exhibition is now over.

It's all over and with it came a bit of a low.
Was feeling a little that way anyway but felt weird to take it all down.
Very pleased with the comments and all in all it's been a positive experience.
My belief that I'm on the right track is strengthened.

We all went to Catterline to hang out with the waves, walking along listening to the sea scrape the stones further down the shore. Amazing sound! A wee visit to where Joan Eardley used to paint and a tasty half pint in the Creel Inn.

amazing waves.

One of these nearly got me, had to jump off the wall.




I just really liked this image so here it is.
Might be part of a painting one day.

discipline is the key

Well to a certain extent anyway.
I'm trying to discipline myself to get in that art room and do something everyday. It seems to be working although I'm also getting very good at coming up with procrastination reasons.
One of them being writing this blog... ho hum!
Made a birthday card yesterday which was lovely to do and today I'm off to work somewhere else.
This is also good but resolve to be creative between jobs today.... I'm on 10am til 1pm then 6pm til 10.30pm so that leaves a little while.
A piece with 4 portraits in it is my plan today, it's been sitting for too long and I'm a little scared of tackling it although I bet I'l love it when I get into it. It's all pencil from a photo.
photos will be uploaded to prove I'm doing it.
This summer brief has so many tentacled ideas that I probably have enough projects for ages to come.
Right... off to do a little on these portraits.

another poem

photo by S. Humphries

Stuck in a place,

this sea of straw,

from here he can no longer float.

A clinker occurred,

a dissonant note,

oarless, sorry boat.

Poem by me!

Yes, another poem/photo mix.

These were done a long while ago but feel now is the time to get them out there.

summer brief

This brief is so full that I'm confused and drawn in so many directions, there is a glimmer of an idea coming... kind of, and on the other hand there's this other glimmer which might involve sculpture.
Hmmm! am enjoying my sketchbook though.
My life has suddenly got busy again and I want to be in my art room, ah well, there's always the evenings.

Car is a little broken so going to garage tomorow,
I'm on jury duty so can't do brief although I'll probably take electric eden to read there in the long waits.

Spent today at carboot sale with my mum and we got a fair amount of money and got to sit around on a sunny day. can't be bad.

today is ....

today is sunny, slightly breezy and a day I get some more work. whew!
glad about that as funds are a bit, or rather a lot too low.
Got some more work coming up too so feeling a little more relaxed.
At the same time, I'm desperate to get onto the next project but the circus pieces will have to take a back shelf until I have more of an idea what's happening with the summer brief.
In some ways I think I do have an idea what to do but hasn't gelled yet. More reading, sketching, playing.

Feel a fairly big piece or maybe 3 smaller,
3 being a symbolic number
that is appearing in my research.
Another sketchbook piece,
a few more bits to potter away at
on this page, as long as the pen
is making a mark, ideas will flow.
Or that seems to be what happens anyway.


today is.... random phone calls.
today is.... time for some music.

just one more

This is a watercolour I did at college...
Had decided it was rubbish
and I couldn't paint.
As it progressed I got frustrated but persevered.
I like it now, but I reckon it looks better
as a photograph.
Maybe be a good print.








Been wanting to put this up for ages,
so here it is.

Maybe another watercolour is in order to practice?
Hmm... could be.

sketchbook pages

this was the first of my dabbling with sketching my fiddle.
the orange/gold/red/yellow is extremely pleasing.. although the dark blue later is opposite.. maybe getting all balanced..... yin/yang.
then we move.... I like the shadows showing on the body of the instrument.

very rough but I like it, especially the scraped bits. Not sure if anyone else will see the fiddle , but I do....I then pressed some tissue paper onto the wet paint and transposed it beside the painted image... liking that bit. There and not there.

Then it moved to lines... I drew the contour of the fiddle body side and followed with 4 more lines to show the 5 lines of the stave in music. This is beginning to get somewhere, I hope.

I then drew outlines of the trees outside my window and repeated the 5 line stave fiddle body contour. Quite liking the dark tissue paper too.

From here, I'm not sure where to go , more experimentation required.
For another day though.

sketchbook

I've been in the studio(wee art room) playing with collage and my sketchbook.
This is inspired by the brief we've been given for summer.. too much .... really, really, too many possibilities but maybe that's the way to go.
The cover now makes me want to open the book. all to the good.

Whew!, haven't the foggiest idea what to do, well not entirely true, I have the glimmerings of ideas but nothing that grabs me so just juggling ideas and see what I get.

