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.

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)

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

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 :-)

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..

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....

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.....