tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77266859971189577702012-02-19T04:42:19.531ZYellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.comBlogger3261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-9676787689970086662010-05-20T17:55:00.003+01:002010-05-20T18:03:50.956+01:00

Tomorrow is International Diversity Day, and where I work people are selling cakes to raise money for one of the charities we support; ParalympicsGB.So I've spent an hour making iddy-biddy flags to stick in the all the internationally diverse cakes.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-33605024603868248722010-05-19T09:41:00.005+01:002010-05-19T11:10:28.825+01:00

I took a small hog brush and some black thinned with turps, and made these corrections. I'm ready for a cup of coffee now. I think I've nailed him. The trick now is not to loose him again in the re-painting.An hour of frustration, then I squinted and obliterated all detail with blocks of tone. I'm finding that using a brush for each shade keeps me making decisions. I need to stop 'drawing' and

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-87289468656894159322010-05-15T16:06:00.001+01:002010-05-15T19:28:42.865+01:00

It's not finished yet but it's on the right track. I'm vary happy with the placement of the head on the canvas, I think it's much more powerful than the earlier central position.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-23219433648585617002010-05-14T08:02:00.002+01:002010-05-14T08:03:39.415+01:00

Hubby is taking the kids to see their grandparents this weekend, so I have a couple of days to indulge in mark making and mess making. Watch this space, as they say.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-59391146861814497042010-05-12T07:36:00.002+01:002010-05-12T07:39:07.877+01:00

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-87720874821196439652010-05-11T07:27:00.002+01:002010-05-11T07:29:33.643+01:00

My face muscles ached after drawing these.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-20788599382773351292010-05-10T16:13:00.002+01:002010-05-10T16:15:14.356+01:00

I was early for the afternoon school run, then ended up being late.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-16701350694396057372010-05-05T07:29:00.002+01:002010-05-05T07:30:48.306+01:00

Here's the under drawing for a painting of my son, TJ. I'm happy with the proportions, but I want to re-position him much lower on the canvas so there's more space into which he's looking.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-65537516832954666972010-05-04T07:33:00.003+01:002010-05-04T07:39:41.655+01:00

Yesterday was a great day. The kids climbed trees in Roker Park while I drew. It was cold in the shade, but warmer in the sun. Then we headed down to The Smugglers Pub where they have an all day/all night music fest every Bank Holiday Monday. I discovered Tony Bengtsson, a raw, powerful vocalist and a thrasher of guitars, so I bought his CD and asked him to start blogging as, from his lyrics,

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-45639080013476068482010-05-01T17:13:00.003+01:002010-05-01T17:17:00.889+01:00

Before moving onto the next portrait exercise described in June's Artists & Illustrators, I decided to have another go at the tonal painting in step 1. There's a couple of reasons - I want to cement what it's teaching me, and secondly I'm scared of the second step. Simple.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-8777581833013006702010-04-30T13:33:00.002+01:002010-04-30T13:34:44.553+01:00

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-71824287353086751422010-04-30T12:25:00.004+01:002010-04-30T12:31:34.064+01:00

The magic is starting to happen, but I'm going to pass out if I don't have some lunch. So give me 15 mins or so and I'll be back.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-32410721711799719192010-04-30T11:01:00.006+01:002010-04-30T11:33:31.593+01:00

First I took a good look at the photo I'm working from and drew in the corrections on my painting so far; the left eyebrow needed to be higher, the mouth - lower, the nose and far-cheek needed reconstructing, his shirt and corner of the chair needed dropping, and ear hole was too high. Also his skull needed correcting. Deep breath, at least now I could see my dad emerging from under all that

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-6599011502648411232010-04-29T08:05:00.004+01:002010-04-29T08:06:51.735+01:00

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-71073491492621423772010-04-28T19:20:00.004+01:002010-04-28T19:37:13.904+01:00

... by the kitchen back door, away from curious children and their fingers. And away from me because it'll take a lot of courage and energy and willpower to get it back on track, attributes which I'm lacking in today.When a work isn't going well I feel inextricably linked to it. I take each fault personally, like I've failed. But when a work is complete and I'm happy with it, it sits separate to

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-43198827987406081462010-04-27T18:09:00.009+01:002010-04-27T19:38:54.984+01:00

18.10 This is the outline of a tonal study I'm doing. I'll update this entry as I go tonight, so this is a live entry. But, it's from the photo of my dad, as in the earlier portrait in ink this week. Hence the title.18.28 I have started laying in the five tones I pre-mixed. The exercise is one from the latest Artists & Illustrators Magazine, the first in a series in how to paint successful

