The Triples Again.

I did a bit more work on my 5 paintings, each of 3 women or girls. The idea came originally from the triple goddess of Celtic mythology, but I don’t want to get too bogged down in legend, I want to create a modern and personal response to the ancient imagery and stories I grew up with.

Today I worked with Titanium White and a couple of colours I mixed – a bright and opaque green and a greenish washed -out violet. The white is roughly blocking in the highlights on the skin, the green and violet used informally and loosely on the clothes. I’m working without any photos or models, intuitively, which is something new for me. I’m really enjoying it. It’s like the characters are growing themselves.

I’m using Somerset paper (300 gsm, 56 x 76 cms) prepared with a coat of acrylic gesso. The paint is Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic and the brushes are Daler Rowney Gold Taklon.

Quick And Little.

Here’s another little sketch from the recent heavy metal gig I went to. These scribbles are small and very quick but they’re important, they train your eye and your hand to work together, and to focus on the essentials before you. Artist’s sketchbooks are a record of our practice, because art is something that has to be practiced, like music.

The Triples.

I carried on with my large paintings on paper, 5 at the same time. I worked on top of the pink foreground I’d blocked out with a Dioxazine Purple wash, sketching in faces and bodies of women and girls, in threes, triples. It’s a very basic starting point. I’m working entirely from my imagination, no reference to real life at all.

I’m using Somerset paper (300 gsm, 56 x 76 cms) prepared with a coat of acrylic gesso. The paint is Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic and the brushes are Daler Rowney Gold Taklon.

Hairy Man.

I saw him at the Mondo Generator gig the other night. I was drawing legs, as I’ve been doing lately at metal gigs, but I thought his hair and beard were interesting enough to look up.

More Metal Legs.

Big shorts. Big feet.

Husb and I went to a heavy metal gig on Tuesday – yes it was a school night but it finished at 11pm so not too late. Mondo Generator played at The Bunkhouse, a tiny rock venue in Swansea. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see and hear the legendary Nick Oliveri play and sing. Of course I had to have a scribble. I’m getting into looking down at gigs now, and drawing people’s legs, I like the foreshortening, it’s a challenge. Still surpised at how enormous men’s feet seem to be.

Barbie Pink!

I carried on with the paintings I started the other day. I’m working on 5 at the same time. After blocking in a blue background onto prepared paper, I painted foregrounds in pink – I went to see the Barbie film at the weekend – maybe it influenced me 😀

I’m using Somerset paper (300 gsm, 56 x 76 cms) prepared with a coat of acrylic gesso. The paint is Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic and the brushes are Daler Rowney Gold Taklon.

Paintings And Rug.

The tops of three pieces of paper with bright blue paint on them are shown resting on a hand-made exotic rug made up of lots of spirals of coloured wool strips, like slices of a multi-coloured swiss roll.

I started painting onto some Somerset paper (300 gsm) with Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic. I’m not using any preliminary drawings, I have a vague idea of what I want and I’m going to see what the paint and the brush do. This lovely blue is the first stage. I left the large sheets to dry on my rug, which is pretty spectacular and I really should use it in an artwork sometime.

Ready To Slap It On!

I like my manky palette.

What am I up to? I’m pushing right out of my comfort zone, that’s what! This is the beginning of something very new. I hope it works. I’ve mixed up some Liquitex Heavy Body acrylic paint – Titanium White with 2 Pthalo Blues – red hue and green hue. And I’m going to slap it onto some large pieces of gesso-ed Somerset paper (300 gsm).

Heavy Blue.

Dribbling Bideford Black.

Thinned-out Bideford Black over walnut husk ink over gesso.

I had a little bit left of the Bideford Black paint I made recently. It wasn’t a lot so I tried thinning it down with water and took a fairly wide, flat brush to make stripes across one of the sheets of paper I’d prepared with gesso and walnut ink. The Bideford Black wash broke up on the surface of the paper in a very pleasing way. I tipped the paper to get the dribbles running across it.

Surrealist Swirls.

Bideford Black and Walnut Ink.

I used the Bideford Black paint I made yesterday. I didn’t have any idea what to do. I’m trying to get away from always working representationally and letting my imagination take over. It’s way out of my comfort zone! I took a fairly wide, flat brush and made swirls over one of the sheets of paper I’d prepared with gesso and walnut ink. It’s a surrealist way of working and I don’t know where it’s going to take me, but I’m not going to worry about it.

The thick Bideford Black paint holds the marks of the brush.