decision time

I'm not happy with the angles on the table, so I'm going to keep the right hand side as it is, but bring the left side of the table forward so it's not sitting sqaure on the floor, to add more dynamics to the scene. That means I'll need to change the back chair, or the table top will just be too big overall.
But not today, I need a break from it.
I had no idea I'd be making so many changes as I went along.

can you tell what it it yet?

I spent this morning drawing in the placement of the tiled kitchen floor, then blocking in the two tones. I thought I was done, took a digital photo, looked at it & saw loads of changes that were needed. So I made the cross bars of the right side chair more horizontal, and changed the angle of the flooring on the left.
I like the way the tiles meet in a sketchy way, I pretty much dry-brushed on the paint for the floor, and have made sure they overlap the chair in the foreground so I can sharpen up the chair legs later.
Next, I want to look at the shadows, and maybe use glazes for these, something I've never done before.
It's exciting, and while I really want to make this picture 'work' I'm trying not to be too serious and anxious about it.
I really like the roughness of the floor so far, and I want to be looser in describing the shadows and highlights overall. The white back wall needs to be a lot darker. And I don't know if the table or the near chair will be the focus. I need to add the yellow book to the table as I'm sure it will change the balance of the picture.
I have no idea when I'll get to spend a couple of hours on it next though.

a morning's work

Thanks to a supportive hubby, I got a couple of hours working on the kitchen still life on Sunday morning. I've decided to loose all but the yellow book on the table. The white wall in the background needs to be duller, as does the brick fire surround, and I'm panicking about the tiled floor. But overall I really like it so far.

I've stopped myself adding highlights and details at this stage because I know it's all too wet at the moment. It took a lot of self control to slow down and work on one area at a time, but I've had to because I'm only just learning about colour mixing, and I can't yet grab colours confidently to add a touch here & there yet. But I feel like they are skills within my reach. All I need is time to paint.

I also finished reading 'The Yellow House' and I've ordered a book of Van Gogh's letters. I'd love to go to the Tate in London to see his Yellow Chair.

an exciting night

I spent an evening on two self-portraits, and I was as high as a kite when I finished them. The charcoal one was done first, just because the charcoal was to hand after sizing up the still life canvas. I enjoyed being able to remove the lines from the watercolour paper I used just with a sweep of my finger. I even managed to resurrect an 18 year old putty rubber which I'd moved house countless times with.

When I'd finished it, and sprayed it with fixative, I was still fired up, so I grabbed three soft chalk pastels and started on the second portrait.

I look pretty wide eyed in it, which may be a result of my excitement, as it's not my usual expression, but I'm pleased with the way I found myself working on the whole face at once, which kept it in proportion.

underpainting

As I said, I've been reading a lot about oil painting techniques, discovering the idea of underpainting and fat on lean. I've found that previously I've worked wet on wet, but I'm fascinated by the idea of letting underpainting show through broken colour on the final painting. So, whilst half-dreaming last night, I came up with a scheme of colours to use for my underpainting which, on reflection in the morning, are mostly complimentary colours of those in real life.

The underpainting was done in acrylic because I was scared to use the palette of oil paints I bought recently. They are 'artists' grade paints, rather than the 'student' grade I'd previously used, and the palette was suggested by the chap in the art shop (more about that later).

After I did the underpainting, I did some exercises with my new paints; looking at the values of the raw colours, and then making a large grid of secondary colours, plus titanium white. This second exercise was fantastic, and I discovered some, amazing browns, and purples. Adding the white to the corner of these secondary colours was an eye opener, creating great skin tones and greys.

next step

Then, I did a detailed drawing of the arrangement, and I love the strong lines. I haven't decided if the lines will become a part of the final painting or not.

Originally I has an idea of a calm scene, but now it feels very energetic.

I'm definitely under the influence of Van Gogh at the moment. I don't want to copy his style but I am happy to see which elements of his work seep into mine.

still life

I've been reading The Yellow House, about Van Gogh & Gauguin. Although, as a novel it's poorly written, it's inspiring none the less.

I've also been looking into oil painting techniques, and I'm all buzzed with excitement and want to get my teeth into painting more and more.

As a result, today I've made a start on a still life of my kitchen table. I replaced my usual garish table cloth with a plainer one laid upside down so the pattern is only hinted at, and I photographed the scene to check the layout. Then I did a simple sketch to see how it sat on the paper. At this stage I've omitted detail, including the objects on the table.

