Waves and Breakers

You know that piece I mentioned in my last post, the type I said will 'sit deep in the soul and simmer there for months...like a tricky friend I really care about' ?

Well, today I finished it - hoorah!

 

And I am really happy with it.

 

But it is deep... and meaningful.

 

 

('Waves and Breakers' - acrylic and spray paint)

 

Today is the start of PMDD Awareness Month.

I started this piece in January, just after I was diagnosed with PMDD myself. I am now on medication to help.

If you want to find out more, this U.S. site is great (PMDD is not so well known or commonly recognised in the UK)

 

"In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
    and you listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas,
    and the currents swirled about me;
all your waves and breakers swept over me."

Jonah 2:1-3

Thanks for reading!

Inspiration - where I get my ideas

Someone asked me yesterday how I come up with ideas. It varies; sometimes an image or person inspires me and an extension of that floats round in my head for a while until it's time to put it down on paper:

With 'The Dress' I just knew I wanted to do a crazy dress that went on and on and had lots of detail and colour. It turned out nothing like planned, but it was fun, and I loved seeing how she emerged on the page. Ideas came to me as I was working on this and it only took a couple of evenings.

 

At other times I see a photo or video clip and that image sticks in my head, so like emptying the rubbish I have to sketch it quick, because it's not ground-breaking, it's just there, and will probably sit there getting in the way of my more creative stuff until I do jot it down. This, I have learnt, is the great importance of sketch-booking/journaling:

 

These legs 'broke-in' a new sketch book, but was pretty much taken from a photo I remembered seeing. It was good practice for body shape.

 

Then there are the ideas that sit deep in the soul and simmer there for months, sometimes years. They are the pieces that bring out the real 'drama queen artist' in me, when my husband asks me why that canvas has been sitting in the corner (getting in the way, gathering dust) for months I just vaguely mutter something like, 'I'm not sure which way it's going, I'm a bit stuck, I'll get back to it at some point' and waft out of the room.

 To anyone who finds artists a bit weird and on another planet, this sort of piece will prove you right (see sunflower seeds above). That piece is like a tricky friend I really care about, we'll chat again soon, not sure where we're at but I know it will be difficult and I want to get it right.

 

Then there are the ideas that come straight from my kids - great fun:

 

 

And the ones that spill out, and develop, and surprise you with a huge theme like 'life and death':

 

 This is 'The Fallen Ones', a larger canvas piece that is currently hanging in the Bentlif Gallery in Maidstone Museum - pop in and see The Bentif Open Art Prize, showing until 3rd May. It is a really fantastic variety of work and I am very excited to be part of it.

Thanks for reading!

...and breathe

I have found my joy.

Acrylic paint and LARGE canvas...

 

 

And here's a close-up of the other:

 

 

I have had such encouragement about my work this week. Thank you!
Now if only I could get some sleep...

Cheesy smiles...

I finally saw my piece hanging in the exhibition! Yey!

 

As part of being accepted to the Winter Exhibition at The Beaney I was offered the opportunity to sell my cards and prints in the gallery - so I chose the wettest Thursday to zoom dangerously down the A2, carrying bags and a table in the rain to set up for 3 hours (limited by the school run).

Here's my CHEESY thumbs-up grin (and what is my hair doing?) with my piece.

I'm sure it's shrunk. It looks so tiny in the huge space, with huge pieces hung round it.

I counted about 30 people who wandered in while I was there - not bad for a wet Thursday. I had some lovely conversations, was very encouraged even though it came close to being a traumatic wash-out, and I even sold a small number of cards.

(If you missed my blog posts from Tumblr about the run up to this exhibition and the Bespoke Fair just click on the November 2014 tab on the right - I have transferred it all back here.)

 

In all the rush of getting there, I forgot my sketch book or any kind of book to pass the time! Luckily I had nice pens with me, grabbed some flyers from reception and doodled happily on the back of those, plotting my next piece.

 

And in a similar vein... to answer the question posed in my last post, Watercolour vs Acrylic... I still haven't made up my mind, BUT I did paint this with Acrylics two nights ago. It's bigger than it looks here, about 50x40cm canvas. Still not convinced. It's heavy and I didn't use a big enough brush. Hmmm...