Most certainly feeling a little drained after the run up to our exhibition, work starting to trickle in and I still feel a little like running away. Ah well!.. cheers, a wee glass of wine and a chill.

photos of exhibition

ok.. photos!



Back again after preparing for our exhibition and feeling much less anxious. The day went very well, quite a few folk didn't appear but we were pleased.
A photographer from the Forfar Gazette turned up and our mugshots are getting in the paper.
Felt daft doing it but needs must. One of the best things is that now we've had our first private view we'll never have to have the first one again... Hurray for that.
was shown how to do my camera's panoramic shot..

From here the images are of my work.





'Seeing Kelvingrove'

'High Balance'

'He Dances' & 'She Dances'

'Trafalgar I' & 'Tafalgar II'


Here are some of my lovely family viewing part of the exhibition.

I'm off tomorrow to sit there and hopefully speak to some viewers and maybe....
sell a painting. (positive thinking).
Taking my sketchbook and research book to do more of my summer brief.

a seagull poem

Larus argentatus

herring gull

Dive-bombing,

natural vacuum cleaner bird.

A rubbish eating pest.

Grey backed glider.

Coastal dwellers moved into town,

protected under law ?

still culled and hated.

But beauty in flight,

wingtip to tail.

Grey backed glider,

hoarse from your raucous call.

I've been tidying up my photos and other word type documents on my external hard drive and found this and a few more. This and the others were inspired by the photographs of Simon Humphries....

anther one tomorrow.

claeaning day..

This morning..and I mean early, at 3.23, woke up and had to paint in my sketchbook, then a cup of tea and a wee read of the book. What a lovely morning... and of course back to sleep til a decent hour occurred.

Cleaning day today, definately.
I went round to pick up Sharon's artwork so I can take it to Montrose on sat then came home and cleaned, cleaned and then some more cleaning.
There's a special man arriving tomorrow which probably had a lot to do with the tidy.
Moved furniture around and feel really good about it all.

Been doing some drawing for the summer brief or is that 'the brief summer' ..ok it' not that funny I know but made me chuckle.
Fiddle parts, so many curves and random ideas to evolve.
I've still no idea what direction the brief will take me, seem to have lost track for a bit.
Too much information, a vast amount of possibilities and a slightly befuddled brain. I feel drawn to the earth(gaia), the wicca and the land artists. I believe balance is needed, but not sure how to convey that.
The road trip, hmm, there are physical trips and mental journeys both of which have equal merit. The nostalgia part, I feel is a running back to a safe place, where the modern world is just too overwhelming. Or just holding on to important parts of our culture that have been overlooked or just tossed aside in favour of 'progress'. The erroneous thought that old is bad and new is good.

ok... whew! I feel the load lightening being rid of those thoughts.

finished pieces

The final photos of my contribution to the RudaTanzania fund.
At a few moments I took these pieces too far and had to push it further to get them back to something I considered ok.
Quite a learning experience, to ruin a piece and still get something out I wanted.
Really enjoyed making these and I reckon there will be more.




this one was a practice for a mural I was doing, getting used to drawing horses but it turned out so well, it's for Ruda as well.



Hope whoever gets them enjoys them...

Time's moving on..

It's a rainy day and this perfectly reflects my mood, dull, dreich and a bit miserable.
To counteract the day, I'm going out into it.
Some live greyness and a bit o fresh air will I'm sure work wonders.
Failing that, returning for a lovely cup o tea certainly will.

Have written out my biog blurb for the exhibition. Haven't got a clue if it's ok.
and I don't seem to be able to type today.. ach foooey!

Have plans to start another painting to cheer me up and get on with some research for our Uni brief.
Signed and titled all my prints yesterday, so another ticked box.
It's happening!!!

Back from town, wet but much happier.
Met up with Sharon and Amanda, the other reprobates that make up 'Something Palatable'. Good to talk things through and chill a little.
Task for this afternoon is write up cards for artworks,
Hmm!....... think I'll write a rough version first and then copy.

On another pleasant note.
Went to the recyclers and they have canvas stratchers for sale. Some lovy and big too.
Got three medium sized but have to get at least one big.
must, must, must !!!

Pittenweem again....

Off to Pittenweem again, looking forward to getting out by the coast and away from Dundee again.
More art to see....
It's been inspiring looking at others art.. some of it, I think, ' I could do that', others I think I could do better... but the rest of it....
That's what I aspire to,that level of standard.

On a completely different note.......
Why is a wood pigeon called a wood pigeon?
Is it as opposed to a town pigeon and what were they before there were towns?
connundrum of the day!

