I had a bit of a play on Photoshop, using a crop from a photo I took a while back (see below). I put it through the Gradient Map and Bob’s Your Uncle! Pretty colours.
I took the original photo a few weeks ago. It’s a reflexion of my light fitting on top of a large drawing by David Tress. I cropped it down before it went into Photoshop.
It’s #Caturday Saturday once again, don’t the weeks rush by quickly? Here’s Sparta Puss all cwtched on a blankie on a giant cushion on the window seat, posing in front of some brilliant sunflowers.
Buildings from the past, sketchbook drawings from July 2012, about a year after I started this blog. I used to do a lot more sketching en plein air, but that was before the Covid lockdowns. I’ve never really got back to that level since, I find I’m much less likely to go out and about since Covid.
A year ago, Husb and I took a short break in North Wales, near Eryri (Snowdon). It poured down! But I did some expressionistic drawings with soft pastels into my Daler Rowney black paper sketchbook, you can see one in the background (above). Click here to see a short film about it. I worked very roughly and very quickly with the pastels and now I want to try out a similar approach with paint onto black canvas. I’ve never applied paint with a sponge roller before, it’s taking some getting used to. I’m using Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paints, a grey made with Titanium White and Mars Black, onto a stretched canvas.
I’ve been doing some adult education sessions on Swansea’s Kilvey Hill, part of a creative partnership between Coed Lleol and Swansea Print Workshop. This is where I was working this morning, it’s lovely, even though the rain threatened, we had a big tarpaulin stretched over the work station.
I was teaching the participants how to make prints from leaves using Gelli Arts plates (above) and making an image by rubbing with a block of graphite.
Then everyone chose sections of their prints and rubbings that they liked best and we made badges with them. Here are some I made earlier (above). I bought the badge machine during Covid Lockdown to entertain younger relatives, but it’s turned out to be one of the best pieces of kit I’ve ever had for community arts.
I’m rollering grey paint (Liquitex) onto black canvas (The Works) with a sponge roller. I’m trying to be as bold with my painting as I was recently with my drawings during my residency in Germany. Let’s see where this goes…
It’s #Caturday Saturday again and here’s a photo of Bill (William ChatNoir) in the foreground and Sparta Puss in the background, just a metre or so from each other. Bill’s on the bed, Sparta Puss on the window seat and both are trying very hard to ignore each other. It’s been 14 months since we adopted Bill from the local rescue centre.
She and Sparta Puss are the same age, now 15 years. Sparta Puss has been with us since she was a tiny kitten and poor Bill had been with her human since she was tiny, too. Unfortunately her human died and she was signed into the rescue centre. They really don’t like each other but we’ve now reached the stage where they will tolerate being in the same room. I’ve adjusted the photograph with Adobe Photoshop Poster Edges filter.
Getting ready to try a new approach to painting. I bought some square black canvasses, quite cheap in The Works, and I’m going to have a go at rollering Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint directly onto them with a sponge roller. I have a plan. Let’s see how (if) it works out.
Faces from the past, sketchbook drawings from July 2012, about a year after I started this blog. Husb and family feature in a few, and people out and about in cafes, with a couple of old friends. We’re all older now.
I rooted around in the garden for a selection of leaves for my recent adult education session on Gelli plate printing. The delicate leaves at the top are from a dwarf lilac, Flowerfesta Pink, that is still growing new leaves in mid-September. The ones at the bottom from the hardy evergreen ivy. Although sceptical about gel plates at first, I’m enjoying using them with botanical subjects.
I’m using a Gelli Arts plate with Liquitex heavy body acrylic paints. I used Dioxazine Purple, Pthalocyanine Blue and Hookers Green for the leaves (first layer) and Titanium White for the background (second layer).
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