New paintings and regular art updates.
I need to draw again, but with my Parkinsons it’s so hit and miss. I need to be still enough to stop the tremors transfering onto the pages. Either my drawing hand shakes or the hand holding the Sketchbook shakes, it’s like being a human seismograph! If I had the gumption I would use it to my artistic advantage. I’ve never wanted so much to colour outside the lines but in a coherent, not random way. My life needs to settle down so my mind can too.
This time of year is called Christmas and this stained glass window is in Bethesda chapel in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It depicts Mary, mother of Jesus. I’m afraid the photo is a bit blurry and small, but it is one of my own pictures.
Around 2000 years ago stories were written of a tale of a child born to a virgin woman. The baby was visited by shepherds who were told to see the him by an angel. He was also visited by three Magi or King’s bringing gifts of gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. His family fled as refugees into Egypt to flee the massacre of innocent baby boys by Herods troops.
In later life, after performing miracles by looking after the poor and healing the sick, he was crucified by the Romans as a type of rebel, or freedom fighter, but he was trying to get people to love one another, care for each other, forgive each other’s sins.
The stories were collected into a book called the Bible and the new Religion called Christianity was born.
From about 5 years ago, a mural I painted in a friends downstairs cloakroom. I remember it took me several days and I was driving home quite a distance each evening. I wish I could still do this sort of thing. I’d previously done murals for my friends in their old house. They included the words life, love, laugh in their living room, Mr incredible, batman, superman and spiderman in their sons bedroom and a Laura Ashley floral pattern blown up and painted in pale green on their bathroom wall. I’m glad the geese turned up on my Facebook memories, it reminded me of all the lovely things I painted for my friends.
Finally drawn (no pun intended) back to #bandofsketchers. Here’s some ‘stuff’ I need to sort out. I must try and do more sketches
I’ve found my favourite tweak in Photodirector after losing it for a bit. There were added tools and some of them have been relabled so it took me a while of looking through things to find the texture tools somewhere I wasn’t expecting. The original drawing on the left was done in Artrage oils app 7 years ago.
He was sleeping then he woke up! Quick 5 minute pen drawing of one of my cats. I was watching the portrait artist of the year and the only thing I could do was my cat. It turned out reasonably I think.
From 2018, I don’t remember making this collage of blossom against a pastel sky, but thanks to Facebook it just popped up.
I like it, but it feels a bit too diffuse and fuzzy. Maybe the horizon between the two miffored images could have been placed higher or lower so that it became more defined. But it certainly feels watery. I do have fun doing these.
Before covid (bc) I painted a series of pictures of places the cast of the pantomime I was in travelled through to get to Gretna green in Scotland (they had no sense of direction). This was one of the destinations.
This popped up on my Facebook memories. Imagine 8 or 10 people walking along and each painting being moved across the stage behind them. It was fun.
A small painting I did about 7 years ago. My friend bought it from me at a craft fair. I don’t remember why I painted this subject, it might have been Halloween. I don’t know where the idea came from, but it feels likely that I was thinking of spooky stories. Its one of my small canvases from when I was doing more craft fairs. Just found in my memories on Facebook.
A friend said he would sit for a quick portrait as long as he would not be.identifiable! I did a painting in bright blocks of colour. It’s a small acrylic on board
At the end of the session he took it home. It’s called Harly-Quin.
Mallaband-Brown