New paintings and regular art updates.
Nine years since I painted this poppy with a white centre. I think that makes it look fresh and cool. Poppies have paper thin, crinkled petals. They look so delicate. I have lots of yellow, Welsh poppies in the garden, but not as many red ones that seem to need more sunlight. This was an acrylic on canvas and I think it sold quite quickly? But after almost a decade I still love it.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was memory. I don’t have a photo of this but it’s stuck in my mind. There was a rock wall and maybe a tree growing up from it, or growing nearby. That is what I see in my minds eye. The tree trunk was very gnarled and each time I walked past I saw a gnarly face.
This is from when I was a child. There was also an avenue of similar trees behind it. But I can’t remember how they were placed. Then there were park railings and houses beyond. Its funny what sticks in the memory. X
I started the centre of this months ago then lost the sketch book. I found it again last night and decided to finish it. I tried adding different patterns and shapes. It took me a couple of hours last night and a few more this morning. I do like a good doodle. No tablet or mouse in sight, just straightforward drawing with a black ink pen. Of course I can play with it digitally but I don’t want to at the moment, sometimes original is best. X
Little devil’s appear to be looking out of this reflected image of spring tulips. The orange, yellow, purple and green are really cheerful. It’s just fun to play with images and see what comes out from my imagination….. Even if they are a little devilish!
Many digital processes, I won’t list them. I use the same apps, just over and over so that you get different effects each time you add a layer. I think it looks like a flurry of feathers after a pillow fight! Or even fireworks exploding. I used a blur tool to get the fuzzy effects.
I must do more ‘real’ or analogue art. I mean physical art, not digital drawing or photography. I loved doing these lino cuts as part of my MA final major project. I liked trying to learn a new skill. I could also create cards for sale by doing this. I would maybe use acrylic paints instead of ink? Then I could play with the colours. And by using a lino cut twice but by offsetting the print slightly I could get interesting fringes of colour around the images. Lots of ideas. I just need to do them.
Your choice. Multiplied image initially drawn in black ink pen, then I added black grey and pale brown shading to give the effect of layers of paper. Finally I twisted each section in my layout app to create a symmetrical pattern. Having done work on my MA based on dragons and Asian art can’t help feeling that a dragon may emerge. I would have to add a layer on to create this. Something to experiment with.
Two years ago I was at a workshop. I was making a peice of a flag to celebrate Philip Astley inventor of modern circus born 1742, in Newcastle under Lyme. Belinda Latimer ran the workshop. Good fun to try a different craft. I don’t do much sewing or embroidery so this was quite enjoyable. I used a sacking type of cloth on top of a type of canvas cloth. I never did see the finished flag as there were different workshops to bring it all together.
Two eyes and a beak, that’s what I can see. I don’t know whether you can see that too? I also see Wales as the shape of a pigs head and Devon and Cornwall as a pigs leg. Scotland looks like a victorian bonnet and the East Coast of England looks like a bottom or a bustle. This is called Pareidolia. I was talking about it to a friend and he sees Wales as a witch? So even though you can look at an image and see something, it won’t necessarily be the same thing. I don’t think everyone has this strange way of looking. Maybe it’s an evolutionary thing? If you can see the tiger in the bushes you can run away before it pounces. It’s your brains interpretation. It can be strange.
How many hearts did I draw? I can’t count them. They took a while to sketch. I’m not sure what I drew them for. I think I’d like to see more love and peace in the world. I would rather draw something like this in the situation the world is in at the moment. I know I can’t change things much, but I can say it. Life is difficult for so many, but the John Lennon song ‘Imagine’ , and also the song ‘Give Peace a Chance’ mean a lot to me. Maybe we should try and do that?
Mallaband-Brown