Archive for the ‘Paintings’ Category
School’s Back.
Yipee… quite.
I did manage to complete a few pieces over the holidays in between surfing in Cornwall and discovering Moscow… oh my.. more on that later.
Reeve House is almost finished… I’ve been looking at it for a few weeks and decided that it needs people…
I spent a few days indulging in one of my favourite pastimes… wandering around London…this time Brick Lane and Bethnall Green… fab. A real assault of the senses. Don’t go to Brick Lane if you are really hungry and can’t decide what you want…hmmm
Met up with my lovely sister and her family… she’s now a country girl in Somerset (despite having once lived in Brixton)… so it was town mouse and country mouse…
I’m off to Moscow next week.. rather exciting. Looking forward to seeing the sites and galleries, churches and underground… and drinking proper vodka… and in the meantime I have sorted out the “textile” bit of my studio.. all my fabric is now neatly folded and sorted by colour. (I will subsequently realise that it needs to be sorted by fabric type, and start all over again… so it goes)
Have done a bit more to Reeve House..
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| From AUgust Art stuff |
I’ve decided that I’ve been much too serious recently, and after seeing some lovely bright fluorescent paints going cheap, I decided to play a bit… fun!
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| From AUgust Art stuff |
Have moved my painting stuff outside for today. I’ll finish the woodlands triptych (still no name yet) commission, and work a little more on the Bayliss Road, Lambeth piece (again, no name)… I’m actually quite rubbish at naming my work. I either go for the bleedin’ obvious (Harbour, Harbour IV, Cityscape One Hundred and Five)… or I’ll find a line of poetry… I’m quite good at stealing lines from other people’s comments… hence “Do People Leave Their Souls on the Platform?” – which fits in rather well with a series of work based on London Bridge Station. (Thanks Jon).
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| From Artwork |
My grandad lived in Lambeth – opposite Waterloo Station in London. I spent a lot of time with him, wondering around Southwark and Bermondsey, and sometimes venturing over the river! He died 25 years ago and I still miss him lots.
I’ve been working on few paintings based on photos I’ve taken over the years… alleyways, doorways, rubbish, peeling paint… real life stuff before the “developers” took over.
I’m using Prussian Blue, Burnt Sienna and Paynes Grey…
I’ve been experimenting with different techniques, which is one of the reasons why I haven’t finished anything for ages (apart from procrastination). Below are a couple of experimental pieces. I’ve printed onto a surface textures with gesso and pumice stone.. then gilded a polystyrene piece. I then wrapped a pipe cleaner with some gorgeous bright pink wool that I bought last year (and knew I’d find a use for it!).
I’ve also developed a rather unfortunate addiction to brandy cream.. hmmm
I’ve begun “Girls at the Bus Stop” ….
Along with the terraced houses, I’ve been working on a series of harbour scenes. I could sit and watch boats all day…. In these paintings, I have used both acrylic and watercolours… first stages below:
I love the backs of terraced houses. The view out of the train window from Woking to Waterloo… love it! Especially at dusk when people switch their lights on but don’t close the curtains…. I’m just soooo nosy! I’m working on a series of paintings based on this theme. Everyday stuff. Broken fences, dilapidated sheds, washing draped over droopy lines, broken down cars waiting for ever to be fixed…..
Band costumes for Grease
Craft has a interesting image. It never seems to be taken seriously for one… When I tell people I paint, they are conjuring up an image in their heads… often romantic and a bit ethereal… but when I tell people that I’m a dress maker or costume designer, there is a different reaction… and when I tell people I sew a bit, they tend to switch off completely! So, depending on the company, and the reaction I want, I change accordingly.
I recently completed a rather exciting wedding dress (pictures below) in a sumptious peacock blue dupion silk with tailored jacket… it was designed to dance in (jive, mainly), and so had a bit of a 1950s feel to it. From design concept to completion probably took around 15 hours… more time than many of my larger sea and city scapes, and was considerably more complicated!
The band were asked to do a Grease theme birthday party… so I just had to make myself a red & white polka dot dress!
As an artist/designer/crafter(?) I have reached a conclusion that I just like making stuff, and actually, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a tea cosy, a costume for a ball, an exciting cityscape or a patchwork throw made up of small bits of old Indian fabric found in a bin liner in Camden Market….
So, if I want to impress a sophisticated audience, then I’m an artist (darling)… but usually I can’t be bothered.