Tag: Design

Paint

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Paint is a wonderful thing,  a riot of colours, a rainbow of tones.

Acrylic for ease of colour use, oil paint for staying damp to ease blending. Water colours for transparency and simplicity, Gouache for more opaque colours over watercolour. The types of paint are fascinating. Each has its own method and technique. Even paints such as emulsion and gloss can be used in Art, and of course spray cans are used for graffiti.

From millennia ago humans have made marks, on cave walls, on rocks, papyrus and paper. Canvas and screens. The need to make pictures seems to have been with us almost from the cradle. Children learn to draw at an early age. Scribbling, then with improved hand eye coordination comes drawing, painting, even writing. For what is language, it is an abstract representation of what was once pictograms. Egyptian hieroglyphics show the link between art and language.

Paint and art invade our society. Art and colour are used to design every day objects. Architecture is a form of art. We need artists and painters in our visual society. Art is there in video games, special effects, what colour your clothes or car will be next season. What palette you decide to use to decorate weddings and birthdays. The list is almost endless….

 

Getting your ducks in a row

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I found this digital drawing of a duck on my Facebook memories. It was drawn in ArtRage oils and I just liked the pattern for the feathers that I created so I took a section of it and duplicated it in the Layout app on my tablet. I then changed the colours slightly in an Instagram filter called Charmes I think.

I wanted to make a reflection pattern and this uses 16 sections of the original drawing turned and twisted. I think the bits at the top and the bottom look like small crabs and the central sections look like vegetation arching  over a still pond.

I often draw birds, I love the way their eyes stare out at you. I love feathers, I used to draw them all the time as a child. I liked how the strands in them interlock. I have drawn peacocks and swans and lately painted crows. I would like to be able to paint birds in flight, its how their wings spread, and the feathers flutter and split as the wind flows through them. I like the iridescent colours that sparkle off the feathers, especially on birds such as peacocks.

 

Roses

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Roses are red

Violets are blue,

This doesn’t rhyme

I dont know why!

Roses have such an important role in life, they are a symbol of love, lijd red roses for valentines day. They can be sent to patients in hospital, and are a beautiful addition to a garden. Roses are used as an image on greetings cards and can also be found as part of traditional canal art.

People always seem to want to retire to a cottage where roses grow around the door. I tend to think you might get spiked on the thorns if you are not careful.

Roses are red, but they can also be in many other colours, from palest white to almost black. Some roses have sweet scent, others are without perfume. Some flower continuously through spring, summer and into autumn while others bloom only once a year.

I am interested in trying to paint or draw them, their convoluted petals are a real challenge. How they intertwine, whether they are simple flowers like the dog rose, or more complex like hybrid tea roses.

The plants can be used formally, for instance in a rose garden with box hedges , or scrambling or climbing up trellises and trees. They will grow up a pergola and give scented shade in the summer. They can also be used as ground cover.

Don’t ask me about pruning, black spot, aphid attack or other problems because I don’t know….

 

Complexity

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Complexity enchants me, it excites me, it tickles my mind. Complexity is deep within my soul. To illustrate this I have added some digital drawings that I have played with. I started before these with a roughly drawn profile which did not have gender or age. After working on it with a smudge tool I decided to use picsart to change it and blend it into something new. I feel like it is now a profile of a boy.

I used a colour transformation tool in picsart to bring out more vibrant blues and purples. Only when these were set did I go into changing the styles in another part of the app. Eventually I put the drawing through layout which us another app to multiply it up.

Complexity comes through the various iterations, colour, texture and tone being changed each time. I go by feel to decide when to stop, I don’t want to go too far so the picture becomes a bland mush,  but I did try and push it as far as I could.

Homage to Escher

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This is a digital drawing I did in Photoshop in 2006.

The image is based on a self portrait drawing by M C Escher.

I have not included any of his lithographs and mezzotints as I am not sure about copyright on them. But you probably know them, and I would recommend looking his work up on Wikipedia if you haven’t seen them before.

From flights of birds or shoals of fish intricately drawn so they tesselate and move past each other, to water flowing downhill infinitely, people walking up and down stairs that twist and turn worse than in Harry Potter… Eschers work is mind expanding, exciting, exhilarating!