 

 

Paint

I've been testing ideas, can't decide which I like.
Watercolour vs Acrylic

 

I haven't worked in Acrylic paint for years but I've realised I have missed it. They are two very different media. Watercolour is all about the paper and the transparency of the paint. Acrylic is rich, can be layered, mistakes can be hidden.

I like both, but which way to go?



Rooted Together

Back from hurtling down the M2 to Canterbury to deliver this:

 

 

Phew! Made it!
This piece is called ‘Rooted Together’ and is watercolour with freehand machine embroidery overlaid.

I was even able to sneak a peek at the other pieces that will be displayed - some gorgeous stuff, can’t wait to go back in the next few weeks!

It will be on show from Saturday at The Beaney (The Visitor Centre and Gallery at the top of the High Street) for their Seller’s Exhibition until January 18th.

I did it! My first fair!

I did it. I really actually properly did it. I presented my work to the public, and nobody laughed in my face. I managed to frame 13 original pieces so they looked ok [not perfect], and sold enough cards and prints to cover my costs and make a profit! And the BIGGEST wow was that I sold an ORIGINAL - the Swan - to a lovely lady who said she was going to give it as a gift to her daughter who lives in ‘Swan Cottage’ and has a black and white theme. Perfect.

I didn’t care whether I would sell anything or not once 6pm came round on Friday. I just grinned with pride that I had managed to push myself and get it all packaged, hung, priced and presented.

Phew!

Now what…?

I’ll keep you posted x

Back from the printers...

Framing my originals and packing up cards for Saturday at the Bespoke Fair - doesn’t everything look so lovely surrounded by a nice white border? *Sigh*…

 

 

My piece got accepted!

So excited! I can’t believe it! The piece with two trees - Rooted Together - got accepted for the exhibition at the Beaney, Canterbury - woop woop!!

Scrummy...

Y'know when you just know you're getting somewhere?

And something inside you says 'uh-huh, yep, scrummy...'.

Here's a little section of this week's work.

 

*Watercolour and freehand machine embroidery 

Winter

I've been working on the theme of Winter.

My house is freezing today, hands covered in paint.

 

*Watercolours, spray paint, machine embroidery.  

Something from nothing

Watercolour is so hard to work with, and the best advice I've received so far in working with it is to let the paints do their own thing, not to mess with them too much. So as I was experimenting the other night I decided to do the whole process backwards.

I wetted the paper, splodged watercolours and Indian inks onto the paper randomly, let it dry and worked with the shapes created. I know, it's a bit left-field, most likely been done before, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the results!

Here are a few before and afters, and some smaller little pieces: 

 

 

The freedom to fail, prolifically

Summer has been full of beauty.

In among the squabbles and the exhausted bits, we've crammed a lot in...

 

 And while we were away I got my watercolour Tombows out every night, and wallowed in the freedom to fail in my experimenting.

It was bliss.

 

 

And now I have reached a point, a pinnacle, a place I knew I'd been scrabbling to,

the reason sketch-booking really does work...

 

Yet this is just another beginning...
Onwards!

Aged 15

I apologise for the randomness of this blog... still experimenting... having fun... flitting.

Last night I read up more about Sarah McIntyre's work (she has illustrated the lovely Mythical Maze Summer Reading Challenge 2014 for the libraries) and I happened upon a challenge she did a while back for her own personal progress: 'Draw yourself aged 16'

So I thought why not take up the challenge, see what happens. Here's me at 15 (memory going in old age... this is a mixture of me at 14,15,16...)

I outlined in waterproof pen, then filled with the Tombow pens. I still have to practice mixing them, some areas got a bit saturated, but it was fun x

Water and blooms

So I took myself off to see Jackie Trinder's work during Open Studios, and ended up doing a painting workshop with her this week - highly recommended!

She left me to finish the piece at home - dangerous! - and I have managed to drain most of the colour from the centre of the left-hand flower trying some water effects BUT overall it's better than I suspected I could do (for a first time ever sitting to do a proper watercolour study!).

Here's my favourite section of the piece:

The dull leaves actually have a ghostly soft feel, and good shape.

 

So I had a bit of courage to do something using colours I prefer, and managed the paint, and background wash etc much better than before the workshop:

 

I'm also going to try some 'negative painting' next.

All good fun! (and the sound of cleaning my brushes while painting is very soothing and therapeutic...)