Faffing And Faking The Other Starry Night

I’ve stopped faffing and finished the copy of Starry Night On The Rhone by Vincent van Gogh that I began last Friday at Ed Sumner’s Cheese and Wine Painting Club. Vincent’s painting are surprisingly complex. The composition is fairly simple but there are layers and layers of frantic brushstrokes in a many different tones of blue, green and yellow. I got fed up with it in the end, to be honest, but I learned a lot by doing it and that’s why I started the paint club in the first place.

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

The Vigil

Sometimes you see an image that jumps out at you – one that might well become iconic. This is one of those images, from a photo of the arrest of Patsy Stevenson by Hannah McKay: Credit Reuters, taken at yesterdays vigil for the murdered Sarah Everard in Clapham Common, London. Willow charcoal, gouache and watercolour on paper.

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

An Arty Morning

Husb and I had an arty morning today. I carried on working on two of the paintings I’m copying at the moment and Husb did some more on his self-portrait. I’ve been doing copies every week with Ed Sumner’s Cheese and Wine Painting Club on Facebook for almost a year now and Husb began his selfie a couple of weekends ago in a Zoom tutorial with the 9to90 Creative Community at GS Artists in Swansea.

We’re both working with Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint onto stretched and primed canvas.

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

The Other Starry Night

It’s Faking Friday again with Ed Sumner’s Cheese and Wine Painting Club over on Facebook. This week’s masterpiece is Starry Night Over The Rhone by Vincent van Gogh. I’ve done most of it, but still a bit more over the weekend, layering up the colours in small textured dots. I’ve been doing these weekly for almost a year now, since the first lockdown, nearly 40 paintings. The practice has been good for me.

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

Finally Finished Faffing

Storm at Sea by JMW Turner. I think this is the hardest painting I have copied since I joined Ed Sumner’s Cheese and Wine Painting Club almost a year ago now. I’ve done almost 40 and I’ve learnt so much from copying such a range of artists, but Turner has definitely been the most difficult for me. But probably the one I’ve learnt the most from as well. The complexity of his technique is staggering. They look simple but they’re definitely not.

Here are the stages of the painting. I nearly gave up about half way through, I wanted to paint the whole thing white and recycle the canvas, but I persevered when I realised that I needed to put masses more paint onto it. The real breakthrough came when I tried dabbing thick paint impasto style with the blunt end of a square brush. Something very specific, but it transformed the whole thing.

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

Layers Of Faff

I’m still working on the fake JMW Turner painting, “Storm at Sea”, building layer upon layer, knocking the colour back with thin glazes of watery white and rubbing through to reveal some of the delicate colours beneath, all overlaid with thick gobbets of paint piling texture onto the surface of the canvas. All a bit of a faff but when you see his work in galleries, you realise how much paint has gone into – or onto – them. I started this last Friday at the Cheese and Wine Painting Club over on Facebook. Run by the painter Ed Turner, we copy a painting by a famous artist every week. The sessions are free or a donation for those who can afford it, and Ed’s been running them for almost a year now, to help us get through lockdown. Come and have a look 🙂

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

Parrots And Plants!

It’s been my lockdown challenge to improve my painting skills which is why I joined Ed Sumner’s Cheese And Wine Painting Club almost a year ago. It’s working, I’m so much more confident with paint now, but strangely I’ve hardly done any printmaking during the same period. I do the weekly open sessions on Friday lunchtimes, but now and again I sign up for a Zoom tutorial, which is a small group of about 8 people and intensive tuition from Ed. That’s how I came to be painting this last night, Ed’s choice for a special class on International Women’s Day. I’m reasonably okay with portraiture but these parrots and plants are doing my head in!

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

Good Night From Frida And Her Parrots

I’ve just finished a painting lesson on Zoom, with painter Ed Sumner of the Cheese and Wine Painting Club. Our subject was Frida Kahlo in honour of today being International Women’s Day 2021. There’s still a fair bit of work to do on this, but I think it’s getting there. The parrots are going to be a challenge though. Anyway, it’s getting late, I’m painted out and I’ll carry on with this tomorrow. Nos da, good night.

Long Haul Faff

I carried on faking “Storms at Sea” by Joseph Mallord William Turner today. It’s a long haul, it’s built up of many textures and layers of paint and it’s quite hard to see these in the print-out I have. I discovered a new way (new to me anyway) to apply the paint today, using thick undiluted paint that has been loaded onto the very end of a square shaped brush and dabbing it lightly on the canvas. It’s starting to get to the range of textures in the original.

Turner himself used to apply the paint in all sorts of ways, even spitting onto the canvas. Here’s a trailer of the film Mr. Turner made by Mike Leigh with Timothy Spall as Turner. The film shows a lot of his painting technique.

I began the painting on Friday a my weekly session with Ed Sumner’s Cheese and Wine Painting Club. Ed’s been running this since the beginning of the first lockdown, almost a year now, and it’s free or a donation for those who can afford it.

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.

Sunflowers Or Sea Urchins?

I carried on with this copy of one of van Gogh’s famous sunflower paintings. He did about eight of them and this one has a lush blue background. There are two different types of sunflower in the vase and when you get up close to the painting, the lower ones look a bit like sea urchins. They’re definitely the hardest to paint. At the moment mine look like exceptionally hairy sea urchins, while Vincent’s are a lot more spiny, so that’s my challenge, learn how to make paint look spiny. That’s all 😀

 

 

A Chance To Own One Of My Artworks

I have some small screenprints for sale, inspired by my drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artifacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

To buy my work on the Swansea Print Workshop site please click the image to the left and to see the complete image.

Inspired by drawings of the taxidermy collection at Swansea Museum. I have given these antique artefacts a modern twist by combining them with images of rubbish – old fruit nets, bubble wrap and plastic – highlighting the problem of human pollution and how it affects wildlife.

20 percent of the cost of each screenprint sold goes to support Swansea Print Workshop, which receives no public funding.