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-85982620342935527812010-04-26T17:54:00.002+01:002010-04-26T17:57:31.813+01:00

I saw this outside my favorite antique shop, did a u-turn, and bought it. £10. Bargain!!!!! Isn't it beautiful. I want to strip it down and wax or varnish it with love and attention. Then I need to tidy my bl##dy studio.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-1473080869687297002010-04-25T16:02:00.012+01:002010-04-25T16:31:10.043+01:00

Gangan spent the weekend with us, and spent some time this morning reading the Sunday papers after church. The light from the kitchen window was beautiful so I took a couple of photos of him to work from at a later date. This is my first rendition, in Quink ink and white pastel.These are some earlier portraits of my dad.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-65711571363539078142010-04-23T07:38:00.009+01:002010-04-23T07:56:33.359+01:00

As you'll know, if you've folowed my blog for any period of time, I have a thing about self-portraits. Well here's some from around 1992 when I was studying Glass & Ceramics at Sunderland University. The course is still running, though they've moved sites from the fantastic Backhouse Park building & Monkwearmouth Glass Kilns, to the new National Glass Centre, only a stones throw from my current

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-37038799928693828402010-04-22T07:44:00.003+01:002010-04-22T07:55:11.533+01:00

These two drawings are much more different than I'd expected. The first one on the left was drawing round an expressive set of lines. The one on the right was from a sketch of a tree, showing patches of foliage.I'm not sure which I prefer. It's surprising how using the same technique can give such different results.From now on I'll pen over the original sketch using a light box, so I don't loose

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-87125455309537768972010-04-21T07:32:00.006+01:002010-04-21T07:40:07.176+01:00

Using a more detailed sketch of a tree I'm scribbling in the negative spaces again. It's good to look back through old sketch books and see what use I can make of something I did months or years ago. I'm also reading The Neverending Story, as I watched the film with the kids recently and I picked up a copy of the book from a charity shop. I wish the book I have had this cover. Unfortunately it's

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-62431900420135435082010-04-20T07:53:00.001+01:002010-04-20T07:55:50.755+01:00

Here I filled in the negative spaces round a sketch I did last year of a bare tree, then rubbed out the pencil. I tried to keep the background of an even density, and kept the variety in the pencil strokes I was working round. My hubby especially likes this one.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-82293207511934098892010-04-19T07:31:00.003+01:002010-04-19T07:56:18.866+01:00

This is the view from my kitchen door into my back garden. It's a dull, drizzly day this morning, but at least my water butt will be re-filling after the last two fairly dry weeks. In addition to being a working mum and trying to be an artist to boot, I also garden a fair bit. In the front of the house is my vegetable and fruit garden, and in the back is this secluded, shady courtyard where I

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-48629673260383734152010-04-18T14:13:00.007+01:002010-04-18T14:22:51.912+01:00

From the V&A water sketches I've been playing around with applying Quink Ink. After a while painting on A5 I switched to a square format. I used the end of a wooden skewer, then end of a paintbrush and a watercolour brush to vary the marks. These are not finished. When they're dry I want to keep working over them, maybe cut them up, layer them, wash away areas if I can. I don't want to introduce

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-40985831236503011182010-04-17T15:00:00.005+01:002010-04-17T15:08:42.936+01:00

Drawing every day, if there's nothing that catches my eye, and I'm pressed for time, results in 5 minutes playing with arrangements on a square format.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-29946685897177985102010-04-16T07:55:00.005+01:002010-04-16T08:01:39.632+01:00

I was setting off to London to visit the V&A with my older sister. We had a fantastic time at the Quilts exhibition, stumbled over some breathtaking Rodin sculptures, and I was awe struck by Norwegian door carvings. The V&A is an amazing trove.These are some sketches I did in the courtyard of people taking a break and of the fountain installation there.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-55923899572834111872010-04-15T07:32:00.006+01:002010-04-15T08:04:26.155+01:00

What a difference a good night's sllep makes. Time for breakfast I think.Chris Bolmeier, has generously added this image of 'Spring Climbing' to her blog in a format you can copy as a screensaver or print it. I'll be printing it for my kitchen calendar. I love having images of friend's works on there.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-72390049083345521332010-04-14T16:25:00.003+01:002010-04-14T16:47:57.710+01:00

oooh, I'm in a grumpy mood today. A shouty, kick the washing-basket, screech in the kitchen and slump down on the floor kind of day. Hubby suggested I go out on my bike, or go out sketching til I need to get the kids, but I couldn't be bothered to drag myself out of the house. So I hunched down in a corner of the bedroom & drew this self-portrait. Grrrr!Good news is, hubby has been installinig

