Work in progress. Needs work on the beach which I think is a bit dark…. I was trying to get a feeling of sand. This is a small commission so I’m trying for a realistic look. It’s based on a drone photo I saw online but it’s not an exact copy, just using it to see how the wavelets ripple onto the shore.
This came up on my memories today. I remember this was a cold and sunny day just like today. I was taking part in a craft fair outside Stoke Market. Things were better then, people had a bit more money. I think I sold a few paintings. I have to say they were a bit random… I think I had done a all exhibition earlier in the year so I’d painted all sorts of things, some better than others. I’m trying to be a bit more selective in what I paint these days. I’m also not keen on sitting outside in the cold as much!
This is the Cratchetts stove, a bit of painting I’ve done for the ‘a Christmas Carol’ performance this weekend. It’s a little bit splodgy, but the surface of the foam board was strange to paint on. Plus I’m very tired after not sleeping last night then getting up early because the gas engineer was coming round to service out gas boiler. Weird that I’m painting an old heating system at the same time as getting ours checked out. Serendipity? Maybe.
Sundays #bandofsketchers prompt was Antarctica. As penguins live in Antarctica I decided to draw one swimming in the sea. I did think about drawing them huddled together with chicks but they look so streamlined in the water. As usual a felt pen drawing.
I’m hoping to get some cards made from my pottery paintings. I need to start selling things, but it’s a balance between what I can afford and what I can sell. The cost of living is making life difficult for everyone. This painting is loosely based on a Burleigh ware design although it’s not an actual copy. It’s totally imagined so I had to decide on where the shadows would fall. The background is meant to look like wooden panels reflected in a desk or table. The minds eye is an interesting concept. I actually can imagine how things look, and by talking my way through things I can generally get a good idea of what I’m doing.
My #bandofsketchers prompt today was ‘substantial’, I can remember seeing photos of standing stones with a flat stone on top. This was done from memory. I didn’t even know what they were called so had to look it up. Felt pen drawing. Wikipedia says: dolmen (/ˈdɒlmɛn/) or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or “table”. Most date from the early Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance.[1] In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone “skeleton”.
I can’t spell Sicilian…. Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was defence. I didn’t want to draw an army or war image, so I looked at chess. I don’t know how the Sicilian defence works but it seemed like a good idea. Just a felt pen drawing.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was Vow. Hard one to do, I didn’t want to draw a couple at a marriage do I drew two gold rings and adapted a pattern I’d been drawing to try and make it look like lacework. I only spent about ten minutes on the rings. Felt pen drawing again using some metallic pens.
Spode reflected and my willow pattern painting. I like pattern and design so doing both of these a few years ago was a delightful challenge. The window frame in the bottom painting was old and peeling and it was fun trying to get a likeness of it. The top painting was a willow pattern platter but using two different images to meld together to create a unique image. The border around the painting was all my own design. (There is a teapot painting on the table but the details are not visible). They are being photographed so I can have cards and prints, they are up for sale at the Arts and Minds Gallery, Veterans Support at Harper Street in Middleport.
I’ve just dropped off a few paintings to the Arts and Minds Gallery at Harper Street in Middleport opposite Middleport Pottery. I have asked them to do some cards from them and they have also taken the pictures to sell for me. It’s really pleasing to have my work included there. The galley has a wide range of beautiful art work. It also is part of a network that supports local veterans and their families. I have been able to show and sell work there because my hubby has a link to the military.
The gallery is warm and friendly and are always supportive. I think it helps that it doesn’t feel exclusive and snobbish. It’s in a great place too, helping to expand the creative area around Middleport pottery in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.