New paintings and regular art updates.
Here are some of my older tiny paintings. I have a bag of about twenty matchbox sized canvases to paint in time for a makers market at Spode on 28 July. I’m still in rehearsals for “one night only” on Friday night and the Penkhull Mystery play on the 13th. Busy busy busy…
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I went to a glass workshop with my friend Angela Ashton at Spode today. I’ve previously made square or oblong pieces but today I had a go at curving the edges to make round glass cabochons. I was allowed to use a glass grinding machine to create the curves. Then you place coloured glass on top in strips and small pieces. I used some glass with a special shiny sheen, dichromic I think it was called. As you tip it in the light it changes colour.
At the end of the workshop I decided to create a long coloured strip that could be hung up in a window. I’m hoping this will be an interesting piece. I used clear and opaque glass in horizontal layers over the top of a long transparent oblong. Once the coloured pieces were laid on and tacked in place with glue I placed clear glass in vertical strips on top. Each of these will prevent air getting to the glass. When the glass is exposed to high temperatures it can change colour due to chemical reactions including oxidisation. The heat fuses the glass together.
I should get the resulting pieces in a few days. Then I will go back and may make holes in them using a diamond bit drill so they can hang up or be turned into necklaces.
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A few years ago we did a mystery play which had to include the four horsemen of the apocalypse. This horse was made by my friend Kate and I painted it and another one in a Picasso style to give it an angular and aggressive look.
As time goes on and we get older we are doing less complicated making, basically because we are spending less time doing it. For myself I would like to do more. Anyway I’m off in a bit. Lots to do…
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Playing with duplicated images, me and my hubby. I want to visualizer us without the clarity of a painted portrait.
Most faces are lopsided, by duplicating and flipping them you can get an interesting mirror image. I used the layout app on my phone to do this.
Anyone who has seem mirrored images of Edgar Allen Poe will see what I mean. He has a very lopsided face, one side stretched and the other side slightly shrunken. When you see his face mirrored on the right then left side it looks like you are looking at two seperate people.
In my case I changed my selfie to black and white, then I drew over it. The second picture had the exposure altered as well. Then I flipped the right hand side top to bottom but not left to right.
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My friend Kate has made this mask for the mystery play. I’ve got to paint it up to look like my hubby.
It was about 30 degrees centigrade this afternoon when we were rehearsing. I think it must have been really hot and uncomfortable in the mask. Hopefully the weather will be fine and mild when we do the play in a fortnight.
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I was playing around with a photo of the stained glass windows in the church and came up with this. I sort of like it although I’m not sure the church would. When you use flood fill it causes a loss of details so you can’t see the faces on the image. I chose a rainbow flood fill so could create circles on top of the image.
Circles
curves and angels
winged with colour
flying high.
Art with rainbows
Black reflections,
illuminating and obscuring.
Circular arguments,
simple shapes
scriptural thoughts
saints and sinners,
seperated by glass.
Today I got some photos of Minton tiles in St Thomas’s Church penkhull. I’ve got to paint some for the Mystery play so I needed to see the genuine article. I’m hoping I can get a realistic look to them. They are in a scene where they have to be sold to raise money.
What I like are the simple colours, browns, pale ochres, blues and white. The interesting geometric patterns and curves. I may struggle to replicate them. But you have to try!
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I’m doing some backdrops for the Penkhull mystery play. I have calico to paint on, rather than static flat paintings that I usually do. This years backdrops are going to be rolled up and dropped down for the appropriate scenes.
Today apart from painting two willow pattern birds on papier mache I painted an eight foot by four foot backdrop of the church.
The problem was seeing the church through the trees. These mature lime trees have grown tall in the intervening years since the Church was built in the 1840’s. The backdrop is minus the trees. There was apparently a quarry and marl pit at the top of the hill which eventually filled with water and was a duck pond before it was filled in. There was a school on the land before the church was built and it was rebuilt at the top of Trent Valley Road (now the village hall). At the alter end of the church on the outside there were pigsties. I think these must predate the church.
More information about the village of penkhull can be found in books by the local author Richard Talbot.
More painting news will follow when I paint more.
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A minton tile design turned into 3d by Bret Shah
Penkhull Mystery play is on again this year. This is the 15th year that we have held it up at Penkhull Church Yard and I’ve been asked to publicise it.
Penkhull Mystery Play is being held on Saturday 13th July. The play starts about 2pm.
The play is based on a book about the children of the Potteries and how a family’s life changes from working in pot banks, being forced into the workhouse to the building of the first school at Penkhull in the 1840’s.
There will also be Harpers Titchy Theatre with stories written by locals, stalls, a circus skills workshop, a tug of war competition, a tower of music, a music morning in the church and lots of other activities. This is one if the largest community based art events in Stoke-on-Trent.
It would be great if you can come along.
An explosion of colour makes me feel joyous, excited, satisfied, sainted with brilliance. I would love to turn this into a tee shirt, a throw for a sofa or a bed. It’s a bit bright for a painting on a wall.
This was a quick drawing in ArtRage oils, then I used a rainbow flood fill in the gaps and then a smudge tool. Finally I used the layout app to duplicate and rotate the drawing.
I know they are only simple tools but you can create some interesting things with them.
Mallaband-Brown