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-54652478064624492432009-12-28T13:01:00.001Z2009-12-28T13:05:16.208Z

"....the urge to look is interconnected with the mechanisms of disgust and allure." From Schiele by Grange Books.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-30470748519267345882009-12-27T10:21:00.000Z2009-12-27T10:22:12.220Z

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-84707597672040302352009-12-26T13:11:00.006Z2009-12-26T13:22:02.708Z

Lounging on the sofa, having flicked through a book on Egon Schiele. Two more drawings followed which I have yet to paint in.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-55727872180245142972009-12-04T07:05:00.003Z2009-12-04T07:10:40.302Z

..... postcards, for my Tate Modern eternal calender, please. The pack came with lots of postcards to use, including some on the back of the months and numbers (there's a funny story about that which I'll tell another day). But they're not all my cup of tea. I already have a postcard from Gesa of her own artwork (bottom left in the calender) which is very special to me.So I'd love more cards to

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-70935507943593049522009-12-03T07:48:00.004Z2009-12-03T07:53:35.593Z

Last week I was making lunch, and sliced a tomato through horizontally. The centre core looked like some kind of muscular organ, and the seeds appeared alien for some reason. It was as though I'd discovered a hidden universe. I drew it in pencil, and ate it. Later that day I went over my sketch in a permanent fineliner, and played around with watercolour. I didn't like the background I'd painted

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-79140499185751746782009-11-25T07:35:00.002Z2009-11-25T07:55:15.491Z

Inner critic,negative spirit,be quiet!You're a pest,and I have bested you.I see you for what you are;an attention-seeking, jealous, spiteful sprite.I will listen to my well-wishers,who bless me with kissesand hugs and warmth.Boo,Shoo,Off with you now.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-29471727106139052502009-11-23T07:48:00.003Z2009-11-23T07:51:26.079Z

This is a snuggly creature I've made for my nephew Tom. He doesn't read my blog, so I'm safe showing it here. My son slept with it last night, and my daughter will have it tonight. Then it'll get wrapped up safely, with air holes of course so it doesn't suffocate, ready for Christmas morning.My son has christened it 'Harry'. Amazing what you can do with an old t-shirt and other various bits of

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-5904191347176116022009-11-22T09:50:00.001Z2009-11-22T09:53:50.516Z

When the glue dries I will mute and darken the background and map in the rest of my body and hair.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-22294504357070433872009-11-20T07:37:00.003Z2009-11-20T07:45:09.675Z

This is going well. I switched to cool colours, a grey-lilac, a lemon yellow and an ice blue, and stopped trying to paint my nose, looking instead at shapes of colour and tone. As always, that method worked better than trying to paint my nose. I'm not worried about my left cheek at the moment as I think I want to work on the background next, and my neck and shoulders, before I faff on correcting

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-83559016169526562742009-11-19T16:21:00.003Z2009-11-19T16:29:10.049Z

I have found my earlier posts - looks like I started this in July 2008. I think I used a soft water-soluble pencil to start with. I got into a rut with it, so I scribbled over the part I didn't like. Then I started again in the corner with acrylics, thinking it would make an interesting mixed-media project. But, again, I ran out of steam. So I covered the bottom left corner with a scrap of brown

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-59549564706050942982009-11-19T07:23:00.002Z2009-11-19T07:31:51.546Z

Self Portraits are my default position. I have lost count of how many I've done just since I started this blog, let alone in my lifetime, but if you click on the 'self portrait' label at the bottom of this post it'll give you some idea.This is a piece I started over a year ago, and yesterday I worked on the bottom-left corner in soft pastels. I only used a golden yellow, a greenish blue (peacock

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-61067826413157655982009-11-18T07:43:00.005Z2009-11-18T07:52:15.169Z

Last month an article of mine was published in A&I. It's a magazine that my dad subscribed to some years ago, and he got me a subscription as a birthday gift a couple of years ago, which I've continued ever since.A&I magazine is full of works by all kinds of working artists, and hobbying artists, and budding artists. I used to have it in my head that the only artists around were Rolf Harris,

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-12059036675134310202009-10-19T07:35:00.003+01:002009-10-19T07:47:47.445+01:00

Just looking at images of these forms brings back such strong memories of my making them. Some artists talk about being lost in the moment of making, an altered state of consciousness. I have painted and drawn, and looked at the piece when I was finished wondering if I had actually made it - meaning I have no memory of being there, that I was so lost in the making that I'd forgotten myself.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-70562712481179469942009-10-17T19:28:00.000+01:002009-10-16T19:37:20.282+01:00

