Painting

A photo of a previous exhibition of my work.

Which activities make you lose track of time?

Art, and particularly painting is where I get “flow”, that is lose track of time when I’m creating art. Sometimes I can go months without painting, but I still create things either by drawing or working on digital art.

From my earliest memories I can remember painting and drawing. It got to the stage where my mom would show relatives my art because she thought they were good. I only had half a bedroom because I shared and that was on the window side, so to display my art I strung strings across the bedroom and hung my pictures from them!

I was obsessed with Elizabethan fashions and used to draw women and men in great dresses and suits of silk, with slashed sleeves and enormous ruffs around their necks. I was also interested in the Asterix the Gaul and would copy the cartoons of him and the other characters. I would spend hours getting the images correct. I think that was when I started getting better at drawing.

I remember spending hours over my art exam paintings. In fact one of my paintings was selected to be put on display at our twin town in Europe.

I think they say you have to do something for 10,000 hours to become an expert. I must have done far more than that. But the time has flown and I don’t recall it being hard work, “time just flies when you are having fun” is a saying that I think is based on what happens when you do an activity and you lose track of time.

Tangled

A drawing from a while ago. It was called molecules. I was trying to find an image that describes my tangled brain. I think I’m OK, then I don’t know. I’m trying to do things, but I’m tied up inside a cotton sack, trying to find the way out.

Am I being dramatic? Perhaps, I have lots of thoughts about what I want to do, but the procrastination gets me all the time. The older I get, the less enthusiasm I have. Sorry, its just one of those nights. I’m watching a sad film and it’s getting to me. I sometimes feel time is running out. Grief is a tight knot. Like a molecule, twisting and turning. Time for some rest perhaps…… I’ll be OK….

Variations

Editing a digital drawing that I made in Artrage. I used photodirector to create several variations, then incollage to create a compilation of them so you can see the steps I took.

Does it look like a good portrait? No. Its more of an abstract idea. I could try using this on an actual painting, I will have to decide if I can do it as this is a finger painting again.

Who’s this memory of?

Digital drawing of David Tennant from ten years ago. Drawn at a now defunct website called Sketchfu. I’d come in from work and go and draw on line to relax. I’ve always loved the BBC Sci fi series Dr Who and David Tennant in the modern era, and Tom Baker in the classic series were my favourite Dr’s.

Bottles 2020

I like collecting them

Drawing from 28.6.2020, bottles, just came up on Facebook memories. The other photo was imported from the free images media here. I’d imported my drawing twice and can’t work how to delete the other one, only replace it. Of course I just realised how to delete it! So this post will probably end up with one photo, and a long rambling explanation why it had two…. Hang on. Sorted, I can see three pictures in the preview but only one in the post!