Painting Earth

 

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I finished my nebula paint in tonight and I had this black canvas, so I have started a painting of Earth.

I remember seeing the Apollo 11 landing on TV. I was only young and Dad got us up out if bed to see it. Grainy pictures showed Armstrong stepping down the ladder.

I think that inspired my love of science and space. Then seeing the photo of Earth rising above the moon fascinated me. The old TV programmes did not show Earth properly, sci fi had Earth without clouds, just blue oceans and brown land.. Seeing the reality, especially the photo showing the African continent was so special.

So anyway.  I like planets, I have painted Jupiter a couple of times and this is the second time I have painted Earth. It is amazing to see the colours and clouds. I wish I was young enough to go into space to see the reality.

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Here is the painting again…almost finished…I may add more detail to the clouds, painted under electric light so need to see it in the daytime. .

Nebula

 

Just spent two hours going from a blank canvas to this. I’m trying to paint Planetary nebula NGC 2044. May have got the number wrong?

Anyway I saw the canvas last week and decided to have a go at something. I was going to paint the moon  but decided on something a bit more colourful….hmm there I go again!

Anyway, astronomers out there will see its not accurate, but its bloody difficult to hold a book in one hand and the canvas in the other…not doing my back any good. Its now 2am. I have an appointment at 9.30am, I dont know why I’m still up? Well yes I do, my artists block is well and truly broken. I have finished 8 tiny paintings today and started this!

I sort of explode sometimes with art.. can’t help it. I am so full of ideas sometimes…..but…bed…ok..bed..hmmm…coffee? No..bed…

Night all!

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This is the finished painting. Sorry about the lighting!

Artists block

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I want to paint, I have to have new work done in ten days, but apart from a few sketches I’m stuck.

I look at old paintings and drawings, and they are not good enough for what I’m doing, they don’t come up to scratch. They need to represent me, my art. I’m trying to be professional so they all have to be good quality.

I am blocked, I am allowing my fears to hold me back. Even thinking about it makes my mind go blank. It’s the fear of failure, the belief that Im not good enough. I know its not true. I can and will probably be OK, but its the fear…..

I can’t imagine being on the other side of it though. My stomach is fluttering. My mind is empty. I do not want to pick up my paintbrush. There’s canvas’s waiting to be covered but I’m not sure what to put on them!

Is there a patron saint for painters? I hope I get some inspiration soon…….

Yesterdays Art

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Some paintings I have worked on and a Mini Mona Lisa. ..

The first four are recent paintings that I have worked on because I was not happy with them. Water and Earth are both part of a series (including Air and Fire) I also want to improve them.

Leaves was originally a single leaf but it was very simple and I wanted to add more to it. The leaves are from my imagination. I sometimes use art as a way of helping my memory. If I can remember what something looks like I can use the memory for other paintings and not necessarily use reference photos. I dont have a photographic memory but I sometimes describe an image to myself, like the way a gutter and drainpipe are attached to a house. If I can describe it I can draw or paint it.

Autumn pottery is based on a “pot bank” the kilns that were used for firing pottery in the past. Now they use gas tunnel kilns. The plants are roses and cotoneaster. They are to represent vegetation growing around old, derelict pot banks. The blue background could be sky, or the water from local canals.

The final painting was a quick copy of the Mona Lisa, taken from a very old book on anatomy for student artists. I know it is wrong, the face is too thin, the smile is wrong. But for half an hour’s work its not bad. It’s on a tiny canvas about 1 inch by 2 inches.

So there you are, more paintings, its something I do.

I saw a Dragon, fly…..

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Ask me if I’m a poet and I will say no. It’s not something I do very often. I wrote some on Facebook a few years ago and then lost track of them. I suppose now I have more time that I’m trying to fill I can try to write…..

But it’s not Art!  I hear gasps of fear,                                          There is no paint, no sculpting hammer.

No blow to chip the detail from the infinite ages.                           Where is your paintbrush, do you care? To mold                       faces from thin air?

How do I draw a Dragon, head and tail…with words or crayon, clay or ink?                                                                                              I do not know, I cannot think.

But I will try to soar in flame, give sight to thought, or begin again.

 

Cards

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I have had some cards and prints done!

The top painting is of a light at Spode. I was pleased with the prints that came out. The tones are good, and the image is clear. I’m glad I used a local fine art printing company.

The second card is of a painting similar to the green man above. It was a second version I had done, without the curves at the bottom of the painting. (I don’t have a photo of it).

The green man is on a gardinere in salts mill, saltaire, Yorkshire. It was an example of Victorian pottery. I took a photo with my phone and used it to work from.

I will be trying to sell them at a few craft fairs over the spring and summer. It’s hard to judge if people will buy them, but you have got to try !

So, now I can Tag….

How do I find Tags on other people’s posts…?

You know it was inevitable, once you know how to do something you realise you need more information. So many questions.20180409_180812

You find out how to paint then you try new mediums….like jam or jelly…….

Or find something interesting and take a photo of it…IMG_20180401_115802

So ……I can go to my Tags, and see the piece I have published…but where are other Tags using that or those words? I don’t think I’m the only person who has used Art or Digital Art as Tags…

 

I have a very varied interest in Art and I want to find other like minded people , who flit like a butterfly from style or medium to different creations.

Is there a page …like the Reader page, where I can find similar posts through the bloggers tags.

So…If you know how … please help xx

How to paint Snake and Ladder

What a random painting!

It started out as a series of splodges. I was not sure what it would turn into. I am interested in Celtic knotwork and also Saxon metalwork. The Staffordshire hoard of Saxon gold was found nearby a couple of years ago and there are many animals and monsters found in that kind of art and craft work.

Suddenly the idea of a snake popped into my mind so I added scales and a head to the pattern, but why would it be there, what was the reason behind it. I remember being intrigued by Snakes and Ladders when I was little. I always landed on a snake and slither down to the foot of the board .

I decided to add the ladder, but the background was too dark. I was modelling the 3 dimensions of the snake with dark and light paint but the snake was merging into the background. What to do!? I tried a green, but felt that was not the right colour. …why not a bold red? I had got a bottle of glittery deep red and I tried that. Bingo I’m pleased with the result.

That’s how you paint a Snake and Ladder. ….

Getting ready for a stall

20180306_225311After a couple of weeks struggling with a cold I’m now preparing work for a stall at an  international womens day event at Burslem School of Art on Saturday.

That basically means getting paintings together that I can display for sale.

The last time I did something like this was when I sat inside at Spode Studios last November when it was almost as cold inside as outside!  I only sold a few tiny paintings. I have also had a stall in the winter a few years ago. It was cold and I did not sell much. So I have to say I’m a bit nervous of doing it.

At least I have some new business cards and labels done. I’m trying to be more professional.  Is there anything  I should think about?

There should be quite a few crafters there on Saturday. Hopefully it will be a good day.

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Today’s paintings

This is what I get up to when I’m ill.

The first painting is a window in a wall at Spode. When I was a child there used to be a tv programme on called Play school. You were told stories and it would say things like look what’s happening through the round/square/arched window.

This reminds me of that.

The snake painting started out as a vague collection if coils. But then I decided to turn it into some sort of snake.

As I filled it in I saw it needed something else, so I added the ladder. I guess I am harking back to my childhood again, where we would play games of snakes and ladders.

Here it is almost finished. I’m not too sure about the colours though. It might need brightening up!

I changed the background and snake a bit more.

I finished this painting by changing the background from black to green, then a dark sparkly red. The problem is I don’t seem to be able to add photos to this peice so I shall have to blog again!