Tag: Acrylic on board

First Night

Posted on Posted in Fine Art, Memories, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment
Paddy, one of my set paintings

Tonight was the first performance of the opera, Who is Molly Leigh?

I enjoyed singing in the choir and got to watch a couple of scenes. We sing in the final scene and question who Molly Leigh was? Was she real, was she a myth? It’s amazing how it’s all come together. I’m pleased to say the audience enjoyed it.

I’m absolutely shattered now! I went to the fish and chip shop to get tea because I’m to tired to microwave something, but it’s going cold in the kitchen because I sat down and I’m too achy to get back up! Might have a nap.

Rakes progress, after Hogarth

Posted on Posted in Fine Art, Memories, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment
The Levee, after Hogarth.

With poor brushes you can still paint. This is about A4 size. The trouble was when I painted this, I couldn’t get a point on the brushes they provided. That made it hard to get detail on the faces and hands. It ended up looking very sketchy but I did my best. This took about 2  hours to knit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Hogarth would be spinning or laughing in his grave! Acrylic on board.

By the time I finished I had to be helped up off my chair. My left hand has been cramping up ever since and my left leg is in spasm. I’m hunched over after leaning in to add details. It’s been a hard, hot day and my Parkinsons is making me shake like a jelly!

Haywain, after Constable

Posted on Posted in Fine Art, Sketching, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , 8 Comments

Scenery painting for a cottage scene. They wanted some old style pictures you might find on a cottage wall. So I decided to try and do a quick (1 hour) painting of the haywain. It jiggered me up! And the image I copied from wouldn’t expand so it was the size of a postage stamp! Lots of sketchy work on this but it looks OK at a distance. Acrylic on board.

Blue

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Feeling blue.

Can you see a face,…?

Head tilted to the left, a streak of light catching the nose?

My friend saw it first, where I had roughly painted the scenery for the show. Random brush strokes that created a male face…

My hubby’s face? Not scary, good to feel I had unconsciously incorporated him! He was an enthusiastic actor in the shows. Glad he was there apparently in spirit. X

Scenery

Posted on Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments

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.

Maiden Castle

Posted on Posted in UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

_20200410_190732

I just took this photo of a painting I did of Maiden Castle in the 1990’s. It’s a hill Fort in the countryside near Dorchester in Dorset, England. Sorry for the shine on it, my camera flash reflected off it.

What is Maiden Castle? A series of ramparts of soil, rising and falling until it reaches a plateau in the middlewhere the Fort is situated. It can be reached by a pathway through the maze of hills.

My painting includes a dancing and decaying figure. She is meant to represent the spirit of the place and its history. I was studying radiography at the time, and had found a rabbit skull on one of my walks. I also liked watching the archaeology TV programme, ‘ Time Team’ and this was my attempt to embody the feeling I got as I stood up on that hill.

Sadly I haven’t been back there since. But I just read a post by Sue Vincent and her visit to the place and it reminded me of the place. The Maiden Castle scene was taken from a photo and the dancing woman was imagined.

X