Looking at the preliminary sketch, I love the arrangement of chairs round the table.

The background of my children's artwork is very busy, and I'll be simplifying this in the painting itself. I'm also fascinated by the table and chair legs and lino under the table, and although these aren't the focus of the painting, they'll add depth to it I hope. The books, cup and pen on the table are what I've been using this morning, so it's fallen together quite nicely.

Penshaw Monument

Sketching in fresh air is great. I should do it more.

I didn't get to spend long on each study, only about 10mins each, if that, as I had the kids & my cousin with me. But I found it very productive.

The first sketch is a basic study of the monument from the bottom right of the field & path. Nothing exciting here.

Then I walked to the far left of the field, changing the angle slightly, and started to look at the construction of the monument. While drawing this, I was thinking about creating a piece using collage of rubbings taken from the monument itself in different tones maybe.

This last piece I love. The monument is made of sandstone, and Penshaw and the surrounding area was full of coal mines until late in 20th century (don't get me started on Maggie Thatcher!) Anyway, the stone has been blackened by generations of coal mining & burning, and is starting now to weather away, leaving the bare sandstone beneath. I am glad that the council has so far decided not to clean the structure, as it's facade tells a story.



Anyway, the third view was drawn crouching below the corner of the monument looking up. I have always enjoyed the way that the monument seems to grow in proportions as you approach it, and the whole thing is over sized. You can't just step onto the base, you need a leg up, and the columns are massive. There's no roof to it, and I don't think there ever was. But a family tradition on seeing it any time is that my Dad always said "It'll be nice when they get the windows in!".

I deliberately drew it going off the edges of the paper, giving the impression that it's too big for me to fit it all in. I intend to make more studies, take some photos and rubbings, look at the colour of the soot and of the stone beneath, and paint a canvas similar in format to this last sketch.

Tidying Up

I've spent some time this morning in the studio having a bit of a clear out, stacking primed canvases, and having a look at the painting I'm working on of hotel in New Orleans. I started it in July, and I got stuck on the foliage. This morning I added some more shadows and some more foliage, and have set it aside as I wasn't happy with it. But viewing it on the blog I can see that I have achieved an amount of depth, and the foliage is starting to hang together. Now I want to work from far to near; to look again at the colours in the sky, then get to grips with the hotel facade and the house beside it and the pavement. Then block in the foliage in the background and the shadows on the road. And lastly, get some strength in the tree trunks and add the last of the foliage highlights, and touches of overhead wires.

I think my problem has been that I have only looked at the canvas close to, and have not spent any time viewing it as a whole, which is what the small image on the blog lets me do.

So here it is so far.

I have no idea what I'll be working on next, but I intend to keep my sketch book with me this week and see what pops up for me to draw.

Hello again

I'm back, and I was about to say I can't believe it's been a month, but in fact it seems like a lot longer.

I've been visiting family & other stuff and generally not spending any time in my studio. I have sketched a little, and I did two drawings tonight, both of which are awful, but I've broken back into it I hope and will continue to draw and paint again.

Why do I find it so hard sometimes? Why, when I've had a break from art, does it scare me stiff to start again. And yet, when I do, even if the outcome is less than good, it feels good to be looking again.

I have been creative in other ways these last four weeks - I've made friendship bracelets for loved ones, I helped my sister create a new fireplace which we're both very pleased with, and I've been singing too. But making art, for me, is making pictures.

I'm glad I have this blog to return to, to bully me along, and to use as a reference. Looking back through old entries I am surprised and amazed by what I've done in 2007 so far. It also scares me, looking at it all, as if it was made by accident, that it wasn't me actually, and I'll never be able to do anything like that again. Do other artist get that feeling. I'm not after compliments, I just wonder why I have this doubt. I want the excitement and drive back again.

If anyone had asked me in January 2007 where I thought I'd be by now, it wouldn't be here, I'm sure. It'd be way back down the road somewhere.

Anyway, back on the road after some time out. At the moment it feels like it was wasted time. I don't mean that I've not enjoyed being with my family, but I wonder why I wasn't making art while I was there with them?

I've included the image of Yellow House by Van Gogh. I'm not sure why but I like it. Goodnight for now.