The lithographs I have seen are in black and white. Reality is skewed, people move in 3 dimensions, but at impossible angles. Up and down are confused.

Each picture is intricate, tiny details immerse you in an alien world. This is amazing art from the past, do have a look at them if you can.

See this link for further information:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._C._Escher

More animal drawings

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This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I have posted some more of my old drawings for you. As you can see I have lots of ideas, some of them come from photographs I have seen in magazines, others are from my imagination. I have a few more left, so I might post them later in the week.

I hadn’t seen the slideshow option before, hope you like it.

I do like dolphins, I swam with a wild one a few years ago. We were on holiday and came back to the caravan site in the late afternoon. There were a pod of dolphins in the sea. I got in the sea …I only took my shoes and glasses off…. then swam out about 20 yards. One dolphin stayed near the beach, it kept swimming near me. There were people in wet suits further out, and people in the shallows,  me in the middle…..I can’t say it was spiritual, but it was amazing.

The next day there was a warning sign saying that the dolphin was called Georges who was an adolescent male. He had hurt himself because he was too curious and had been hurt by propellers on boats.  Apparently you could catch illnesses like pneumonia from the damp air from his blow hole.

I didn’t care…. I had a wonderful experience.

More animals

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You don’t have to take drawing seriously, you can experiment and learn new techniques as you go!

The thing I try and do is to draw something every day. They reckon that you need to do  10,000 hours at anything to become an expert, something like that anyway. At my age I must be well passed that…..

These are more digital drawings, probably done around 2012. They popped up on my Facebook feed as a memory.  It’s interesting to look back and see what you were doing years ago. It is like looking at old sketchbooks.

I want to do some more work like this, but it is finding time to do it that is the problem.

Anyway goodnight all!

 

Orange

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Orange is sharp, orange is zesty,                                                         bright like the sun, full of sweetness.

Orange is clay, terracotta, rusty.                                                         Iron oxidized, turned into ochre.

Orange is fire, hot lava pouring,                                                         burning with heat, spitting out rocks.

Orange a mixture of red and of yellow,                                            painting the sky in a deep sunset glow.

Orange is warmth and spice in food,                                                 saffron in rice, turmeric too.

Let Orange be free, paint with it, see –

It’s colour reminds me to be happy…

Breaking the block!

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Going to an arts group is a great way to start painting again when you are struggling.

I’m a member of a couple of groups so I spent a few hours today doing a couple of little paintings, a view of a hill with a sunset adapted from an old magazine photo and a green man or woman (not sure yet) from my imagination, but taking the eyes , mouth and nose from a face on a leaflet at a local fire station where we hire a room once a month.

As usual I’m concerned with colours, trying to get them right…is there too much brown in the green person painting? Is the sunset too dazzling in the  hill and lake painting (which is only about 1 by 1 and 1/2 inches).

I started discussing skies with other members of the group. Trying to think through how to render the light on clouds as the sun sets. To be honest when I get my hands on a paintbrush and paints I soon start creating again. The friendly support of the other members of the group just gave me that lift I needed.

If you can join a group I would recommend it. Each person had a unique idea of what they wanted to paint or draw. We all have our own styles, and some people wanted to use pastels, while others were using oils or acrylics. Each make marks differently. It’s wonderful to take a walk round the room and watch the progress of the artists there.

So…….the block is broken. There may be a mass of pictures coming this way soon!

Artists block

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I want to paint, I have to have new work done in ten days, but apart from a few sketches I’m stuck.

I look at old paintings and drawings, and they are not good enough for what I’m doing, they don’t come up to scratch. They need to represent me, my art. I’m trying to be professional so they all have to be good quality.

I am blocked, I am allowing my fears to hold me back. Even thinking about it makes my mind go blank. It’s the fear of failure, the belief that Im not good enough. I know its not true. I can and will probably be OK, but its the fear…..

I can’t imagine being on the other side of it though. My stomach is fluttering. My mind is empty. I do not want to pick up my paintbrush. There’s canvas’s waiting to be covered but I’m not sure what to put on them!

Is there a patron saint for painters? I hope I get some inspiration soon…….