A Morning Out

I was off in search of concrete cleaner today and decided to visit the Bunnings at Caloundra so I could swing by the beach and take in the view.

 This is Pumicestone Passage at Golden Beach, Caloundra.  The land in the distance is the top end of Bribie Island.

 It was so still and perfect today.  A very gentle breeze and the temperature in the shade was just perfect.

 I remember a huge container ship - the Anro Asia - running aground on the end of Bribie when we were kids.  Mum and Dad took us down to Caloundra to see it while eating a treat of fish and chips from Bullcock Beach.  It seemed that half of our hinterland community had the same idea that night and I remember playing with many of our school mates on the beach with a giant ship just off shore.

 I wandered along through the parks for awile and then sat in the shade of a tree just watching the world go by for awhile.  I could have stayed all day but unfortunately had to make tracks to the hardware - which was crazy busy I have to say.  Insane!

I saw an outdoor bench that I liked.  It was very comfy and made from Eucalyptus.  It's in my mental wish list for the verandah area I've cleaned up....or maybe the front verandah...

I came home with some lovely pink dahlias.  I have some deep maroon dahlias that have been thriving in my garden and I've been delighted by their prolific flowering, so I decided to add a new colour.  Hopefully they'll be as happy in the garden.

Staying on track with my efforts to do something creative each day.  Today I added colour to the little drawings I did yesterday.  I'm thinking ahead to what I want to do tomorrow and I'm hoping I have time to do it.....it involves paint.  My time is rather full tomorrow with my meditation group and then I tutor in the afternoon.  I suppose I can paint small to match my time restraints.

Afternoon light.

As I came in from working in my garden this afternoon, the light was catching my geranium at the front door.  What can I say, small things make me happy!

 I got out my little sketchbook and made marks again today.  I'm using my copic markers and admit to either being too lazy to change the thickness of the nib or forgetting to do so..... All done with a 0.3.  Here is today's somewhat eclectic effort.

Yesterday's with added colour.  I ended up using felt pens as I wanted to do it while watching tv in the living room.  Pens are more conducive to that than watercolour.  I think I preferred this page without colour.  What do you think?

I've been back in the studio....

Over the past weeks I've been getting myself back into the studio.  At first I would just walk in there and look around. Perhaps open the windows and doors. Then I started to do a bit of decluttering here, some cleaning there, some rearranging somewhere else.  Short, sporadic little visits.

Then suddenly, without fanfare or planning I found myself in the studio painting some days ago.  I wanted to paint birthday gifts for some special girls in my life who celebrated their birthday over the weekend.  I had been mulling the idea over for awhile and rather agonised over the 'perfect' quote for each one.  They are twins and similar but I wanted the artworks to be personal and celebrating their indivual characters and spirits.

Miss Jade is unique and wild and lives life outside the lines. She is also vibrant and beautiful and fragile and delicate while being resilient.  So for her, I had to do a hodgepodge of wildflowers.  I notice I inadvertantly photographed the front of my black painting apron there....

Miss Lara's looks very simple but getting depth and interest into the night sky was quite the task as I'm so rusty.  I chose the 'stardust' for Lara as she has also has a magical, bright personality while also having a deep calm inside her.

I hope they like them.  Not 'great art' but full of great love.

Today, I pulled out a small A5 sketchbook, my copic markers and just made marks.  My goal is to do this daily and to not get hung up on what I have to do.  If I only get half a page done or one leaf drawn that is fine.  It's also fine to have a day where I do more than one page. I also have no rules about what it is I have to draw.  If I want to draw nature one day and buildings the next that is fine.

I'll add colour to this either later tonight or tomorrow.  Not sure whether I'll use felt pens, watercolours or my pencils.  Maybe a combination..

There you go Don and Viv......I'm slowly coming back.

Today I Painted

After a long time away, today I picked up my brushes and painted.

Just a piece of bunting to add to my collection.  I worked on something else too but it is for a birthday gift so I can't share it today or it may spoil the surprise.....  It was nice to be back.

Nature Mandala

Aannsha took us through quite an extraordinary healing meditation today in our group session.  During my meditation I made mandalas on the ground at the base of a lovely tree (in my mind of course).  When I got home I felt compelled to bring this into real life.

Gatherings from my garden and my stash of shells and stones.

A better photo.....

thanks to Don and his snazzy little camera (and superior photographic skill)!