These are all views of one form. As I was making these objects I was handling them in my hands, as opposed to carving them sat at a table. I was aware all the time of how they looked and felt from all angles. They evolved, as I'd form a curve I liked, then move the clay round until another interconnecting shape felt right, that 'worked'.I've never created something out of nothing before, I

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-78229415390434974172009-10-16T07:25:00.005+01:002009-10-16T07:46:44.266+01:00

Only this wasn't made in Roker, it was made at my sister's studio in Poynton. It was intended to be a 'Venus' though, in as much as I was playing around with making small forms in clay, loosely based on male and female body parts; bellys, belly-buttons, breasts, bottoms, curves in the lower back, necks and shoulders. This is one of about a dozen I made over three days, roughly 7" tall and, as

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-87339981683785141072009-09-30T07:49:00.002+01:002009-09-30T08:05:06.652+01:00

Through blogging I have made many friends like Gesa, Vivien, and Chris. Casey Klahn is another person who has mentored me over the last couple of years. He is an award winning artist based in Washington State, USA, and he has honoured my by featuring my sunflowers on one of his blogs, Pastel.In the mean time I have been getting on with painting the rosehips I gathered on Monday, and

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-41218375200579313912009-09-29T15:50:00.002+01:002009-09-29T15:54:08.997+01:00

To be great, be whole: don't exaggerateOr leave out any part of you.Be complete in each thing. Put all you areInto the least of your acts.So too in each lake, with it's lofty life,The whole moon shines.14 February 1933. Translated from the Portuguese by Richard Zenith

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-32835686768977663592009-09-28T18:51:00.006+01:002009-09-28T18:58:10.920+01:00

We have been scouring the local hedgerows for fruit to put in our hedgerow jam. These hips from Dog-Roses just cried out to be painted. So now my studio has a pile of cuttings in the sink and is crawling with small spiders.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-67921927857012730712009-09-22T20:14:00.002+01:002009-09-22T20:18:14.055+01:00

I decided to see if I could loose the overall scribblyness of my previous paintings yet still keep the rose lively. I love the structure I've managed to capture, but I think this rose lacks umph. Back to the drawing board.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-68917304466697957902009-09-15T19:28:00.005+01:002009-09-15T19:36:33.000+01:00

I'm having a great time finding I can use grey and purple to get deep shadows within the creamy rose petals. The neutral grey-green ground is a fantastic foil for the subtly warm whites. I only bought the roses because sunflowers are at the end of their season, and I was looking for something to paint to continue the flower theme. There are some deep crimson roses yet to come. Unfortunately the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-82619722636729317052009-09-14T22:11:00.008+01:002009-09-14T23:01:49.857+01:00

A second outlet has been found for my sunflowers. so that's all seven of them up for sale. A huge thank you to my sister Mel who's been doing lots of running around getting my work accepted and mounted ready for sale. So today I spent some time clearing space to actually work in my studio, instead of it just being used to store art materials, while I find a place to work elsewhere in the house.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-3996655052398056192009-09-05T16:12:00.004+01:002009-09-05T16:30:55.036+01:00

I visited Newcastle Upon Tyne today to see the Newcastle University Master of Visual Arts show at the Hatton Gallery. I have to admit that I was not grabbed by any of the work there, much to my disappointment, with one exception. The exception being Karl de Vroomen. His work was mighty and majestic. Very simple and strong and quite compelling. I especially loved Old Oak. His statement for the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-10131778610018941032009-08-08T19:13:00.002+01:002009-08-08T19:21:47.611+01:00

My wonderful sister Melanie has found an outlet for our work. A gallery/cafe in Poynton, Cheshire is exhibiting six of my sunflowers and eight of Melanie's still lifes. This is a very exciting time. We drank champagne last night to celebrate, and this feels like the beginning of something. It took me nearly 30 years to get to this point, and it's taken Mel about 3 weeks of intensive tutoring

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-13810768398827864212009-08-06T14:13:00.002+01:002009-08-06T14:16:16.967+01:00

Soft pastels on a dark brown gound.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-64060166435853206772009-07-24T20:35:00.006+01:002009-07-24T20:52:23.460+01:00

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-75304831488672667102009-07-24T18:30:00.000+01:002009-07-24T21:13:41.540+01:00

Working from Rolina van Vliet's Painting Abstracts; ideas, projects and techniques.I was excited when I found this book, and it was amazing to find myself considering the each piece as a whole from very early on, ie how the shapes are relating to each other, choosing and adjusting colours quite critically. All this was amazing, considering I didn't have a goal in sight for any of these pieces.I

