Orme Art exhibition..

Posted on September 10, 2019September 10, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Abstract, Acrylic on canvas, Art, Astronomy, Design, Flowers, Free, Gallery, Jupiter tryptich, Landscape, Mars, Museum, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Orme Art group, Paintings, Plants, Staffordshire, The BramptonLeave a comment

I got my paintings up at the Brampton museum and art gallery now until the 10th November. I’m part of a group exhibition with fellow artists from the Orme Art group based in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

I’m quite happy that they have hung my Mars painting upside down! After all in space there is no right way up! The art is along a corridor in the museum but they are well displayed and lit. If you are around you can always take a look. It’s at the Brampton museum and art gallery in Newcastle-under-Lyme .

Holly and Ivy green man.

Posted on September 8, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Design, Green man, Holly and Ivy, Life, Painting, PortraitLeave a comment

Coming up for the autumn / winter. I want to do some more green men and women. If I can do some with frost and snow that would be interesting. I’m looking for pictures of striking faces so that they have character, I’ve found that if I just make them up they get a bit flat and don’t have as much impact. More later….

Extra work….

Posted on September 7, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Colour, Design, Fine Art, Green, Green man, Leaves, Painting, Portrait2 Comments

Sometimes a painting can need work. After a couple of months, and after already exhibiting “my green man” I decided to do more work on it. The canvas was a bit rough, so when you put paint on it, it didn’t spread evenly and it caught on the surface, leaving tiny little dots where the paint hadn’t stuck. That meant that it looked thin in places and the colour wasn’t strong enough so I have tried to improve the pattern of the leaves and the shading on the face. I’ve used some iridescent turquoise to give it the gleam of dampness. If I do another one I might try and paint frost and ice on it.

He’s finished colouring

Posted on September 2, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Beads, Cat, Cheerful, Colouring, Colours, Design, FunLeave a comment

my hubby finished this. I like the fact he’s done the cat in green. Also that he’s left some of this white. I’m to blame for the beading, it was too fiddly for him.

It’s definitely a riot if cheerful colours. I’m not sure where it’s going. It might go on his side of the bedroom..

Colours

Posted on August 30, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Colours, Curves, Design, Editing, Editor, Fun, Photos, PlayingLeave a comment

When you take a photo do you ever think of adjusting the colours or the hue? It’s easily done on a smart phone. You can use so thing called ‘curves’ where you can change all the colours, tones, contrast and dark and light using one tool. You have a curve indicating the colours and by adjusting the curve in different places…. I’ve taken a few screenshots to explain. First take a picture, then go to photo editor.

I don’t know how anyone else’s phone works, but in photo editor if you find the editing button in editor, choose the one for changing colours. The icon has a curve on it. Click on that and you can adjust the levels, you can see them move on the screen. When you like it choose save. You then have an image that looks completely mad, or subtle, or however you like it.

Painting is like knitting.

Posted on August 29, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Design, Mars, Painting, Planet, Polar ice cap, Pole, Red planet, RustLeave a comment

The complexity of trying to paint the surface of Mars is like trying to knit a complicated pattern of cable stitch, pearl and plain knitting. I don’t know exactly how to do that, and with this painting I’m trying to get craters and ridges at least vaguely in the right place, which is like knitting the whole thing.

If I had large images of the planets I would use tracing paper to copy the main features, then transfer the tracing onto a canvas by drawing on the other side to have at least an outline to follow. But no, I do it the hard way. Holding my phone up with the image then trying to paint the right colours and features and attempting to get them in the right place. You also have to keep tapping the phone to stop the picture going off.

Well so far I’ve splodged in whites, violets, blues, rust colours and dark areas. It’s starting to work but it’s got more complicated as I’ve gone on. I have overpainted several areas. I can see that it will take a while yet.

Been to the studio.

Posted on August 22, 2019August 22, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Astronomy, Design, Environment, Jupiter, Life, Planet scape, SpaceLeave a comment

I’ve been back to my studio after a couple of months being too busy and hot to go there. This is my Jupiter tryptich which might be on show in the Brampton museum and art gallery soon, as part of the Orme Group of Artists exhibition.

Art and astronomy seem to be getting under my skin. I have tried to accurately depict the planet Jupiter, but I don’t use airbrushing so everything is hand painted with various sizes of brushes.

It’s not perfect, I can see where I’ve gone wrong, but the whole point is that these are paintings, and I love patterns so trying to depict the fluid dynamics of Jupiter’s atmosphere is a real challenge.

I like the idea of having a tryptich. It can be hung vertically or horizontally, or as in this case on the diagonal. I also like using the floor at Spode. I think it makes a great background.

Who is he?

Posted on August 17, 2019August 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Design, Eleanora street, lithograph?, Plate, Pottery, Print, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, What is it?Leave a comment

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There are some windows in Spode covered in various circular prints. This one looks like a photographic negative and appears to be someone famous although I don’t know who.

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There are other patterns overlaid. This must have been a particular place for some sort of work within the factory but I’m not sure what?

Almost done, painting update.

Posted on August 17, 2019August 17, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Design, Painting, pprogress, self portrait, Work in progressLeave a comment

I’ve added myself in the bottom right hand side of the painting. I’m there as a ghostly shadow in the photo, so why not? Trying to get an idea of cracked paint on the frame. 15660661997191669111920713503871

Can you see my phone?

Painting upside down.

Posted on August 16, 2019 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Blogging, Computer, Design, Landscape, Life, Painting, Spode, Staffordshire, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Work in progress5 Comments

Sometimes it’s hard to see whether something looks right in a painting. Then I try turning it upside down. It really does give you a different perspective. In the case of the painting I’m doing it also allows me to get closer to the top of the picture as I’ve got it propped up on a chair.

Eyesight is another problem. If I’m staring at my phone looking at the image it’s hard for my eyes to accommodate (called presbyopia) where the lenses in your eyes get stiffer as you get older, so they don’t focus as well.

I’m now starting to paint the cracks in the window frame paint. I may come back to the clouds (thanks Martha, a bit of finger painting helped).

I’ve rotated the photo back to the vertical on my camera so I can look at it without moving the canvas. Eventually I will turn it back the right way so I can paint the bottom half. It’s going to take a while…..

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Design