New paintings and regular art updates.
Mixed up. Abstract digital drawing. Drawn on top of another image. I like the fact that digitally you can keep adding and erasing parts of a drawing, covering areas with new effects. Changing the opacity of tools so you can see through to previous layers. You can also change the colours of your image to that you totally alter the mood of your artwork. This abstract could become a whirlwind or a rose? Who knows. I might do more to it.
I’m getting some help with my mental health and one of the things I’ve taken up is to do a gratitude diary. Basically you write down three things you are grateful for every day. I do it before bed, and I remember small things that have made me happy during the day. Not big dramatic things (today was a bit of an exception because two things were slightly more important) on other days I’ve included the cat on my lap, or standing in the garden full of flowers.
So why do it? It appears to rewire your brain, cutting down on negative thoughts and turning them positive. I have been advised to do it for at least 28 days. I’m not suggesting anyone else does it, but it’s helping me.
In Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent is a place called Bethesda Methodist Chapel. It has been being restored over several years now. I have visited to sing there in performances with our choir. The building has gone from a crumbling shell to a much more robust structure. It is currently still being restored. One thing I have noticed are the spectacular stained glass windows. Methodist chapels are usually plain and simple. The wooden pews are unadorned. But the glass windows make me smile. It’s just beautiful art.
I just took my Heron painting to the cafe at Etruria Industrial Museum to swap it for the one of the waterfall that I have sold. I will try and deliver that to my friend soon who bought it from me. I need to do some more work because I have the opportunity of showing some small paintings at a new venue that is opening up in Middleport, Stoke-on-Trent, near the Middleport pottery. I’m trying to grab opportunity where I can.
Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was column. I’ve layered up sketching, lines and flood fill tools to create some sort of Greek or Roman column. It’s very sketchy and sort of rustic. I might change it and add leaves to it. I haven’t decided yet. Other column ideas were light and newspaper. I wasn’t sure what to do. But it was an interesting experiment.
An ArtRage background with added drawing on top. This is a sketching app that has some basic tools that are different to the ArtRage app. I used lines, a flood fill and a blurring tool to create this. I like combining different apps, you don’t know what you can get till you try.
Found my stylus so tried using it on a dotted drawing I did a while ago in ArtRage oils. ArtRage has a metallic slider scale so you can make your drawing look metallic and as it says in the name also has pens that look like oil paint. ArtRage oils is a free app. I actually bought ArtRage which is the full app and it has lots more pens and tools, but I keep forgetting it because its on my tablet, and that’s in a cupboard. Oops! Must get it out and charge it!
Tuesdays #bandofsketchers prompt was light. I drew one of my blue glass candle sticks in felt pen. There’s too much clutter on the shelf so the shadow is imagined as is the candle. I have drawn smoke from the wick which is also visible in the shadow. I could have added a flame but don’t have a memory of how it would look.
I just optimised about 100 photos on my phone, but as usual it’s mixed everything up now. Photos I took yesterday are right down my camera roll and this picture I created digitally is now number 1.
There must be a logical explanation for what happens but I don’t know why. I’m not a computer expert so I don’t understand the ins and outs of what is going on. Still it’s interesting to see old photos popping up again. Mostly ones I have made into patterns.
Paint dots abstract on a tiny canvas. I used little glittery paint tubs with nozzles to build this up on a tiny canvas . It is not meant to signify anything. Instead it’s just an experiment. I wanted to see how much the paint would shrink as it dried. The paint is acrylic with added glitter/sparkles or a metallic effect. I don’t have a title for it.
Mallaband-Brown