Tag: Art

Pastel sea

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I did a pastel workshop a few months ago and I found it quite difficult to get a good likeness of the sea.

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The detail is so hard to reproduce. Especially the soft, spray, and foam areas. The colours are also difficult. As you add pastels to the paper surface it catches in the “tooth” of the paper. The problem is that some of the paper’s are like sand paper, and could take the skin off your fingers! I wonder how to handle the pastels to get a softer effect.

I think I would go back to another workshop to gain more skills. I enjoy trying out new materials and techniques. There will be a charge for it, but it is worth it for the experience.

 

Paper cutting

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I usually do some paper cut snowflakes around Christmas, you can get quite a good snowflake effect if you cut paper up after folding it into six equal pieces like slices of a pie.

But I was bored this morning and had an old sheet of cartridge paper, not too thick, which was a bit dirty on one side. So I got my scissors out, folded it into 8 pieces and started cutting curves.

Then I thought about presenting it. I placed it on to my rag rug to get an interesting background. I also placed it on a brown slatted chair, the draining board, and held it up so it reflected off the glass in our back door.

Duplicating the images was done in Layout, an app that allows you to twist and shape your pictures. The folds in the paper add to the effect with shading and shadows adding to the 3 d effect.  Finally I put the pictures on instagram using a few of the filters on that site. I like the resulting patterns which are very symmetrical .

Older paintings

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Some paintings I did are at my relatives house so I don’t see them very often. The painting I did of Jupiter is there. I do think it looks a bit “knitted”. I would love to do some paintings based on the latest images. I think that it would be very difficult to accurately copy the atmosphere of Jupiter.  Saturn’s rings would be equally difficult to render.

The other paintings are: a picure of our garden before it got madly overgrown. Two paintings of Bovisand, out over Plymouth sound and looking inland at the geology of the rocks. My husband standing under an old arch on the isle of Portland. A watercolour of a place called Jennycliff, which is on the south east side of Plymouth.

And finally a snow scene that I painted in the 1980’s. It was meant to represent the steppes and has Russian style onion domes in the background. I’m not sure where I got my idea from. I was reading Frank Herberts “Dune” trilogy at the time and I had never seen an image of the steppes…. But to me that’s part of what being an artist is about, pictures in your mind that you are trying to represent.

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Astronomical paintings

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I love the challenge of trying to paint and draw astronomical objects. I have painted the Earth a few times, but also the Moon, the nebula shown here, Jupiter, and done digital drawings of the Earth and Moon, and the Veil Nebula plus other objects. I have also drawn Jupiter and Saturn.

I’m not an expert. They were all done without measuring the positions of features or stars, so for a real astronomer they probably look totally inaccurate. Still the universe is a wonderful place and the objects in it are amazing.

So if you can recommend an object I could have a go at painting I would be interested. I can’t promise it will be perfect. But I would have a go.

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Monoprints

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I had fun today doing some mono printing, which means one print. Basically you rolling onto a clean flat surface, then you can use objects to scratch through it, or add different colours. You can do one print then add a different colour and as long as you line the paper up in the same place you can get different effects.

I chose to draw a cat into the rolled ink. Then you gently lay the paper on top, press down with your hands, not to heavily, then carefully pull the paper off. Of course the image is reversed from what you drew, so if you add text it needs writing in reverse.

The ink we used was really thick, so I actually managed to get 3 or 4 pictures from each ink drawing. I added some black pen drawing I top of a couple of them, I don’t have photos of them as they are not finished yet. Thanks to another member of Etruria Artists for these photos.

Patterns are my friend

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People who read my blog know I love colour and pattern. Digital apps allow you to manipulate images and colours, or create your own patterns.

I have a love of spirals and curves, and repeating patterns. If I’m left alone I will sit and play, changing colours, creating new iterations, rearranging shapes, until I’m satisfied with the result. As I go along I save the doodles. Then I can go back to a previous drawing and go off on another tangent. If I like something I have created in a drawing app I might start something new in the same app, or try and recreate it in another app.

I find using different applications with different properties helps. So  might want to do something that seems to have been painted in oils or drawn in charcoal. But, importantly, I don’t want to spend lots of money, so they are all free apps from galaxy play store. Certain things won’t work on this tablet, even when I maximise my storage space.