Click to enlarge. :)

Taking Good Notes

Since beginning my art journey I have been diligent (mostly) in the taking of good notes.  I keep these notes in an blank diary and they serve the purpose of recording the process of completing a piece, the teaching points, hints and tips that Don imparts or I discover along the way.  I photograph each step along the way as a visual reminder also.  Because I do this I was able to pick up Mma Tembo and restart her with relative ease after my two year hiatus.

Here are some pages from my journal.

Here is a small copy of my reference photo (this painting is for study purposes and not for sale so it is not my own photograph, just one I found in google images that appealed to me).  Here I've recorded a few notes about elephants.

Just the bottom of the page here showing some notes on the use of colour in the piece and a picture of my palette with a list of the colours to be used in the piece.  This was brilliant to have after so long away from the painting.

 Don demonstrated glazing techniques to me on a piece of scrap canvas and I taped this into my journal as a reminder.

Recording progress photos with any notes I need to remember written alongside.  These may be techniques I've used, notes on tone/colour or changes that need to be made.

Further notes, mainly to document progress.

Where I left off at the end of my last class....

Not a great photo but it gives you an idea of how I am progressing.  For comparison, I have included the image below from the end of the previous weeks class so you can compare them. I think the true colour of the painting lies between these images.  They've photgraphed very differently.

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

And now, some art....

Merryl is progressing at a glacial rate.  I am so strung out with life at present I barely give her the time of day

Over the last two weeks we have worked on some timed, small tonal studies during our portraiture class which has been so much fun - although I was such a cranky pants last class one would NOT think this is so (sorry Don and my lovely arty friends)!!

Taped up and ready to start.  We used a large brush, burnt umber and white and slapped, ha!, delicately/confidently/expertly applied the paint in generous blocks of tone.

10 minutes in, a likeness is beginning to appear.  Viv has had a breakdown beside me by this time (I saved mine for a later lesson and mine was non art motivated methinks).

30 minutes in and 'brushes down'.

One hour each and a lot more paint - aaaargh and much more tuition and assistance and demonstration from the ever patient and generous Don.  I need to adjust the nose and eyes of the monklike fellow at bottom before next lesson. Hopefully I am able to find time instead of just rocketing around in a state of perpetual anxiety and unease as I have been of late.  I mostly feel like a crazed squirrel at present.

Hope all is well with you.  xxx

Portrait update for Viv!

This is how my portrait progressed on Thursday afternoon.  Here the jawline has been reworked as has the mouth.  I've also started to fiddle with the skin tones, trying to make them more real to life. Remember you can click on the images to enlarge them.

Below you can see I have been starting to intensify the shadows around the jaw, mouth and cheeks.  The mouth has been widened too (I did this NUMEROUS times and then accidentally cut it back too far each time I cut back into it with the skin tones....doh!).

Here I have somehow managed to ruin the right eye so it looks too open yet droopy at the same time.  I will need to fix this on my next paint through.  I have aslo started to rework the hair which was fun. 

For the next paint through

• rework right eye (her left)
• start to resolve her wrap and hand - gulp. The hand gives me mild heebie jeebies.
• continue work on hair after working on bottom third of painting.

Making Progress

With limited time this week I have only made a small amount of progress on my portrait.  This is where I left it today.

I moved the eyes further apart and reworked, the mouth has been further defined and I've fiddled and faffed around with the right hand side of the face.

I thought you might like to see a compilation showing how the painting has evolved so far.

Don did a demonstration in class today and painted a portrait alla prima which was very interesting.  One BIG thing that I picked up - even though I watch him paint every week - was the way he held the brush at various stages of the painting.  I had a pen on hand so took a photo to remind myself and then put it into practice during my own painting time.  It felt very uncomfortable but I must admit that it made a significant difference to my application of the techniques I've been trying as well as the result.

Just so I have a reminder....here is how to hold the brush....

It helps you have a very light touch and enables you to manipulate the brush into a wide variety of positions very easily. So I will be trying to get used to this over the coming week and hopefully develop some proficiency and greater comfort holding the brush this way.

Portrait Update

I squeezed a small amount of painting time into my day today and managed to practice some new techniques that Don showed me in class last week.  I gave myself over to the techniques and didn't worry about  getting it right as I develop my skills.  It was fun and interesting to be brave and try a new approach that was more 'painterly'.

