Work in Progress: Layer 3...

Hmm... This layering malarkey is quite long winded, isn't it?
Ah well... the final result will tell me whether it was worth it.

Meanwhile, this is layer 3... 

This the final layer before the application of colour, which - yes, you guessed it - will go on in layers of firstly opaque colour and then transparent layers over the top! Yaaaaaawn...

I haven't quite decided, how much of this technique will go in to future paintings...
Oh well, time will tell :0)

Anyway - in case you missed it, you can see layer 1 here and layer 2 here.


Speaking of layers, I pondered the other day, on just how many 'me's' there are!
I mean, I am impatient by nature - and yet, here I am, practicing the longest possible technique of painting there is!

And there's the 'occasional me' who paints like this...

...and the 'usual me' who paints like this...

There's the me who sketches like this...

And the me who sketches like that...

Then there's the 'mostly me' who writes like this...

...The 'sketchy me' who writes like this....

...and the 'fancy me who writes like that...

And I have two signatures too!

My arty one....

... and my every day signature... 

(too tricky to paint with a brush, if I'm honest ;0)

But I mean, who ever heard of an Artist with two signatures??? 

Hmm... and what's with the HUGE 'Y's? I hear you ask... 
Well, I've always believed that if you ask BIG questions, you might just get a BIG answer! ;0)

Sometimes I confuse myself as to which 'me' I actually am!
Perhaps it's all part of being a Gemini... or maybe this is just a typical characteristic of a creative person.

Anyway - I apologize for this gibberish, hogwash of a post! 
But before I go, tell me - are there many 'you's' to you?

...Or are you just the one?

:0)

Sketchy Sundays...

As promised, amidst the serious and 'properness' of my weekday posts, I'm sharing some light-hearted Sunday twaddle - in the form of silly sketches of all things potty and nonsense!

I may as well start with a 5 minute bear...

And a bonkers boot...                                                                Some wishful thinking...

A little handy work...                                                         How about some loony lipstick...?

                                     

How I just LOVE the unpretentious, undemanding and uncomplicatedness of of a straightforward sketch! 

And this 75 day sketch challenge is pushing me to do it without thinking too much :0)

Of course, I could work on them for longer - I mean, look at the difference between the hand above - and this one, which I did a year ago...

And let's be honest - this one is better - but the thing is, there are just a few lines between what's barmy and fun, and what becomes a drawing in it's own right, isn't there?

But enjoy the madness and mayhem while it lasts, because when the challenge is over, I will probably do just one or two sketches a week and pay more attention to each of them...

After all, that's more my true nature! 

Anyway - 'properness' makes a return this week - so don't go away! :0)

Work in Progress: Layer 2...

Continuing with my W.I.P, hopefully you remember layer 1 of the apple painting? 
If not, you can see it here :0)

Anyway, here is layer 2...

So, now there is much more contrast between tones :0)

It's a long winded way of posting a painting, but I LOVE it when other artists post W.I.P's!

But, hmm... As much as I like this technique - I'm equally keen to do some 'Alla-Prima' painting too.
I don't intend to change my style, but I do think it's important to swim in different waters from time to time, if only just to explore - It's all knowledge, after all :0)

And frankly, I am impatient by nature and though I would usually layer to this point myself anyway, I'm really not sure there is any benefit to adding a third layer before the colour. It seems a little unnecessary to me. 
Ah well, I suppose the answer will be in the final result!

Aside from this I've been playing around with new bear compositions over the last few days. 
I'm getting impatient to get a new one on the go! 
It's funny that I can feel quite lost all the time I don't have a bear in progress!

I still don't have a composition I'm happy with yet, but I do have some ideas floating around my head... somewhere.... :0)

Introducing... 'Sketchy Sundays!'

One of my goals for this year was to complete the '75 Day sketch Challenge'.
This involves sketching one thing every single day for 75 days and going straight in with pen - no pencil allowed!



 


One reason I rarely sketch is that I've always been far too pedantic about it, caring far too much about the result. 

 But sketching isn't about perfection at all...

 

To me, the idea of sketching is to simply exercise the hand to eye coordination and not to worry too much about the finished page.

...And to have fun!

So, I made my self an extra rule that all of my sketches should be completed in anything from under five minutes and up to  15 minutes maximum!

Today is day 48 and rather than bombard you with all 48 sketches, I thought I'd just pick a few to share. 

Anyway - then I had the idea of introducing 'Sketchy Sundays' to my blog.
This way I can post about my more serious art during the week, but share a fun sketch or two at weekends. 

Also, it will keep me sketching when the challenge is over :0)






















Sketching like this is a great way of just having a little creative fun... and it's completely private - I mean, who's going to see?

 

I definitely won't be showing anyone any of mine.. ;0) 

Work in Progress: Layer 1

The next few glass paintings will be very different to my previous ones.

This time I am working similarly to how I build my bear paintings, taking my time, layer by layer - the only difference being, one extra layer in between, but only because of the amount of detail involved in painting glass.

This is layer 1, of the apple in a Cocktail glass...

(And by the way, this is where I found that missing 'O' of my Mojo!)

It doesn't look like much at the moment, does it?
But slowly, through the layers it will begin to emerge, I promise!

Anyway, I had to chuckle at Paul's remark on this one...