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-60651663961743235192009-07-22T07:00:00.000+01:002009-07-22T07:00:02.736+01:00

Working in charcoal on A2 paper, these backlit figures suggested shades of gray, rather than line drawings, so in I plunged.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-60931627198901834512009-07-21T18:15:00.002+01:002009-07-21T18:20:11.910+01:00

The teacher is wrong. He advises painting in the pears, then adding the background. But he's wrong. Also, after I'd done some fine blending in shades of green and yellow, I decided that it was all to tame, so I livened it up with some impasto in reads and blues. Then I worked over that with the yellow again.The background was a flat grey, so I made it purple, to zing against the green, then

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-90943906336201620562009-07-17T17:15:00.000+01:002009-07-17T17:15:53.079+01:00

Why did I paint a cantaloupe? Because the watermelon was too heavy for the hand basket. The texture was hard to capture, and I'm much happier with the pomegranate.Impasto was great. I found it hard to lay on the pastel thick enough first time, due to my lack of certainty about the final placement of colours. But I enjoyed going over it all with a thicker layer, slightly adjusting the shapes as I

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-72093673582097976792009-07-16T12:36:00.005+01:002009-07-16T12:48:46.093+01:00

At last I get into the swing of pastel painting, then I get a tummy bug (for the third time in a couple of weeks) which puts the kibosh on getting anything done for a while. Plus we're off to the in-laws caravan for the weekend (illness permitting) so, though I may get some sketching done, I'll not be working on these exercises til next week at least.So here's last night's offering. I didn't

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-42307885049745464852009-07-14T18:13:00.004+01:002009-07-14T18:17:04.112+01:00

This was harder than I expected. but I enjoyed looking at the reflected colour in the fruit - the orange light cast onto the lime, the yellow of the lemon reflected back on the orange. I'm also surprised at how much reflected light there is underneath from the table top.I didn't like the background he suggested of random cross-hatched marks, so I ended up using my trademark squiggle to fill in

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-44113740625053549212009-07-14T08:38:00.003+01:002009-07-14T08:43:21.477+01:00

Here's the finished exercise. It was meant to be done all in hard pastels, with a view to learning how to create the tonal structure to paint over in soft pastels. But I only have a limited number of hard pastels. I feel a shopping trip to Details in Newcastle coming on.I enjoyed working this way - it sounded similar in some ways to the tonal underpainting Mel did in acrylic glazes over

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-46604732641905952252009-07-13T22:28:00.001+01:002009-07-13T22:29:43.502+01:00

I like the way the shadow have blurred with the cross-hatched background here.I'm done for the night. I'll fix it, if I can lay my hands on some fixative, and finish it tomorrow.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-89923361173828045312009-07-13T22:01:00.001+01:002009-07-13T22:02:42.724+01:00

I do admit that I'm starting to enjoy this, and I'm starting to care about these grapes and bananas.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-74040619532428252892009-07-13T21:23:00.001+01:002009-07-13T21:25:41.038+01:00

Yup, it's too low down on the paper, but I like the lighting. Must keep an eye on the difference between the lit grapes, and those in shadow with only reflected light from the tablecloth.Adding local colour next, so it says in the book.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-9123975835752241452009-07-13T20:57:00.005+01:002009-07-13T21:06:55.222+01:00

My sister made me do it. I am working my way, page by page and step by step, through a book called Pastels In 10 Steps by Ian Sidaway. The reason being is that my sister, Mel, who is just starting out as an artist, has learnt a lot about acrylics working through a book. And I'm stuck for what to do with my art.So I found this book in the library and I liked what he'd done on the back page, so I

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-92111200324276226062009-07-09T17:57:00.002+01:002009-07-09T18:09:41.426+01:00

I've been planning a big self-portrait for some time, which has raised a lot of questions which needed resolving before I could move on. Not thinking about it for a long time seems to have settled things in my mind without my realising it.Then, after doing the self portrait drawing, and just hanging around in my studio for some time, I found I had an image in my mind of myself, viewed from

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-72167383531801219192009-07-08T22:48:00.008+01:002009-07-08T23:05:10.345+01:00

Okay, it may not look like I'm enjoying myself but I am. I only went into the studio to get some graphite pencils, caught sight of myself in one of the many mirrors in there, and I just had to stop and draw. Nor perfect, but I caught the moment. I had to squint with one eye closed to see myself clearly as I was stood some way from the mirror. Rembrandt, maybe? I mean the lighting, not the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-27695186634710967282009-07-05T20:25:00.006+01:002009-07-05T20:50:11.159+01:00