You can see where I have added some colour to the background and changed the horizon line of the lake so that it is no longer competing with the eyes and face of the portrait. I may move it further yet as it creates quite a visual line right across the painting with the folds of the shawl.  I have cut back into the hair reshaping it and will rework it so that it has whispy bits going back over the background if that makes sense. I rendered the left eye in using the new technique and have yet to refine the shape and size.  I have also moved the mouth to the right and have yet to paint over the original position which you can see showing through like a black smudge at the side of the present mouth.

If you are interested in the techniques I've been using - painting the image rather than drawing then 'colouring in' with paint, I've found two great YouTube tutorials that demonstrate what I've been doing.  Their technique and mastery far exceed mine of course!  Check them out if you are interested.

"Lloyd" by Zimou Tan

Demonstration by Sergey Gusev

Portrait Progress

The rough monochromatic underpainting I left you with last and a little peek of part of the reference I am using for this image.  I am actually using more than one reference for this which has confused me a bit but I'm working it out.

 Today in class I started to add colour.  The hair is intentionally wilder and bigger than it needs to be so that I can cut back into it with the background colours and then work back over it again with hair colour.

Here is Don demonstrating a particular technique for rendering the eye.  I get to further refine this and then use the technique myself to do the second eye.  Will try to remember to take photos to share with you.  If I was very clever I'd make a vimeo or youtube clip for you but that may be stretching my technological capabilities.  Also would put lots of pressure on me to 'get it right' for you! 

 Here the mouth and nose have been moved over to the right of the image as they were a bit off originally.  This is where I left off today.  Lots more to do but it is starting to come together.  Remember you can click on the images to see them at a larger size.

Studio Tour 2 and what's on my easel.

Life has changed quite suddenly and significantly for Jeff and I since my last, long ago post.  My brother and his two little boys have moved in so we've packed and cleaned a house that sold and made space here in our home for the boys.  They live in the rooms off my studio and having new demands on my time and having someone living so close to the studio has changed how I do things a bit.  I'm finding my feet again though and my health has coped really well with the changes which is great.

So, back to where I left off.....

The main wall of my studio which doubles as both display and storage for my art.  Yes my studio is YELLOW!!  Oh so yellow.

During Open Studio's the children's playroom doubles up as my gallery space and we bring tables in for Aannsha's felt and any textile art made by my sister and I.  This room is right next to my studio and joined by an open arch so it flows quite nicely as a viewing space.

As for what is on my easel.....I am studying portraiture at present and continue to be amazed that I quite enjoy it!  I am currently painting a young Merryl Streep in the French Lieutenant's Woman. 

I prepped the canvas in a warm tone and then drew a very rough image on with charcoal.  I was less than happy with this and it sent me into a state of anxiety.  My homework was to complete a detailed drawing to then paint over.  I became so anxious and scared to draw that I threw out my class instructions (sorry Don!) and used the painting technique I use when painting animals....block in large shapes with a big brush and focus on tones.  I rubbed out most of the charcoal and then just went at it with the paint.

I had previously mixed up a tonal run of colour using Burnt Umber and white and used that to just get some paint on the canvas.  I was in such a tizz that I ran out of paint and just kept stretching it across the canvas as best I could.  It NEVER occurred to me to mix more.  What a dill.  As you can see this is very rough and was done very quickly.

 

Starting to refine the image.  Looking at the photograph I see some hard edges and splotchy bits of paint that need attending to.  A lot more work needs to be done to refine and accurately depict the face and hand but I'll get there. She doesn't really look right at present.  I may also change the waterline in the background and move it up or down a bit.  Not sure about that. 

Here is the paint run that I used to work on this tonal underpainting.  I used Burnt Umber for my dark and Tinting white with a trace of the umber for my lightest light. I made a value scale from the two and worked from this.

Here is an example of a portraiture palette I had set up for another exercise.  The image has rotated strangely and I use this with the colours running down from dark to light on the bottom (rotate left 90' in your mind!).  First is a cool run of colours, then bronzes and then warm.  Unfortunately these colours are not quite right for this current portrait so I'll have to work out how to mix the right colours to match the skin tones and hair for this portrait.

I'm off to work on this portrait in class tomorrow so will photograph my progress and post it for you now that I've come back to blogging.  Can't wait to see what the other girls in my class have done. There was some great work last week - I of course am dragging along behind everyone!