i love all these accidental marks.
working with them brings me such inspiration.
the unpredictability of the ink takes me to places i would never have discovered.
Showing posts with label experimenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experimenting. Show all posts
on my easel
at the end of last week i hit a wall with my big painting ,
i know it's not finished but i do not know what my next step is.
so this weekend i decided to take a break and do something else.
i stood at my easel and played with marks,
ink, charcoal, pastel...
i made pages and pages of those little faces,
some good, some mad.
i'll share some more in the next few days.
afternoon light
the afternoon light was irresistible in my studio.
i've been working with ink and bamboo sticks,
quick drawing practices.
many bad ones and a few interesting ones in between,
which is what i am looking for... some interesting, unexpected traits i can
use later in my paintings.
going big... continues
this big guy and i have been on a big journey already...
we still have along way to go!
some of the marks, close up
slowly taking shape...
i am loving the process!
practice makes progress
i am loving playing with charcoal at the moment.
quick practices.
some better than others.
trying to stay unattached to the outcome
and to say more with less...
bzzzz...
i'm still experimenting with my drawing,
i will be for a long time.
here is the beginning of what is meant to be a bumble bee
more like a fly in the first attempt...
more of a bumble bee this time
i am loving drawing something else than a face,
somehow i feel freer doing it,
not as compelled to put in all the details.
learning
it seems i can finally call these two paintings done!
i have been working on them for a long time,
they are oil on board so they do take a long time to dry
but also i've been experimenting with a lot of different layers
and techniques on them.
not my usual way to work but i have loved experimenting,
learning new things and most of all,
staying with it, as uncomfortable as it was at times...
it's been a fantastic practice and i hope i can take a lot
of what i've learnt forward into my next paintings.
staying with it...
last week i nearly lost patience with these paintings.
they had just become too messy and chaotic for my liking,
i was getting impatient and i couldn't see any resolution anymore.
until Dee gave me her expert advice and gentle guidance,
she said they needed some "breathing space",
an area where the eye can rest and that could do that with flattening
some parts of the painting.
below you can see, i did just that, i flattened the sky
and suddenly the painting works!
for this one below i flattened the lower part at first
and then some of the sky too
and these moment, i believe, are the reason why we paint!
or at least why i paint... chasing this euphoric moment
when the painting i've been sweating on eventually falls into place,
it is the best feeling!
i don't think they are finished yet,
they need a few more details.
but i am so pleased that Dee kept me going,
didn't allow me to give up or run away
(which i tend to do)
but rather stay with the messy middle...
very uncomfortable messy middle!
just like in life isn't it?
there are the highs and the lows and the sometimes boring and mundane messy middles...
but oh so important for growth.
slow down...
our days are getting shorter here,
and the weather beautiful and cooler.
it is inspiring me to slow down,
take time to contemplate, cozy up at home.
i'm knitting, my second beanie now,
following these instructions.
below you can see Pax modelling my first one!
i have also been painting and drawing,
more because i feel i "should' than because i feel like it...
and none of what i've done is working.
so i go back to knitting, giving myself permission to take a small break.
and i have been listening and loving these podcasts,
reading and loving this article,
loving Flora's tips, tricks and reminders.
happy cozy weekend beautiful people!
slow...
i'm still busy with these guys...
to be honest i am not mad about how long it is taking me
but i am loving the learning curve,
one layer at a time.
as you can see above, i am working in thin layers of glazes
(oil paint thinned down with a lot of linseed oil)
the layers are fairly transparent, i paint them all over
and then wipe down, then it has to dry...
a painfully slow process for an impatient person like me :)
but i'm managing, i like the marks and what is busy unfolding.
learning.
open.
open...
i was asked by a friend to decorate his surfboard...
i thought it could be interesting to give it a try.
he gave me a few ideas of what he had in mind.
it needed to have some kind of black and white stripes to be...
shark repellent!
he is going on a trip and is a little concerned about the very sharky waters.
it has been said that the sharks don't like stripes,
sea snakes and other ocean creatures use is as defence,
i certainly hope my lady helps keeping them away.
below is the finished drawing,
i did it with the Posca paint pens and hopefully it will be steadfast in the salt water.
it wasn't easy to draw with a very limited possibility to do some shading,
which gives it more of a graphic feel.
something new, something different... staying open.
experimenting...
pollution
i'm experimenting with these,
they are oils on boards.
above is where i started,
below is where i am now.
exploring different marks, techniques and tools.
having no idea where i'm headed but going with it.
opening night
i had a fabulous night at the exhibition opening
at the Loading Bay Gallery Durban
on friday evening.
i went there with my partners in crime
and it was such fun to discover all the art,
see my mad bunches on the wall
and mingle with all the other artists!
i'm on all the pics because i was a little flustered and distracted to think of taking photos.
thank you girls for thinking of that ;)
it still feels a little disconcerting to see my art hanging in a gallery...
and then we went to S43 for a nice dinner,
an overall joyous evening as you can tell by my permanent huge grin!
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