Busy time…..

Posted on November 20, 2018November 20, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Day off, Houseplants, Long day, Painting, Photo, Rest, TiredLeave a comment

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Suddenly I’ve got a million and one things to do, a commission here, a sketch there, painting for an open day, painting for an annual exhibition. Also a craft fair… What do I do.. I decided to rest today. I felt stressed and worried so I thought let it be for a day. Instead I repotted old houseplants and went to choir practice. I’m still tired after that, but I don’t feel rushed off my feet. You can only do what you can do. I’ve also told the people who want flat pieces of foam board painted with landscapes that they will have to wait.

The result of resting was some photos of the plants I have potted up. As usual I played with the images. Being creative is so important to me.

Now it’s 2.30am, a cold wind is blowing round the house. Sometimes you can hear the wind whistling through gaps round the windows. But at least I’ve had a break. Tomorrow I’ll try and get more painting done.

At stoking curiosity

Posted on November 16, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Jupiter, Painting, Spode, Stoke, Stoke-on trent, Stoking curiosity, TryptichLeave a comment

Wow there’s a lot of things going on down at Spode today. The Stoking Curiosity event is very busy. I’m down at studio 21 and hoping people will pop in. There’s just been a call for a poetry workshop (I’m having lunch at the works canteen cafe) then will be back to continue painting Jupiter today and tomorrow.

So if you get the chance come down and see what’s going on today and tomorrow

Manorbier castle

Posted on November 14, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Castle, Manorbier Castle, Painting, Tenby, Wales7 Comments

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This just popped up in my Facebook memories. A painting on canvas I did of Manorbier Castle in South West Wales (near Tenby). There was a guardhouse near the entrance and a shop and cafe There is a Chapel towards the side nearest the sea. The castle is surrounded by trees and if you follow the road down past it you eventually find a path that you can walk on that takes you out into a shallow bay. The rocks are very interesting with long thin bars of rock separated into long segments lying horizontally ( if I remember rightly) . On the left hand hill overlooking the bay you can see the castle and on the right hand hill, separated by a valley, is the church up in Manorbier village itself.

It’s a few years since we went and my memory is hazy, but my partner remembers Gerald of Wales lived at the castle. I think it’s one of the few privately owned castles in Wales and I’m pretty sure someone lives in apartments inside the battlements.. Its definitely worth a visit, there are lovely gardens there. The only thing is try and go on a dry day as some if the steps are a bit slippery in the rain.

Painting props

Posted on November 14, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on foam board, Art, Eiffel tower, Painting, Panto prop, Pantomime, SceneryLeave a comment

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It was 2am and I decided to paint this. A board that will be one of many to be carried across the stage to show cast members travelling all over the world to get to where they are going.

4am came and I finally went to bed, then my head was spinning and I could not sleep!

Dog commission.

Posted on November 9, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Dog, Painting, Portrait3 Comments

This was from 2017 I think? It’s an image of a friends dog sitting in a grassy field near the sea. I used their photo to work from and it’s quite a big canvas. I wondered whether to add all the grass and weeds but I think it worked quite well. This is again acrylic on canvas. It was a pleasure to paint it.

Still painting

Posted on November 7, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic, Art, Astronomy, Blending, Jupiter, Painting, Scumbling, Shading5 Comments

Spent a productive 3 hours today on this…. Very complicated. The 1st canvas needs to be completed by Friday. I’m getting a bit tired so I think I will leave it till tomorrow…..

Trying to get the details is the problem. The image I’m working from is a bit pixelated. I’m bothered about getting the smoothness and roundness of Jupiter and also the blending between the different areas…. Oh well I’ll keep working

Jupiter progress.

Posted on November 6, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Complex, Jupiter, Nasa, Painting, Photo, Science, Space, Tryptich, UniverseLeave a comment

Note the first photo is the latest version.

For some reason they came out opposite to how I posted them. Here are two parts of my Jupiter tryptich based on a photo Jupiter in the rear view mirror by Nasa. Taken as the Juno probe flew by Jupiter.

The challenge is to finish one panel by Friday. The other two will be painted on our Open days, 16th and 17th of November 2018 when we join with the Stoking Curiosity event. Run in conjunction with Keele University and Staffordshire University. There are a series of talks and lectures over the two days based on the integration of art and science.

Given I love astronomy I decided on this subject. Forgetting that I don’t have a working printer and that my computer is on the blink. I have to thank Mike and Nick at Spode for printing me off black and white photos and then colour images. I would not have got this far without them….. So I’m struggling with the complexity of Jupiter. I’m working on an image from above one of the poles where the oranges and reds of the main bulk of the planet turn to sombre blues browns and dark greys.

My shoulders and arms ache. Although I’m just trying to get one panel finished I have to work across two of them so they fit together and I can orientate where the blotches and patterns are. Please don’t expect perfection..I will try to see how it comes out. If you are around Stoke for Stoking Curiosity come along. I will be in studio 21 at Spode.

Sky

Posted on November 4, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Blogging, Blue, Painting, SkyLeave a comment

Paint blue sky and take photos, take photos of different areas and duplicate and mix them up. Colours are a mixture of ultra marine, cerulean blue and zinc white.

It’s the top half of a painting of spode on a sunny day .There isn’t much progress yet so I decided to this rather than show you a progress picture. I’ve just been too busy.

Anyway more to come I have a new painting to start of Jupiter to get done by Friday … Help

Youth

Posted on October 26, 2018 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, College, Humour, Painting, Rag weekLeave a comment

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Once, many years ago, I was young. I was looking at some old photos today and came across this article, from when I was on my foundation art course. I clearly wanted to be a painter even then. I think I was slightly amazed to be chosen. I guess no one else was willing to have their picture taken. I’d never been in an article for a paper before so it was quite strange, especially seeing my face looking back at me. There was another article in the same paper with some of my friends so I wasn’t a total show off!

The college had a rag week when people did mad things. Our town had a new statue of a hippo in the town square for some reason, so a group of students made a pink papier mache gorilla to be its friend. Another lot roped themselves together and pretended to climb up the local hill (almost flat) on their hands and knees….

Wild days

Working on them

Posted on October 25, 2018 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Art, Cat, Painting, Portrait of cat2 Comments

One problem with being ill is that sometimes my energy levels are not good. I’m often tired, and if I get a cold like I have now I just feel washed out. I end up looking at the canvas instead of painting it.

That being said I’ve promised to finish these two this week. They have come on well, but I think they will need daylight so that I can see the colours properly.

So I will take my time but work hard to finish them. Until I’m happy with them.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Painting