New paintings and regular art updates.
As you can see I love cats! This is my Tom cat who fell asleep on my chest. Its good that he can be relaxed enough to sleep on me but I couldn’t move until he decided to get off! I snuck a photo of him. He is such a sweet and friendly cat. The painting is one I did several years ago (more than 30). It has been up on the wall for years.
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Bovisand Bay, painted from life several years ago. Acrylic on canvas. This is what I remember…
The beach at Bovisand.
Warm sand beneath my feet.
Gritty rock, specks sparkle in the sun.
Water laps my feet.
Feet sink into soft sand…
Cove enclosed by cliffs.
Blue sky and tiny clouds.
Close growing plants are sheltered.
Back of the bay, a valley nestles in the hills.
A golden grass snake basks in the heat.
I remember.
I remember the thunder storm.
Lightening strikes in dark night.
Watching flashes over the sea.
Awesome beauty.
Remembered.
These are a few pictures I took when I was at college. They are pictures of objects I considered to turn into still lives. I finally did a painting based on the shiny plastic melanin? These pictures were taken almost forty years ago in my studio. The final one is oil paint on board. In one corner if you look closely is the painting of a hill covered in terraced houses that I did a copy of recently.
It’s good finding an old sketchbook with old hotis. It reminds me of what I was doing then. I also found pictures of old friends. I might post a couple of photos of them.
Stay safe and do Art!
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I just took this photo of a painting I did of Maiden Castle in the 1990’s. It’s a hill Fort in the countryside near Dorchester in Dorset, England. Sorry for the shine on it, my camera flash reflected off it.
What is Maiden Castle? A series of ramparts of soil, rising and falling until it reaches a plateau in the middlewhere the Fort is situated. It can be reached by a pathway through the maze of hills.
My painting includes a dancing and decaying figure. She is meant to represent the spirit of the place and its history. I was studying radiography at the time, and had found a rabbit skull on one of my walks. I also liked watching the archaeology TV programme, ‘ Time Team’ and this was my attempt to embody the feeling I got as I stood up on that hill.
Sadly I haven’t been back there since. But I just read a post by Sue Vincent and her visit to the place and it reminded me of the place. The Maiden Castle scene was taken from a photo and the dancing woman was imagined.
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A sketch of my very old, but very comfy, pink slippers. Used metallic acrylic paint over the sketch, then added more details in pen over the top.
This was today’s challenge with #uskstoke today. It’s not my best sketch or painting, it’s a bit dark, and you can’t really see the metallic paint. But it was fun to do, and after all, why not?
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I did the jar late last night, 3am. Couldn’t easily paint inside so got some silver foil and cut our shapes. Fastened it on with loads of sellotape. Then I painted over it with abstract patterns. I painted the top too and then used a bit of matt varnish on it to hold it together a bit more. Finally I twisted some wire to hold a tea light, so I didn’t have to try and light it in the bottom of the jar.
I can use it in our summerhouse. The silver foil was a bit chunky because I was worried it would rip when I unfolded the cut out. The pattern I’m calling ‘graffiti’ , cos it looks a bit like the spray painting you get along the canal on the way to Etruria.
This was an idea for a weekly project we are doing in our Etruria Artists group.
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Robin painting from November.
I was reading about Robins on Facebook today where I read this that a friend had posted:
She I looked up ‘what does it mean if a Robin visits?’
Meaning found: If a robin keeps visiting you in indicates good luck. According to myths and legends, Robins appear once a loved one has died, Allegedly, it’s a simple message from heaven; that this loved one is watching over you. Robins also appear spiritually, to remind you to uncover the happiness.
Robins are also associated with the end of an old phase and the entering of a new one. To see Robin means you need to let go of what no longer serves you and find something else to bring you joy and happiness. The Robin bird is encouraging you to be brave again.
I don’t set much store in old wives tales, but this is sweet. In such a difficult world its good to remember the nice things. We have at least one Robin in the garden, bustling around, finding food. He’s very welcome along with blackbirds and blue tits. I must make an effort and try and get some photos….
Things to do at a loose end… I was asked to try and draw something with a fork for a Facebook group, I don’t know whether anyone else had a go? .. Well it ended up being a sort of forking cat! It was fun, but the acrylic paint didn’t make much of a mark, I tried adding water and then it splodged!
No doubt I will be posting more weird images as the days go on.
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I need some inspiration for new paintings. Now I have to stay indoors or in my garden because of the orders to self isolate if you have underlying health issues, I can’t get out and look at things, I can’t go and see the sea. I’m trawling through my phone to see if I can find images to paint. This is a strong candidate (taken at the waiting room gallery, which is closed for the time being). This has an old fashioned look of a still life, with strong shadows and modelling with the sunlight.
I will try and find a canvas for it. I’m worried that the shops I get them from might close? I will have to go out tomorrow and panic buy canvases! And that is not sticking to the self isolating rules!
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This has been hidden behind envelopes and letters for weeks, artists block holding me tight in its grip. So why is it uncovered? Is there going to be a spurt in activity? No, spring cleaning, removing piles of old letters and finding things to shred or burn…. And I cleaned the cooker, cleaned the bathroom sink, did the washing up, cleaned the fridge, the sink in the kitchen, wiped the walls down and… Still didn’t paint, despite having things to do…. My bum needs a good kicking!
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