Taking notes

Posted on July 31, 2020July 31, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Collage, Design, Grids, Ideas, Illustration, Interest, Light box, Techniques4 Comments

Two of our tutors were in conversation today. One was nterviewing the other. It was interesting and helpful to see how they went about doing their work. Taking rough photocopies to add texture, cutting out black paper shapes to create shadows, and white paper to add highlights. Using a broad brush to paint quick marks, creating people and buildings. There were so many techniques I’d not even considered. Also using a grid to place the work on so that the images would all be the correct size…. And a light box. I don’t even know how to use one of them.. Very interesting.

Summer Dream

Posted on July 31, 2020July 31, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged 1982 to 1983, Art, Burial mound, Fun, Large picture, Memories, Oil painting, Painting, Standings tones, Summer dream2 Comments

One of my largest paintings, done between 1982 and 83.about five foot by four foot. The man is my hubby and the cat our old lady cat we had several years ago. The rest is completely from my imagination. I’ve always been interested in standing stones. It’s based neolithic burial sites. The foxgloves and poppies are about medicine in the past. I think we must have visited Devon or Wales, because of the waterfalls. It’s oil on canvas. No idea what the book is about. But he’s always reading!

Idea

Posted on July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Architecture, Art, Blogging, Creativity, Design, Learning, Life, Poem, Poetry, Thinking2 Comments

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How to depict art cuts?

Hear no, see no, speak no art?

Art is the senses.

Art is creativity.

Art is music, words, poetry.

Art IS life.

Take it away

Stultifying, crippling.

Education should educate

Should help create.

Where will our designers be?

Our musicians,

Architects?

Hairdressers?

Anything that adds something.

To bland and boring

Hard working

Reality.

Portfolio

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, course, Design, Drawing, Illustration, Learning, Life, Not right size?, Portfolio, Sketching, WorkLeave a comment

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I’ve been working on my portfolio for college today. I’ve got to upload it soon to show what I’ve been doing. I was halfway through when I found out I should be uploading images at 72dots per inch (dpi?) and I’ve set it at 300. I think I will have to delete all the images and save them all to the lower size limit…. So annoying because it was looking good. But at least I’ve found out in time. I need to go back and read the course instructions.

I think I’ve taken on too much sometimes. Not because I can’t do it but because I’ve got so many other things going on. I like writing here because it acts like a diary and also let’s me get ideas down that aren’t part of the course. Plus with limited contact with people it’s giving me some freedom.

1980’s self portrait

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged 1980's, Art, Blending, Fine Art course, Learning, Life, Oil on canvas, Oils versus acrylics, Painting, self portrait, Youth2 Comments

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Oil on canvas

Forty years ago I was at college learning how to paint. I had lots of fun and did some painting too! I used to paint in oils until I discovered how fast and clean acrylics were a decade or so later. I’m a fast painter but acrylics go off very fast so my style changed somewhat. Instead of mixing colours wet in wet on the canvas I ended up trying to get my colours right on the palette. I think I probably ended up with a more splodgy style until I learnt to blend layers on the canvas.

Prompt ‘hanging’

Posted on July 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Blogging, Colour, Design, Drawing, Picture, Sketching, Usk challenge, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Back yard colours. The Usk Stoke-on-Trent challenge today was ‘hanging’ so I got my new permanent markers out. I tried not to do any black outlines to make the colours jump more!

The picture includes our hanging baskets and a dream catcher that hangs in our back living room window. There is a little glass angel hanging in the dream catcher. When I asked my hubby what he thought he said it was a bit amateurish!

The only problem with permanent markers is that they dry up quickly. You can be half way through shading something and they run out. More in a couple of days.

Moving paintings

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Building work, College, Commission, Lots to do, Painting, Spode, Storage, Studio, TiredLeave a comment

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I really must get all my paintings stored down at my studio. These are a tryptich of Jupiter. I need some work doing on the house, but I’ve got things hanging around that could be put away safe, they are up in the bedroom where I’m doing college work and everything is crammed together on one side of the room. Plus I actually have a commission. Someone contacted me. My first real job this year! I need to start getting things sorted out…. Spring cleaning – in late July. Perhaps I will get it done by September! In the meantime I need to get the college work done. The date for handing in work is soon. Help!

How to depict cuts in arts education?

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Drawing, Idea, Illustration, Important, Learning, Life, Picture, Schooling, Sketching, Teaching, Work in progressLeave a comment

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I thought I would try and share my idea about possible cuts in art education. It’s along the lines of the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil images. In this case the image is of a school child. Maybe with one eye peeping out. Covering his head are the hands of other children, stopping him seeing art equipment, or hearing music or poetry. Stopping him speaking things like lines from plays or novels.

Art and creativity are so important to the world. Maybe you can push a button and get a car design? Maybe not. At the moment it still takes the efforts of designers, artists, illustrators, musicians, and much more to bring out the creativity of the world.

What are we doing if we consider removing Art from the curriculum? If we make it just the perogative of the rich? What happens if normal, ordinary people aren’t taught to have a critical eye, to have the ability to see beauty. I see a world which is almost turning into a 1984 situation. Dumbed down and quiescent?

God preserve me from student funding!

Posted on July 29, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A tragedy of errors?, Annoyed, Art, Beauracracy, Blogging, Five months, Frustrated, Illustration, Poem, PoetryLeave a comment

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Or how to get very annoyed in five months!

I applied for funding.

They said ‘we need more proof’

I said ‘I sent it in?’

They said, ‘you missed a word’

I said, ‘here is that word’

I rang.

They said ‘the word was wrong, please re-send in CAPITALS’

I SENT THE WORD BACK.

I RANG.

‘We duplicated your account’

‘I can’t answer that, it’s on your other account’

I said, ‘I have two letters one reference 123456789,

The other 987654321,’

‘we will merge them’

A letter arrives, ‘we confirm you identity,

but you need to put in an application’

I ring ‘you had that in April’

Later ‘we have approved your finance,

Please ask your university to confirm you are on the course’

The university did.

This week.

No money yet

Emailed university

They replied ‘student finance say problem with your bank account’

I couldn’t make it up!

Grr!

Plastic, USK S-O-T challenge.

Posted on July 28, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged #uskstoke, Art, Drawing, Garden light, Glitter, Light, Plastic, Plastic litter bin, Sketch, Usk Stoke-on-TrentLeave a comment

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Today’s challenge was to draw plastic, so I drew a garden lamp and our plastic waste bin that is covered in glitter. Urban sketches are supposed to be drawn in context so the background is penned in too. Quick sketch about fifteen minutes.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Art