So far this summer I've looked out of my kitchen window every day and my eyes have rested on this magnificent foxglove in the back garden. It's the softest lilac with pale green at the top of each bell, and deep purple splotches inside. In a storm last week it was so laden with raindrops that it was bent over at right angles, so I've had to stake it up to protect it. Fingers crossed it'll self

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-6068439567687038952009-05-06T08:13:00.002+01:002009-05-06T08:18:41.910+01:00

The side-lit leaves look so fresh and cool.I couldn't find a green dark and dull enough for the rest, so I used two muted purples. I think the light sky is not flat enough, though, and I want to work over the foliage to get more depth, as it's looking flat.So I'll re-do this one again and show you the results when I'm done.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-11319328352739191252009-04-28T18:22:00.002+01:002009-04-28T18:23:52.086+01:00

Can anyone complete this saying?

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-20860402094932562122009-03-25T06:53:00.002Z2009-03-25T07:11:49.392Z

All alone, in the quiet, I sit and ponder, then grab my notebook and start to draw. Tiny details creep into view; cracks in the lino, chipped chipboard doors.A stationary version of trudge, as time passes by unchecked, my feild of vision is narrowed, and I am hunched over, head down, thinking.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-60026868762531696942009-03-24T07:49:00.002Z2009-03-24T07:54:40.157Z

Bear in mind this wasn't drawn from life. Here's the difference between the view when I walk along looking straight ahead, and the view when I stoop and stare at the pavement some way ahead of me, say 8 feet ahead.The yellow grid was to give me a reference of true vertical and horizontals on the picture plane. Then I plotted in the vanishing point. On the left is the classic vanishing point on

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-41599317751656587112009-03-23T07:52:00.002Z2009-03-23T08:08:46.642Z

Including a reproduction of Poseidon from Dublin, a Jessie Marion King repro tile from Glasgow, two turquoise scarab beads from the British Museum in London, the Lincoln Imp from Lincoln Cathedral, a wicker fish my son and I made at a festival at Souther Lighthouse, the tin of candles from my annual subscription to Elle Decoration magazine, a turned bowl from teak taken from the Trincomalee

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-40526903004407769602009-03-21T08:09:00.002Z2009-03-22T08:28:03.787Z

... I made this study, with floor at an angle to the picture plane. I haven't pinned down the vanishing points yet, for the moment I just want to draw what I see, and maybe follow the lines later to see where they meet.Sat on the floor, in amongst the shelves, I'm low down; my eye level is only about 20" above the floor. But I observed that, with the picture plane skew to the floor, the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-63248206905617939742009-03-20T07:55:00.004Z2009-03-20T08:07:41.109Z

To trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on. As said by the Chaucer character in Knights Tale.I often trudge, not in the sense mentioned above. But I am prone to walk in a hunched, huddled manner, staring down at the approaching pavement, as the walls and road slide by in my peripheral vision.And so,

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-60346048124997102692009-01-27T07:18:00.004Z2009-01-27T07:55:16.903Z

It's something I lack. I'm not a slacker, it's just I get distracted easily, and never find/make the time to follow projects through. So this year I want to get my butt in gear with regards to art.I have a number of threads I'd like to follow but, to start with, I'm setting myself a small, attainable goal, rather than making a huge list and getting overawed by a mammoth task.So, here is the list

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-63679907731691966592009-01-25T13:07:00.008Z2009-01-27T07:55:49.757Z

Some months ago I saw David Hockney's documentary 'A Secret Knowledge' and it changed my world, for a short time. As I tend to do, I immediately rang my dad, then my older sister who is getting into Art, and raved about it for about an hour each. If you've never seen it, David identified links in the way artists used to depict the world in their pictures, and then identified a fundamental change

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-48496093451972936282009-01-24T12:24:00.003Z2009-01-24T12:31:59.560Z

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you all had a lovely time over Christmas. Apologies for not posting until now. There's no particular reason for the gap. More like a number of reasons such as Christmas preparations, family time, visitors and visiting, and then bedding back into the school-work-home routine in the New Year.As you know, I'm part of an International Moleskine Exchange, which is

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-68134256461506284972008-11-18T07:40:00.009Z2008-11-19T07:52:45.945Z

There's hardly a leaf to be seen, and we're forecast another windy day, with frost on Friday.This was drawn on prepared paper with a flat-nibbed dip pen (sort of medium calligraphy width). In fact I'm loving the effect dip pens have on simple lines. They're not as random to use a a stick dipped in ink, or as uniform as fine-liners. Brush pens create a sweeping line with smooth edges. Whereas dip

