Net curtains

Posted on March 14, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Cats, Fun, Humour, Looking in, Neighbours, Net curtains, Painting, StudioLeave a comment

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When you live next to a road, without a front garden, you need something to obscure people views of the inside of your home. I mean, if it was a show home it might be different, but I’m messy when it comes to life. I’ve got lots of art materials and canvases so you can imagine.. I have a studio at Spode, but in winter it’s too cold to use.

Anyway I used to have lovely net curtains, with cat patterns on them, but they got clawed by my new cats, so these are stronger, less easy to damage. The cats still climb on the windowledge and look out, half the time they pull the net curtains along with them, so I’m constantly having to straighten them up…. Like a nosy neighbour twitching their curtains!

Brushes (new)

Posted on March 14, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylics, Art, Brushes, Glazes, Nylon, Oils, Painting, Paints, Tempera, WatercolourLeave a comment

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Just got some new brushes, they usually cost a lot, but these were not expensive. They are value brushes, £3.99 each pack. I bought one lot of smallish round headed brushes and one pack of flat ones. That’s eight brushes (nylon) at about £1 each.

Apart from these I must have about twenty or thirty old brushes. I must go through them, maybe throw a few away. But they are like old friends, I use them till all of the bristles have worn away!

Using different shapes gives you different mark making. Round, pointed ones can describe the shapes of petals or leaves. Flat, chisel shaped ones can be used for painting things like bricks, or to fill in larger areas.

These brushes are ‘golden taklon’ by Royal Langnickel. I like them because they are nylon so the bristles last longer and don’t tend to snap or fall out. Also they have rubber grips so they are non slip and easier to handle. They can be used for acrylics, watercolours, oils, temperas and glazes.

I got these from a craft shop in a local garden centre.

Painting I did a few years ago.

Posted on March 14, 2020 Posted in Fine Art, UncategorizedTagged Art, Auction, Blogging, Dog, Dogs, French bulldog, Fun, Life, Painting, Pet portrait, Watercolour on paperLeave a comment

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I think it says 2005.

There had been a massive Tsunami on Christmas Eve in the Philippines. Our offices decided to do an auction I think for a fundraiser and I offered to do a painting for whoever bid for it.

The winning bid wanted a painting of three dogs. I think they are French bulldogs? They were named after characters from Buffy the vampire slayer, which was a popular TV programme at the time.

It’s funny the little details you remember. But yes, I used to love doing pet portrait. Contact me if you are interested….

Must get my brushes out

Posted on March 13, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Artists block, Blogging, Brushes, Depression, Life, Need to paint, Painting6 Comments

I admit, this week I should have painted. But I’ve found a colouring Web site where you sit and ‘colour by numbers’.

I want to get on with things, but with everything that is going on in the world I think I’ve got a bit down again. I need to paint.

So tomorrow, I’m going to try and get my act together and start painting again.

Tree spirits

Posted on March 9, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Colours, Design, Facebook, Memories, Painting, Surreal, Time, Tree, Tree spiritsLeave a comment

Four years ago. Tree spirit painting.

This is an idea I have painted a few times. I’m convinced that we need to do more to encourage tree planting. I guess I’m a bit of a tree hugger on the quiet!

I’ve painted trees with faces in them from spring, to autumn and winter. I’ve not done a summer one so far.

This went to a friend who really loves it. There are three faces in the painting as you can see. I did have a picture of it from the front but can’t find it. This came up on my Facebook page ( a useful way of recording my art). I was really pleased with the bright colours in this. I wanted it to look like a glowing sunset. The faces are mysterious and stare out at each other. I think it’s slightly surreal. I admire the movement but it probably needs more of a twist to it to actually be classed as surreal art.

Cats dream

Posted on March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art auction, Blogging, Colours, Design, Fun, Life, Painting, Pictures, Post cards, Quick, WatercolourLeave a comment

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Quick watercolour I did on a postcard for a blind auction for charity a few years ago. You had to submit pictures on cards so they could be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

I did a few and enjoyed doing it. Just creating off the cuff pieces. I don’t know how well they did, but I didn’t get any of them back..

Here are a few more, just quick, bright and cheerful.

Blue and orange

Posted on March 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blue, Design, Fun, Orange, Painting, Patterns, Tiles, Tiny paintingsLeave a comment

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Patterns created to look like tiles.

Taken from tiny paintings, duplicated and made into a grid. A couple of years old, I think it is probably too jazzy for today’s minimalist people.

I call it having fun with blue and orange. Not much else to say really.

Poppies

Posted on March 3, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Fruit, Painting, Poppies, Poppy, RedLeave a comment

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One of my favourite plants is a poppy, the red of them is beautiful and I painted these to try and express their beauty. They are on a long thin canvas. Painted in acrylics and made to look a bit like pottery tiles. I showed this here a while ago but saw it on Facebook so thought I would share again.

Red is a colour that not many mammals can see. Apparently we see it because it’s the colour of some sorts of ripe fruit. Humans were attracted to it so red became a special colour. Red lipstick, red racing cars, red fruit, so many things that are visible only to a few animals in the world.

Morning glory plants

Posted on March 2, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Blogging, Blue, Flowers, Gardening, Green, Hanging basket, Landscape, Morning glory, Painting, Plants, Summer2 Comments

A few years ago painted this morning glory as it flowered. I’d nurtured the plant on a windowledge, carefully watered it. Put it outside when the summer was warm enough so it would stay alive.

It was in a hanging basket outside in the garden when I decided to paint it in situ. As I painted the flower opened and then at the end of the day closed and wilted (the same thing happened with the following days flowers). Hard to capture but beautiful. I might do a copy or similar painting.

Acrylic on canvas. Small flowers are lobelia, and the cream ones are surfinias.

Another WIP

Posted on March 2, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Animals, Art, Birds, Blue, Green, Iridescent, Kingfisher, Nature, Orange, Painting, Work in progress2 Comments

After finishing my ‘green people’ I’m about to start work again on this kingfisher painting. I intend to try and leave the background quite blurred and try and get a lot of detail into the Kingfisher. They really are the most beautiful of birds, with iridescent plumage. It’s acrylic on canvas as usual. About 10 x 14 inches? Maybe slightly bigger than that. Might do some more to it today.

I think you can see these down on the river Trent, although I don’t know if there is too much fish there for them.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Painting