Ok, I'll leave you with that. Ha!

preparation today

today... preparing surfaces for paint.. yumm.
I've got 8 smaller pieces now primed and ready to go.
Got ideas for some of them but not all.
Great to have boards ready to go when I get the urge to paint.
That'll be tomorrow.. yeah,
some portraiture coming up.
Got a couple of interesting faces to paint.

This here's a great piece of graffiti I saw at a party in Glasgow last weekend.
'Electric Frog'
I also liked the way the people seemed to leave the image clear.

Electric music and nature joined, much hopping around was done.
I'm off to Pittenweem again tomorrow with a friend from Uni, more art to peruse. Maybe even a card or two to buy.

Pittenweem Arts Festival

I so enjoyed myself on sat at Pittenweem that I didn't post anything..
So a little late but here goes.
I wanted to go on sat because a lady I used to know was gona be there..
Helen Denerley ... and her sculpture's are superb, beautiful, stunning and
many more words in a positive note.

Here's a few pics.






They are made from disarded metal ... pieces from motorbikes, scaff clamps, ploughs, shovels.. etc.
Part of the amazeming thing is working out where the pieces came from originally and they haven't been changed too much either.

Love, love, love them..

Finished!!!!!

"High Balance".... finished at last. whew,
although I did enjoy painting it. Looking forward
to more circus themed artworks.




Can't get a proper photo just now either coz the oils are still drying.




On another note..
here's the story so far on three pieces I started yesterday.
These are for Louise's Tanzania Project.






I saw an article in the paper which started with "Sun, Songs and Silliness........ " and thought it's be a great thing to use as the titles for these three pieces. Really enjoying layering different things and moe to do..

another day!

Failed miserably to get to bed early last night but....
went through lots of photos to pick out my next projects.. exciting.
Had to write up a blurb about my work for the DoJ student mag.
Everything seems to be taking off....




This piece of text is from when I was in a performance collective called Attagattis.
We tried to highlight the lack of clean water available to many of the world's population
using mythological sea creatures and a great deal of research which led me to
www.wateraid.org
I've started on a water theme in my art because of this.

och, why not ... few more photos

Ths is me in my telehandler last year at Lewisham Peoples Day..



and this is me having a go at mig welding about 5 yrs ago..
before I did my city & guilds.

hmm.. haven't done any for a while.
Need to do something about that.

raining and flyering

Yup, it's been a rainy and foggy day but we have persevered and completed our mission for the day.
Getting the flyers for our exhibition up in Montrose. Quite a good reception so far, checked out the space again and had a lovely cup o' tea.
Found some lace curtains for my kitchen window so no more getting looked in on by folk chatting up top.
and.....
was given a frame for a canvas, now gotta learn how to stretch canvas on it.
all good really, now eaten and having some chamomile tea and contemplating the next thing...
I reckon it's back in the art room.

Been looking out more circus pics so more of them will be onging.
Artois the troll
This mask was for a character I did a few years ago now, but the head is still keeping me company as I sit at my computer. It was made first form clay, then covered with celastic( I think that's how it's spelt),then bolstered with kitchen cloths and filler. The whole thing is attached to a bicycle helmet.

and this sculpture I love, it is in a friend's sisters garden and is by Walenty Pytel.....

just a few more...

this picture is one I did years ago when I was playing with oils.
Loved the colours.


and this is from my sketchbook. The brief was 'found alphabet', so I got myself over to the metal workshop and made my alphabet.



inspired by a still life... I enjoyed painting it but boy did it take a while.

advertised

here's our advertised exhibition..
the first of many articles in the paper.

In the local paper

Yup,
We got in the local paper.. nice little plug for our exhibition and a good spot in the paper too.
Been off doing other things this weekend but back now and picking up the rest of my framed pictures tomorrow.
Only the one to finish after that. whew!
Think I'm getting nervous again but excited too.

Not the best time to feel ill though.
Woke up this morning and I'm all weak and nauseous but soldiering on. Eating gentle things and peppermint tea. Lots of sleep needed as well.

Poster to be finished tomorrow, my computer is going too slow, so heading into uni tomorrow to use their lovely macs.

Also finished a mural I've been doing at "The Brae" riding stables. Really pleased with it and so are they.
A volunteering exercise.... good fun. Lovely people.
Photos will be added later.

Here's another wee pic.
This was the one that made me realise I could do BIG pieces.
This was a collaboration with Greg, we'd never spoken to each other before this... amazing what can be done.