New paintings and regular art updates.
These are props we have previously made and used. These are bamboo and papier mache trees. We are going to repair them as they have been in storage for a few years. Part of the Penkhull Mystery Play this year is about two woodsmen who have been turned into trees by an evil witch. They want to be turned back after 20 years and need to get help from another witch to stop the first witch casting another spell on them. More to come….
A whale that was made for the Penkhull Mysteries plays. It was used in the story of Jonah and the Whale and the story of the river Trent which rises on Biddulph Moor and travels through England in a North East direction to eventually flow through Nottingham and on to the Humber Estuary at Hull. This was made of willow withies held together with masking tape then covered with water based glue and newspapers (papier mache). It was painted white to block out the printing and then painted in grey black and white. The makers added serrated teeth and the jaw was articulated so it could open wide. I think the throat and tounge were painted pink and white. We made lots of props for the plays including a set of horses, butterflies, flowers, plants, and all sorts of other objects. I used to help paint some of them and also large flat boards that were joined together as scenery. I hope we get to do more this year.
A small papier mache bowl I painted during the week. It’s meant to represent the sun seen through trees, which are the black lines, the green bands are leaves, the blue and white represent sky and the yellow is the sun. But what to call it? I would call it abstract and simple. It’s vaguely art deco? Let me know a title?
Seven years ago I had a small exhibition at Etruria Industrial museum. This blurry photo just came up on my Facebook memories.
The blurry image of my painting was taken from a photo of my friend with a white elephant she had made of paper and willow withies. She was sewing a rich red and yellow fringe around it as way of hiding the legs of the person who was to carry it. The back had a hollow ‘houda’ I think its called? Like a basket to sit in. This was so a person could carry the elephant but look like they were riding it. I loved this representation of the elephant and decided to paint this image. My friend had the painting. The elephant? I think it was destroyed in a fire in the shed where it was stored…
The props for the penkhull mystery plays were made using willow withies tied and glued and then covered in paper and glue and painted white, then volunteers decorated them. I had fun giving a couple of horses a Picasso feel. I don’t remember if it was me or another volunteer that painted this one. There were four horses for an apocalyptic scene! I think we made a monster too but these are the photos from 9 years ago off Facebook memories.
I don’t need retouching
Thanks.
Or soft focus
Blending
Trimming down.
I am me
I wear my own mask
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Well I think it was 2018. Time gets mixed up in my brain. I enjoyed going to a life drawing group for a while then other things got in the way, the drawing of a dancer and a guitarist are from there. I had a go at using gold leaf on pictures, which is the picture of the crow or rook. The teacup with a willow pattern was a hat for our local panto. The owls was one of my first tiny paintings. The tree is one I drew while we were up in Yorkshire on the Keithley and Worth Valley railway. The houses ainting is based on a picture I had done in 1980. The photo of me in the mirror is in my studio.
So that was the selection from 2018. I might do one for 2019.
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Started with a large flowerpot covered in glue and paper (Papier-mache). Then painted it with a base coat of pale orange / brown acrylic paint when it was dry. I had put a slightly smaller pot inside to bulk up the sides and it gives a nice ridge around the top as if the Potter was starting to thin out the sides. I’ve painted light and dark bands as I wanted to give it texture, partly to hide the crinkly nature of the paper and also to make it look like he is putting ridges around it.
I’m not 100% sure of the colour, perhaps it should be darker, it’s like a pale terracotta I think.
In the play we are doing this weekend my partner has to pretend to throw a pot on a wheel. We don’t want anything big, heavy or breakable, so I’m Papier-macheing a black plastic flowerpot. I had to buy some pva glue but only wanted just enough, not a great big tub or a tiny bottle. So instead of the adult craft section I found a bottle of clear pva in the children’s section at a craft shop.
Got home and started ripping up newspaper. This is many layers later, I’ve added a few layers about two thirds up to give it a slight bulge. When it’s dry I will paint it white as a base coat then a pale brown “clay” colour with shading to make it look hand thrown. I’m hoping it will look reasonably realistic.
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this was a papier mache hat that I painted with a willow pattern design for our Pantomime ‘Aladdin’ . It was used as part of widow twanky’s costume a few years ago. I have forgotten a lot of things I did. I guess there is more somewhere. This picture is from Facebook memories.
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Mallaband-Brown