New paintings and regular art updates.
Top painting by Theodore Gericault of a French peasant woman. I used it to base my picture on. The bottom painting is my portrait of Molly Leigh. I know mine is a bit rough round the edges, but I wanted her to look wise with a glint in her eye. I hope now I’m getting my sight sorted out things will improve. I will try and keep posting here but I may have to be careful how much I do.
My portrait of Molly Leigh the Burslem Witch. Painted after my mural of her at the Leopard Hotel in Burslem burnt down a couple of years ago. Acrylic on canvas.
It was used as a prop in the Who is Molly Leigh? opera that was on last week. I was so proud and excited to be able to display it in public. I like creating narrative pieces of art as well as portrait so of people which I would say is my speciality. I’d like to poss create further portraits of Stoke-on-Trent famous people… Just a thought.
Tonight was the first performance of the opera, Who is Molly Leigh?
I enjoyed singing in the choir and got to watch a couple of scenes. We sing in the final scene and question who Molly Leigh was? Was she real, was she a myth? It’s amazing how it’s all come together. I’m pleased to say the audience enjoyed it.
I’m absolutely shattered now! I went to the fish and chip shop to get tea because I’m to tired to microwave something, but it’s going cold in the kitchen because I sat down and I’m too achy to get back up! Might have a nap.
Of me painting.
Stitching an image together
Section by section
Gradually integrating
Joining blocks together
Like a jigsaw puzzle.
Pieces don’t always fit
They have to be adjusted.
The progress of a rake
Is in jeopardy!
Today I painted a fire for the play Who is Molly Leigh…. Not the fire surround or the hearth, or the objects around it, but a piece of cardboard with a brick chimney backing painted on it and a coal fire burning strongly in the grate.
I asked another maker what she thought and she felt the flames should be more yellow and red, but the photo I worked from showed bright white flames surrounded by glowing yellow, orange, and red. It’s funny how people’s imaginations have stereotypical ideas of how things should look. I really enjoyed adding bright colours in between the coals to make it look really hot.
Someone asked me how to paint wood panels today so I got some cardboard and some acrylic paint and did this. It’s meant to look like oak, which I painted grey brown and added shading and highlights and a sort of wood grain effect… It’s quite deep looking due to the shadows.
Which activities make you lose track of time?
When I paint I lose track of time, the world goes away. Sometimes I lose myself completely. I know I feel pain in my arms nowadays, and I can’t always focus on the tip of my brush because I get slight double vision. But I have to do it. I’m under a compulsion to spread liquid onto a hard or soft surface (board, wall, or canvas) and recreate images or come up with ideas of my own….
My other passion is reading, I rarely read a book from cover to cover anymore unless it’s very short, my hands stick in place, my trigger fingers play up and I get cramp in them. But I do like using reading to send myself to sleep. I’m currently rereading The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. It’s a sci-fi novel set in the 1960’s? It’s also a very good film…. He was the author of Jurassic Park by the way.
Goodnight, off to bed to read….I might just lose track of time again. X
With poor brushes you can still paint. This is about A4 size. The trouble was when I painted this, I couldn’t get a point on the brushes they provided. That made it hard to get detail on the faces and hands. It ended up looking very sketchy but I did my best. This took about 2 hours to knit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Hogarth would be spinning or laughing in his grave! Acrylic on board.
By the time I finished I had to be helped up off my chair. My left hand has been cramping up ever since and my left leg is in spasm. I’m hunched over after leaning in to add details. It’s been a hard, hot day and my Parkinsons is making me shake like a jelly!
Scenery painting for a cottage scene. They wanted some old style pictures you might find on a cottage wall. So I decided to try and do a quick (1 hour) painting of the haywain. It jiggered me up! And the image I copied from wouldn’t expand so it was the size of a postage stamp! Lots of sketchy work on this but it looks OK at a distance. Acrylic on board.
Feeling blue.
Can you see a face,…?
Head tilted to the left, a streak of light catching the nose?
My friend saw it first, where I had roughly painted the scenery for the show. Random brush strokes that created a male face…
My hubby’s face? Not scary, good to feel I had unconsciously incorporated him! He was an enthusiastic actor in the shows. Glad he was there apparently in spirit. X
Mallaband-Brown