"It doesn't make sense"... he said, scratching his head.
..."Why would anyone put an apple in a cocktail glass?"

Well, they do say opposites attract - and whilst the right half of my brain is definitely my most dominant, the left hand side of Paul's brain is most definitely his, lol!
At least, together we make a good pair :0)


Anyway - before I go, look at this adorable little fellow...

...I think he might just make the perfect model for my next bear painting! 
What do you think?

Toodaloo for now!

The Turner exhibition...

(Sorry in advance for the unusually epic post today. Oops!)

As you know, I have been on the hunt for my missing Mojo and have so far managed to find the 'M' in my art studio, having completed the first layer of my latest glass painting and then you may remember, I found my 'O' in a mug of hot chocolate smothered in cream :0P

Hmm... any first time visitors to my blog are at this point going to think I'm a complete loon! 
Ah well, they are probably right ;0)

Anyway, I was expecting to find the 'J' at the Turner Exhibition at Petworth House, which my parents invited me to as a treat :0)
However, during a quick trip to the bathroom before we were about to leave - I accidentally saw the reflection of my face, in my Mum's horrific mAGNIFYIng mirror!!!!!!!!!!

What is it that makes Mum's insist on having one of those things DIRECTLY in front of the wash basin - where there is absolutely NO avoiding the trauma of seeing your own reflection - 1000 times magnified??? Ugh, ugh, UGH!!

It was horrid enough that I wasn't sure I wanted to see any more landscapes at all! I'd seen quite enough already, thank you very much! 
Apparently, at some point during the night, the Grand Canyon had  geographically relocated to my face - as had the surface of the moon!
So, at that very moment, not only had I lost both my 'M' and my 'O', but actually, the entire rest of the alphabet had also disappeared in to thin air!!!

A quick exit from the horror of the bathroom, followed an hour sulking to myself  in the car.

We soon arrived at Petworth House - A magnificent late 17th Century Mansion set in 700 acres of stunning landscape. No wonder Turner was so inspired by the place. In fact, he used to visit so regularly that he had his own studio there and much of the surrounding landscape, featured in his Sussex paintings.

We were lucky enough to see a few rooms in the mansion, most of them covered in original paintings and eleven of which were Turners. 

It's unfortunate that those paintings were positioned in such a way, that it was impossible to photograph them.

Never mind - check out the sculptures!




 



 

At this point, all but my M, O, J, and O of the alphabet, had returned.


Some of the paintings were absolutely GINORMOUS! To give you an idea, I took these ones below with my mobile phone looking up at the paintings...











I zoomed in to get a close look at the cloth...



...so I could learn from it

Ouch - my neck hurts looking up like this!
















Mum and I were surprised to see a portrait of poor Anne Boleyn, directly beneath a massive painting of King Henry VIII! 
I'm pretty sure she'd turn in her grave if she knew she were so near that nasty lump who had her executed! If he were my husband, I'd have taken him down a peg or two - that's for sure!!

Though these paintings are really not my cup of tea, there is still so much to learn from looking at how they were done :0)

The exhibition its self was held in one room, where unfortunately no photo's were allowed. But they limited the number of people allowed in, to just a few and we had a whole hour, so we got to see everything really close up. All of the Paintings and drawings were part of his Sussex collection and Sussex is the place I was born and have lived all my life.
Hurrah! My 'M' was back!

The best part for me was the glass case in the centre of the room, which contained three of Turners open Sketch Books. I was so delighted when I saw that one of the sketches was the view over the exact area I live! I could even see the steeple of the church next to our local pub in the drawing!
There was my 'O' - right there :0)

Anyway, though we weren't allowed to take photo's, my Dad managed to find the same sketchbook pages on the Tate Gallery Website, which didn't seem to say anything about copyright, so he sent them to me to show you :0)

(Click on the images to see them larger)

 

And this is the painting that Turner did of the same area...

Great! There's my 'J'!

So now, the hunt goes on for my last 'O'.  Hopefully I'll find that in my latest glass painting.
I'll be posting the first layer later this week - so watch this space :0)
 

'Last Orders'

Yaaaaaaaaawnnn.... 

Hmm... Was that you? Are you bored of my glasses yet? ;0)

8" x 8"

                                                                          Acrylic on Box Canvas
 

Well, so as not to send myself - or you - entirely dizzy with glassy sparkles, I will be doing my next glass painting in a much more classical way, similar to the way I paint my bears.


This, I am hoping might solve my problem of feeling quite so lost when I don't have a new bear in progress.














As for my missing Mojo - well, I found the 'M' in the studio over the weekend when I'd completed the first layer of my newest glass painting - which will be quite different to the style you see here.



And I am hoping to find the 'O' of my Mojo very shortly, in a large mug of hot chocolate smothered in lashings of squirty cream!



...And maybe the 'J' will be found in Chichester tomorrow, where I'll be visiting the Turner Exhibition at Petworth House :0)

No doubt you'll hear all about that one!




And finally, I will just need the other 'O', which I hope will be found this coming Sunday, having had a successful weekend in the studio - Fingers crossed!

Meanwhile - thank you for all of your cheery messages - It seems that we all feel the same from time to time :0) 
The great news is that it's February - which means not long until Spring. Yay! :0)