Back in the saddle........I hope.

Hello there my lovelies.  Sorry for my long absence.  I've not had it in me to blog for a long time now but I'm making an effort to get back into it.  It's a fantastic way to record bits and pieces of life and to keep a record of my art journey. So, more of an effort on my part to blog I think.  I'll wet my toes with an art post.

Long ago, in late 2013 in fact, I started to paint a portrait of an elephant. Pop into the archives for 2013 or click here to see one post about this painting.  Well, that painting has sat neglected and ignored for almost two years as we traversed courts and other draining challenges.  This week I felt like getting back into it.  I still go to a mentoring class with Don Milner and decided to work on Mma Tembo (remember 'Hatari' with John Wayne?) during my time in class.  This is how I had left the painting in 2013.

I've really not painted for quite some time so I focussed on refamiliarising myself with brush and paint and working on the top left quadrant. After a good dusting of the canvas I started by introducing colour and worked on using 'enough paint'.  I can tend to be a bit frugal in my paint usage. Don is constantly saying 'use more paint'.  He is a patient man.

Blending the colours and bringing in lighter tones. Still working on the top left quadrant only.  I was starting to relax and get back into the swing of things here.

By afternoon tea time I had a heap of paint and colour on the canvas and was feeling ready to just unleash and get into it with greater freedom.   This is where I was up to when I put down my brushes for the break.

 After our break and fuelled by caffeine I just went for it and got paint and colour onto the rest of the canvas.  Blocking in big chunks of colour and continually adjusting.  It was a challenge to keep the paint wet so Don  wet the canvas thoroughly for me by pouring water on the back and soaking it (yep you read that right).  I then used painting medium and a misting bottle to keep the paint and canvas moist and the paint moving nicely.  I went well until I got to the trunk where I forgot about form, large tonal areas and fixated on the wrinkles and creases of the trunk.  Basically I regressed right back to trying to draw instead of paint and this stopped my progress very quickly.  Don came to the rescue and demonstrated blocking in the shape of the trunk in hug big strokes.  Hopefully I'm back on track now although I admit that I am struggling not to hyper focus on the texture of the trunk at this stage.

 At brushes down I had covered the whole large (1.2m x 80cm) canvas with plenty of paint and colour.  Lots more to do as always but for the first time in ages I actually feel interested and enthusiastic about getting into the studio and painting.  I feel like I have room inside me to do so.  Let's hope it stays this way.

See you again soon.

love Sandy xx