Saturday, February 27, 2010

Revision

So I've finished the gluttony painting - which I think of as a kind of mona lisa with burger bun! In the end it only took half an hour and some very minor adjustments - an extra roof top, a tendril of hair, the colour of the flags, and that was it. I had it hanging on the verandah where we eat dinner, for the last 2 weeks, so I'd been looking at it and thinking about what needed changing.


It seems strange that I can jump back into a painting, but struggle to revise a poem. Especially because changes to a painting aren't reversible, once the acrylic goes on you can't go back. Whereas with writing you can keep a copy of each draft.


Sorry about the quality of the photo, it seems very yellow. The monsoon is back with more torrential rains, and very grey skies. No sun at all today, but it did lighten a bit this afternoon when I grabbed the chance to take this shot.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

cards and confessions


Some of the less successful monoprints have been gradually finding their way onto cards - collaged, coloured with pencil, watercolour or acrylic. The better prints I'm too scared to touch and will probably moulder away on my desk for months!


One of the blogs I like to drop in on is mouse notebook, always thought provoking and her artwork is beautiful. I enjoyed this post about the difference between how we might be perceived by someone on the outside reading our blogs, and how we are in 'real life.' I'm always jealous of those blogs that have beautiful shots of their house/ studio with displays of artwork and seasonal crafts. You'll never see a photo like that on my blog... there aren't any beautiful corners in my house, just cobwebby ones, with piles of the kids junk that needs putting away!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

First painting of the year

Last time I posted, I mentionned an exhibition that's coming up that I've been struggling with. The theme is the 7 deadly sins, I've been racking my brain over the xmas holidays for some ideas for this... I did come up with a cople of things but they didn't work out.

Just when I'd resigned myself to not putting any work in this show (and with only a week until the deadline) I finally got the inspiration!!!

On the bus on the way home from work I saw a woman holding a silk fan, the shape of it reminded me of the old style hand mirrors, which ties in with 'vanity'. Here's the drawing I did in my journal.


And here's the painting. It's called 'Imperfect Reflection'.

It was one of those joyous ones that almost painted itself. Feeling ambitious now (!!!) I've started another canvas, this one is on the theme of gluttony/greed, and it's the complete opposite, I just can't get it right. I've been going back to it all weekend - to repaint this colour, change the sky, paint out those flowers... If it ever gets kind of finished I'll post a photo.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Distractions

I haven't done any art in the evenings this week - no journal pages, or cards, nothing. I've been totally sucked in by 'Australia's favourite dancer' a tv show that's been on every evening this week. First selecting their top 100 dancers and then whittling it down to 20, it's an emotional rollercoaster for the dancers and the viewers, (and the presenters milk it every inch of the way!) the dancers cry with joy or disappointment, and make me weep too...

Consequently I sat down at the verandah table on Friday morning and didn't know where to start! I listened to the radio and flicked through an art book, and eventually knuckled down and printed a little lino-cut, which I carved the week before. These will be for cards.


I also printed a sheet of collograph prints. This is more experimental printmaking inspired by the book 'Printmaking and mixed media' by Dorit Elisha. I have a vague idea to cut them up and use as backgrounds on pages of a little artists book - which I was hoping to have ready for a members show that's coming up very soon, but it's starting to look as though I won't be ready for that. Sometimes a theme and a deadline can spur me on to do something good, but sometimes it sets me in a panic and stops me from doing anything. Just another distraction...