretaker Prime Minister for the next three or four months while his Members of Parliament decide who they want to select as their new leader. Several ex ministers have been suggested and some have even said they will stand. This will be the fourth Conservative Prime minister in six years. They have been in power for twelve.
Why write about this as an artist? Because things are getting worse not better. Cost of living, less rights, more poverty, poorer education. We keep getting told things are getting better? Really, I do wonder?
When the wind blows the sky changes. Heat is coming and clouds may be fleeing this weekend. Warnings of temperatures above 30`C are expected. High UV is predicted.
The British don’t really do ‘heat’, we go abroad for it, but we are more used to summers of wet weather, music festivals in mud, Wimbledon or cricket rained off. A summer can last a day as far as we are concerned. We even have Saint Swithens day. A day in July? If it rains on that day we can expect continuous rain for the next forty days and nights… And sometimes that seems to come true! One year I joked with friends that we should build an ark on high ground it rained so much….. Sunshine, nice for a day or two, but Britain appear to appreciate clouds. X
Yet again I can see faces in this pattern. Like little dogs faces. The pale green patches with black horizontal lines coulsvbe frogs eyes. I got the colours by playing with ‘curves’ on my photo editor on my phone. I like the way the complementary colours of red and green work together. I could see this as a print on a scarf or even a place mat for a coffee cup or a pattern on the actual cup.
Triangles and squares
Tangled nightmares?
Or coloured patches
Tiles as thatches
Worn and softened
By digital drawing hand
Playing with space
In this doodling race
Rainbow that rhymes
Abstract at times.
Cartoon I drew of Boris Johnson last year as a naughty schoolboy, hearing, seeing and speaking no art. It was about the cuts in art teaching and the creative industries. But I think it sort of works for what has been happening recently. Has he ignored or forgotten reports of one of his senior government members caught in a serious case of misconduct. In fact he has apparently also been caught out in several untruths, and today, finally resigned (sort of) as leader of the Conservative party but he hasn’t stood down as Prime minister. He seems to be staying on as a caretaker for the next three months while his party decide who will replace him.
Whether you love him or hate him he certainly is a character. When he was a child he said he was going to be king of the world. At Eton he apparently was displeased by his tutors displeasure with him. He was a leader of a club of students at University who were antagonistic towards poorer students. If you look up his biography you can find all sorts of things that he was involved in that caused problems but there are too many to list. These seem to have carried on into his prime ministership. Anyway things are changing, but no one knows if it’s for better or worse?
Mallaband-Brown