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-41866176102148638012008-11-18T07:40:00.006Z2008-11-18T07:55:08.569Z

As I mentioned, I'd dampened some paper to make lino prints of a block I'd cut back in June of Penshaw Monument. I'd read repeatedly that dampened paper enables the ink/paint to transfer and adhere better to the paper than using dry paper. They were right. Previously I had to make sure that my lino block was well covered in acrylic paint, as it dries fast on the block if applied thinly and leaves

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-13625263120094146802008-11-16T12:14:00.001Z2008-11-16T12:18:45.993Z

Do you ever have days when you want to spend the day making art, but just can't nail anything concrete down? This was that kind of day. So I dampened some paper in readiness for lino printing and, in the mean time, made some rubbings in oil pastel of the lino block I'd cut of Penshaw Monument. I messed around with different coloured pastels, and then tried rubbing the sky block, and then the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-34873450668580141092008-11-15T16:03:00.005Z2008-11-15T16:14:22.717Z

Only the lines of the bare branches across the road from my house. I spent an hour crouched on a folding chair in the cold drawing these with a dip pen in b;ack Quink ink on watercolour paper. Here's a tip; if you turn your drawing pad round so that the spiral-bound side is windward then you don't keep getting your pages blown open. I just wish someone had told me that sooner.These are the kind

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-16545874962299250122008-11-14T08:05:00.005Z2008-11-14T08:14:26.271Z

... all day yesterday, so I didn't dare take the camera up Penshaw Hill. But, I did do some work in the Moleskine Exchange I'm involved in. I'd been sitting on Brian McGurgan's book, the theme of which is STRETCH, and I'd been stuck for two months lacking both inspiration and drive. Anyway, the exchange has had a bit of a surge of energy this last week or so, so I took a look at it yesterday,

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-86870864107345529662008-11-11T16:55:00.004Z2008-11-11T17:07:16.699Z

Back in June 2008 I made this piece for the Moleskine Exchange I'm involved in. The subject of this book is Freedom, and I loved the sense of scale I was able to achieve. As I've explained before, Penshaw Monument is huge and I'm only quite small, and have been visiting it since I was even smaller. So when I'm drawing it, I want to get across the sense of scale, that it's too big for me to take

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-37801504876571586792008-11-03T08:04:00.000Z2008-11-03T08:05:03.071Z

I came across this painting about a year ago, though I have no remembrance of how I found it on the Internet. I'll have been doing a Google image search of something. Anyway, I just love it. It's Everett Shinn's 'Tightrope Walker', painted in 1924, currently at the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio. I know nothing about the painter, but this painting grabs me. Why? Because of the great composition,

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-52182969833663083972008-11-01T08:35:00.001Z2008-11-01T08:36:59.746Z

I hope you can all recognise who I'm dressed as here!!!

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-70556653011352984512008-10-31T15:56:00.006Z2008-11-01T08:35:39.951Z

Charcoal preliminary drawing, soft pastel modelling and colour. As you can guess I was stuck by the variety of colour in the brass.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-90637512541052502682008-10-28T19:02:00.000Z2008-10-28T19:35:12.081Z

At a huge art store in Manchester I bought, amongst other things, a pot of dip-pen ink in a fantastic deep and dirty red. I'd been reading about Jim Butler in the Artist & Illustrator's magazine, who draws city landscapes in ink with a stick over found paper. So, to try out these new inks I drew by dipping in a broken pencil end. The variety of marks were controllable to some degree, though I

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-3003445651960494842008-10-27T05:53:00.000Z2008-10-27T06:52:27.531Z

This is more like it, and the brother-in-law is on the Martini. The bad news is that I think I've lost my sister. Here's what happened; we read through an exercise in one of the books I'd brought on the stages of painting a still life in pastels - start out with a charcoal outline, then lay in the shadows gently, then put in the local colour of the objects, then develop these with modelling, and

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-85921696017518665842008-10-26T07:48:00.006Z2008-10-26T15:56:09.914Z

Here's the first still life I've drawn in a long, long time. One of my sisters has started drawing and painting, and she'd asked about soft pastels. So we set up a still life, and had a go. Mine was a monumental failure. I won't even say that it was fun to do, and the whole time I was gasping for a cup of tea. It's done on A4 pastel paper, and the whole image is too small, leaving me no room to

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-6869456913250680332008-10-24T07:21:00.001+01:002008-10-24T07:26:12.985+01:00

