What a day. Been painting today and done quite a bit for the craft fair. These are finished or in progress. About 6 or 7 inches square. Then there are lots of tiny ones… Now..a glass of wine and a rest.
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Dog fish and green leaves
Let me just say. I have strange ideas sometimes. I’ve already painted a cat fish, and by looking at this painting of a dog fish you can probably guess what it looks like!
Continuing with my Green Man idea I have also painted another free figure. I decided to use a more graphic style for both of them.
The tablet I use is getting very slow and this bit of typing is taking ages so I will leave it at that for tonight .
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Making Stuff
Im doing lots of things to take to two craft fairs at the weekend. Looking for inspiration and the right things to paint on. The tiniest are paintings of baubles. I have ribbon to add to them so you could even add them to a tree. I saw a robin in a photo and he was sooooo fluffy I had to paint him…finally Im trying to paint directly onto the little chalk boards so the abbey will need more work.
Shapes
Sharp staccato shapes,
Shaded, curled and furled,
Rustling in the wind,
Shadowed and dried,
Veins reduced to lines,
Patterned and patinated,
Crisp and soft,
Tired but ancient,
Light as life has left you…
Remaining skeleton of tree.
Imagining snow
Depending on the weather in Britain we sometimes have snow in winter, or not. It depends on whether you live in the north, or are high up as the temperature falls the higher you get. This is a painting I did when I first moved into my studio at Spode, I think it was so cold in there that I didn’t have to think hard to imagine this image.
It’s based on an idea I had of hills in Yorkshire or the lake district , I think it needed more depth so I added the shadows.
I tend to talk to myself when Im painting, reminding myself where the guttering should be or how light would reflect into the shadows at the side of the house.
I like using my imagination. Exercising my visual memory. It’s worth trying to think through how something is put together. It helps you understand how it works.
Supplies
The problem with doing tiny paintings is you have to rely on people to supply the small canvases. Unfortunately the place I usually get them has run out. They can’t order them in until a rep calls in two weeks and it will be another week till they are delivered. Way past the deadline I need them for. So I’m going to experiment by using tiny chalk boards and gluing canvas on. Hopefully if it works I can get a close match to what I want.
I will be in Macclesfield on Saturday and at the Potbank Hotel on Sunday so I want to have new art and something ready for Christmas x
Favourite
One from the past,
a favourite painting,
Cat on the window ledge,
At the top of the stairs.
So long ago,
that plant has grown,
6 ft tall,
out grown the hall.
Now outside in the garden,
The cat is there too
Laid to rest
Favourite of pets.
Druid
Two days, one name change from frost woman to druid. The painting is complete. I enjoyed painting as a demonstration while at the exhibition this weekend. Thanks to my friend Raina for modelling for the initial face. Then lots of metallic paints later this image emerged.
I may do a bit more to the dark areas but I’m pretty pleased with it. A good weekends work.
Where do you start…?
This is a painting called frost woman I think. I started doing it as a demonstration at the exhibition. Someone said she didn’t know how I do it. How do I get things looking right so quickly and someone else said she would need to spend ages working out a design. But I admire both of their work. I guess we are all different. I love patterns and work well with them. And yet struggle with other things. I’m not neat, I don’t really do clean straight lines. I’m often messy, my eyesight isn’t what it was and I don’t think my concentration is as good as it used to be.
But I love painting.
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Whitfield centre exhibition
With my friend Raina this morning. My box full of brushes. The hall, my Jupiter and two other paintings. Another display by other artists. The painting I have been doing as a demo today. About half way through.
The exhibition continues tomorrow 11am to 4pm.