One thing I want to do is get some of them printed. I’m trying to get a cable so I can transfer images to a usb stick.., that’s a plan for the near future.

Studio time?

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I have not been in for a while to my studio. I haven’t settled in. I was OK for a while, but I cocoon myself at home. I wish I could relax and fit in better there.

I find myself going out to other places drawing or painting. But I’m not knuckling down to work. I hope I can break the spell and get on with things. I seem to be half enthusiastic and half despondent. It’s maddening.

I have other reasons that I’m struggling with, but I’m not going into details. Just added frustrations that make things difficult.

Does anyone else feel like this!? Or is it just me….. I have ideas but don’t act on them. People must get really fed up with me being so lacadazical.

Then of course there is the attraction of places like this…am I noise in an empty container? Well I will put this down and try and break free…for a while…

 

Mow Cop

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Mow Cop…..

If you ever drive on the A34 between Stoke-on-Trent and Congleton, look to your left as you are driving North, just past little Moreton Hall. You might catch a glimpse of Mow Cop on top of the hill…

Mow Cop is a folly, built to look like a castle, and it stands above the village of Mow Cop, giving views of the Cheshire plain and Shropshire and the Welsh hills.

We decided to visit today as a group I am in- Stoke USK, (urban sketchers group) is due to visit on Saturday but I can’t make it.

I did some brief sketches of the castle and the view, clouds were quite low over the plain and rain was threatening. I irritated myself because I started the castle drawing too far over the page so had to start again.

While we were there we saw a carved stone with lettering on it. I could just make out the words. “To the Glory of God
A camp meeting near this spot on May 31st 1807 began the Religious Revival led by Hugh Bourne and William Clowes known as Primitive Methodism (unveiled?) By the president of the Methodist Conference 13th May 1948”

I knew that the Methodists had started in the area; Bethesda chapel in Hanley , the city centre of Stoke on Trent, is currently being restored. I imagined people gathering at Mow Cop, listening to the Victorian preachers, in rain, wind and hail. A romantic view I know. But the place is very atmospheric.

We finally tried to walk up to the castle, but the steep steps defeated me so I only got half way up. Richard managed a bit further.

Want to visit?  The castle is a bit difficult to find. Once you are on the hill you can’t see it as well. However there is a good sized car park when you get there. You will see a National Trust notice board and it gives the opening times. Roads approach from the A34 and a road from Tunstall in Stoke-on-Trent.

Talk time

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I miss talking to people sometimes. I have a tenancy to isolate myself as I have said in the past. But today was a good day, I saw an old artist friend who has an idea for a travelling exhibition, and my work fits with it. It’s great to get some positive vibes. Also, a painting that I did a couple of years ago was bought at my exhibition. Someone really admired it and decided to buy it. I feel like a parent seeing a child move into the world. It’s amazing how attached you can get to things, and to see something you love go to a good home gives me a glad feeling inside.

In fact what started out as a quiet weekend has turned out very well. People were interested in my exhibition and some of the new things I have went down really well. I have to thank a friend for creating necklaces for me from some fused glass I made in a workshop earlier in the year. Also a photographer who turned some of my paintings into cards. Again they sold well.

I have not made a fortune, but it has boosted my confidence. Even the chap that came in and said my art was not his cup of tea was not rude, just honest.

The only bad thing is that I seem to have caught a cold! Maybe talking to all those people meant I picked up a bug. We will see….

Exhibition time

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It’s that time of year when I have a small exhibition of work at Etruria. An area of Stoke on Trent in the Staffordshire.  This year it came round fast.  I didn’t really know it was going to happen till a couple of days ago. I think I was feeling a bit down and so I hadn’t organised things very well.

The building it is in is an old warehouse next to the Trent and Mersey, and Cauldon canals. It’s a very old building, with an old canoe up in the rafters, and half a model canal boat up high at one end I the room. It also has some of the largest long legged spiders I have ever seen….but thankfully once I had set up they went into hiding.

Anyway its happened, its up. I’m selling cards and necklaces as well as paintings. I am not really good at doing that. I can be polite, helpful, and enjoy explaining the work I have done, but I don’t like selling, putting a price on things.

I’ve spoken to a few artists recently and they feel the same way. They want to be creative, because they are creative, not because they want to run a business. …

Anyway I think people enjoyed what they saw at the exhibition, I had some good feedback.

What  want to do now is start working on new art!