This time I decided not to lay down the sky first, but to work on the foreground and background at the same time. I drew in the foliage, then filled in the gaps with sky. Then I filled in the gaps in the sky with more sky colours, then back to the foliage.I completed the top half and took a break before tackling the bottom. That was when I decided to pick out the reds in the planting behind the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-75910393316833995922008-10-23T06:53:00.002+01:002008-10-23T07:39:12.977+01:00

At the weekend I went shopping to a cheap stationary shop and picked up this new set of pastels. I'm squashing the urge to use every stick in the box, just picking the main tones, and laying them next to each other so I don't end up with a muddy mess.This was painted at 2pm, another overcast afternoon, with a light wind catching the upper branches. The next day I looked at this and decided to

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-56560974202772625402008-10-22T07:05:00.002+01:002008-10-22T07:16:45.814+01:00

This tree is further down the row, and was the first one I did in felt tip pens. I painted this the same time as the previous two, just before the setting sun was hidden behind the tower blocks up-river, casting my trees into shadow. They are my trees now, by the way.I'm now at the stage where I want some more pastels to work with, as I mentioned previously. I want to get to grips with the

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-74691049258138872192008-10-21T07:06:00.000+01:002008-10-21T07:16:33.696+01:00

This was done straight after the previous one, because I wanted the leaves to really quiver and shimmer. I'm enjoying finding different ways of applying the pastel to the paper - broad strokes, smudged areas, dots, scribbles and stabbing. After I was done I decided to liven up the sky area. I think I was too heavy handed with the sky here, but it's fun to try things out.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-8568244351812429282008-10-20T07:42:00.001+01:002008-10-20T19:40:30.913+01:00

Late yesterday afternoon at 5pm the sun was setting and the wind was blowing down the Wear River out to see. I wanted to catch the quivering leaves and the dramatically lit tree trunks. So I pared down the background and concentrated on the trees.

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-21585606820046862482008-10-19T07:36:00.000+01:002008-10-19T07:42:19.044+01:00

This was painted early in the morning, with an overcast sky, so there was a hint of the sunrise low on the horizon to the left, but no dramatic side-lighting as I'd seen on the previous mornings. I almost didn't do this study, because at first glance it looked quite drab, but then I started to see the depths of colour in the foliage, and I stuck with it.Because there's no detail in the treetop

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-16356553887741053862008-10-18T16:08:00.002+01:002008-10-18T16:20:50.921+01:00

Later the same day as the previous post. It's now 4pm and the sun is low in the west (front/right). I start with the cold pale sky, sea and river, and roofs. Then I lay on the planting behind the trees, and I am a very happy person, because it's working. I need more colours in my palette; a darker grey and more neutral greens and a range of some off-whites. Anyway, onto the grass and path, then

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-9042061810125506642008-10-17T06:51:00.000+01:002008-10-26T16:17:24.831Z

Same time, next day, and I'm back in the porch. This morning the sky behind is a pale apricot, and there's a definite purple tint in the dark leaves. I start adding the planting behind the tree, but leave it only as a suggestion. I love the blocks of colour made by the sky - fence - grass - path - road, working down the page.I initially dotted on the foliage of the tree, like dabs of paint

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-17908617931307552412008-10-16T18:31:00.003+01:002008-10-16T18:51:47.952+01:00

I have used soft pastels to 'paint' with since I was about 12 years old. I remember the first set I got, and I have my first pictures somewhere, because I have all my old sketch books. My sisters and I all had hobbies - my younger sister played various instruments, which cost money, and my older sister was an avid reader, so she was always buying books. Me? I was happy with a scrap of paper and

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-29724897250041649252008-10-14T15:57:00.002+01:002008-10-14T16:04:07.198+01:00

Ugh. This is a colour drawing of the same stretch of trees done this morning at about 7.45am.Pros - I'm looking intently at colour, and working on the same hand subject over and over is stopping from jumping to conclusions and making me really look. It's nice to line up the drawings next to each other afterwards and look at the differences the light and weather and changing seasons are making to

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7726685997118957770.post-75010300555094640412008-10-07T08:03:00.003+01:002008-10-07T08:10:03.268+01:00

This morning I decided to record the view from my porch of the trees across the road. I want to find out what kind of trees they are, but I'm getting off subject.Working with my kid's cheapo felt tip pens I scribbled in the tree with the bushes behind, and the grey sky. I tried to blur it with water and a brush, but the ink wasn't moving, so I photo-shopped it slightly to mess it up a bit. It's

Yellowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05975849028363084985noreply@blogger.com6