Wednesday 5 December 2007

Life drawing


Life drawing
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
I have started life drawing class, and although I don't think I will carry on with it ( not this particular class anyway ) it has been very interesting. I have not drawn a nude for about 10 years, and have really enjoyed how I have given it all my concentration, and how an hour seems to fly by.....drawing has fallen by the wayside in my artistic life, I am now going to do more, I am smitten....

Tuesday 6 November 2007

hand carved stamps


hand carved stamps
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
I am having fun with some easy cut rubber, a bit like eraser. It does cut smoothly with no drag, but perhaps is too soft for fine detail/lines....I have made some stamps which i want to use on a painting or two........this is all research for a whole new batch of paintings, really , it is. I just have to get into the cold winter studio.......

Friday 12 October 2007

pets


pets
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
its getting close to Halloween, and this year I fancied doing something more colourful than the usual house of horror decorations.....so I turned to the day of the dead celebration from mexico. Doing these silly little doodles has lifted my spirits , I usually start to sink into depression as the nights draw in, and this burst of colour has inspired me to keep up with the brighter side of my painting through the winter months.

I have had some success with sales of my paintings, and have sold one to a returning customer....such a boost knowing someone pays their hard earned money for one of my paintings.

Tuesday 18 September 2007

my latest work


I have been given an exhibition in a local restaurant, which has got me working hard to supply the 20 odd paintings needed to fill the roo. I work best when there is a goal, the ideas flow and i get more done. This painting didnt get to the exhibition as I want to keep it by me for a while. sometimes the paintings I do just hit a chord, I want to pursue an idea further or the outcome has excited me. This is one of those paintings.

Friday 3 August 2007

WIP


WIP
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
trying a bit more painting, and find it a little more difficult using acrylics than using oils. I want the same glazes and paint effects that i can get with oils, but am failing.
I really should try and use the waterbased oilpaint, but it comes in such small tubes it would prove very expensive.
I shall keep trying with the acrylics, the challenges of the medium is half of what painting/creating is all about....for me anyway.

Monday 9 July 2007

oil on canvas


oil on canvas
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
My larger canvases are stored high on a rack, and because they are so cumbersome i rarely take them down and have a look. I have been tidying/decorating the studio and had to move the paintings , so I have taken a few pictures of the ones i could reach.
This was one of a body of work that was all about refection and movement, i was quite pleased with them as I normally do figurative work. They are terribly difficult to photograph though. When I have some help I will take the others down and make a better record of them all.

Thursday 21 June 2007

greenman studies


a new body of work

I have been looking for a new theme, something that will hold my interest, and that I can stretch to fit as it were. I have decided to work with ideas based around the green man. I like this starting point because it covers myth and darkness, texture and natural subjects. I can also deviate a little, there are some many other myths/ religions that are influenced by trees and nature, and all I want to do now is do a little research.
I am posting pictures of my work process as record for me and some people have asked for information....so here it is

Wednesday 6 June 2007

I can be crafty too


I can be crafty too
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
I have put this little piece on my blog to show how I just grab at ideas and then move on....I found it stuffed into a carrier bag of threads and fabric bits, where I had just left it after it was finished. It is sad because now I look at it i can remember how thrilling it was to make it, but I moved so quickly on to something else....I really really should stick to one thing for a while, to develop it to its full potential......

Tuesday 5 June 2007

New easel !


New easel !
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
My new easel....sigh. My old one is held together with gaffer tape, and this doubles as a table and an easel. Now all I have to do is really get back in the studio. My son has temporarily moved back home and it is full of all of his stuff. Just another two weeks until he gets his new flat, then I can get in there and work..... i really miss not painting

Thursday 31 May 2007

cyanotype


cyanotype
Originally uploaded by paintistworks
I have been experimenting with a childs toy ( or so it says on the packet ! )
I remember doing these as a very young child, using leaves and keys, any object that would block the light. It is very exciting seeing the shapes emerge and the magic that happens.
I wanted to see if I could just stretch it a little further than placing objects, or using it to develop negatives.
In this peice I have used a drawing of a crow flying, and a photcopy onto acetate of a fabric pattern, then I put real foliage over it all.....fascinating.
Now I have got to find more ways to use the paper, I do enjoy experimenting.

Thursday 17 May 2007

organs by numbers


organs by numbers
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
a tatty book that i found in a junkshop.It is very fragile and utterly fascinating....as i turn the smallest sections over, peering into the mystery that is inside all of us i think of the words by shakespeare

"What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!
--From Hamlet (II, ii, 115-117)

Tuesday 15 May 2007

womens work


womens work
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
I am looking through my work and realising that I leave many ideas behind in my rush to develop yet another idea.
This piece was from a body of work dealing with ideas of my own futility in the art world.
I was late going to university and had never been taken seriously until I went there, my work was always something that my family treated as my 'hobby'.......
this piece was so long and tedious in the making and yet looks so simple. I am not particularly pleased with it, but I keep it by me to remind me of a time when people took me seriously for the first time.


process ( as I remember it...)

first find a piece of embroidered fabric...in this case a tablecloth embroidered as a child ( we used to do that sort of thing :-) )

next scan it on the computer.
print out a copy of scan, and then blow it up on the photocopier until you get rich contrast of the stitching in black and white

next ( and this is where memory gets fuzzy ) make a photo negative etching...

put through etching press

dry, snip and stitch..

this doesnt sound very much, but it took for ever

Tuesday 24 April 2007

bird sketch book


bird sketch book
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
I love books, I have had fun making books. I am not trained, I just followed some simple instructions I found in a book for childrens activities. The pleasure I have found in holding a book I have made is huge..... I love the feel of the pages, the weight, the creak, and the fact I can choose what is on the cover.
The bird book I have just finished was a collection of prints I made using the cheapest (99p for 70 sheets!!!) photo paper . It also makes terrible photos, glossy blurred etc, but very usuful for my transfer work..

I am a messy artist, and although I enjoyed doing this book I am aware that it is a bit messier than it should be. I get so impatient when I am enjoying myself and rush things, so lesson learned from this.....take my time and enjoy it more :-)

Thursday 19 April 2007

been done seen.......


been done seen.......
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
I have never been able to 'settle' with one style, medium, size etc in my art works. This has made me uncomfortable, feeling that I should have an identifiable style, but I have been reading David Hockney recently and he feels the same way, he has embraced it, so will I. I like the infinite possibilities out there in the world, i want to try as many things as possible. There are things I have tried....traditional watercolour, awful.... I am stiff and stifled and always want to throw something else into the mix, so I do :-)
These collages are a new area for me, smaller than I usually work, and they slow me down and make me think, not a bad thing, so I will carry on with them for a while. They may get made into paintings......I am enjoying the possibilities..

Tuesday 17 April 2007

lush


lush
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
really large drawing of pears....I enjoyed doing this soooooo much, it made me realise that I don't do enough 'proper' drawing these days....

Monday 16 April 2007

doodle book finished


doodle book finished
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
I set myself the task of a small doodle everyday...using refillable brush pens and acrylic ink. Whilst these are not particularly great images I had an immense amount of fun doing them, also it is rare that I fill a sketchbook completely so I have a sense of achievement as well.
I have another book ready but I am not sure what to do in it.....

Tuesday 3 April 2007

fun at the circus


fun at the circus
Originally uploaded by paintistworks.
I found this little group of figures on an antique market stall, joy of joys. They really make me smile, and I can't wait to make them a little circus ring and big top.

Monday 12 March 2007

sketchbook page for Morrigan

My recent sketchbook work, which I am hoping will kick start me into a looser way of working. I had been concentrating on work that 'sells' and had lost my way a little....