Artists Blog

Last weekend our Calligraphy Guild held a workshop for calligraphy on canvas. Now calligraphy can be challenging enough on paper with nibs, inks and guidelines, so dealing with paint, brushes, an uneven surface and writing in a straight line unaided was quite a task.

Firstly we laid down some acrylic washes on our pre-primed canvases. Then a fine spray of “Moonshadow Mist” in various colours was overlaid, some over stencils. (Those are the bottles in the above photo).

Moonshadow Mist is essentially interference powders (metallic, pearlescent etc) held in a suspension of walnut ink (brown when wet). When dry the powder rises to the top to leave a lustrous effect on whatever you have sprayed it on.

Next came some lettering - highlighted words from well known verses. As the canvas was wet, no leaning to keep hands and arms steady was possible. An added degree of difficulty to write with your hand up in the air!

Then more layers of acrylic paint and mist to partially obscure the words before the next layer of lettering went on. It was really foul wet and windy weather outside as well, so things were just not drying (crucial when you’re layering). In the end one kind soul went home to fetch a hairdryer to speed the process up. One hairdryer to dry a whole room of wet canvases was a slow process!

Using the local flora as stencils (both negative and positive shapes) gave added richness to the layering.

One of my pieces below still has quite a few layers to go, so will be a Work In Progress for a little bit longer yet. All in all it was a fun way to spend an afternoon in a room full of people who all love the art of Lettering.  If you’ve got a canvas laying around and a bit of time to spare, give it a try yourself!

Watercolour & ink on 225gsm rough.

It’s been a looong while, but here’s my submission to Illustration Friday.  Topic of the Week - EARLY.

I thought of all the usual images - early bird catches the worm, early morning cup of coffee etc, but nothing really grabbed me to pick up the brushes until I remembered our Beach Almond Tree in the Tropics.

The Beach Almond tree out the front of our house, full of bats at night and birds through the day was a bit confused with it’s one red leaf  - very very EARLY for Autumn! You can read the full post here.

Working on today’s piece was fun, playing with cling film to collect or disperse pigments, and then going in with fine ink pens.

Here’s to an inspirational week!

Watercolour study of Dysphania fenestrata  (ACEO size 2.5 x 3.5 inches)

One thing I miss about FNQ are the flamboyant, even gawdy, butterflies and moths that are everywhere. The Four o’Clock Moth was one of my favourites. Named as it usually appears late afternoon, it is one of the very few FNQ moths that flies during daylight hours.

This fellow was in no hurry to leave me - he just didn’t fly anywhere, even though his wings seemed in perfect shape.. He just hung around for days, so in the end I fed him nectar from a little dish which he sucked up with gusto.

The colouring of this moth is just awesome. Tiny scales shimmering and glittering in the late afternoon light kept me fascinated for ages - what do they say about shiny things and small minds….

His wings are translucent in the white patches - letting subdued sunlight shine through onto the leaf below. Just gorgeous!

I think I’ve written about this little guy before on the old blog. I did manage to grab screen shots from the old Bigblog before it was turned off - when I have time I’ll process them all and upload them retrospectively. Could be a long wait - there was a LOT of blogging back then!

Busy in the studio today with feathers the kookaburra family kindly left behind. I couldn’t find my wide mouthed waterjar, and with nothing else to hand I splashed out with the crystal. Felt very opulent painting with this, and tapping water droplets off my brush made the most lovely tinkling ring.

Watercolour on 300gsm rough

I enjoyed painting these, which got me thinking about the rest of my HUGE feather collection. In boxes, in bags, in bottles, in baskets, in buckets. They are everywhere!  Who said crystal vases were just for flowers?

You may remember the recent pastel painting workshop I attended. I thought I’d attempt the same scene in acrylics on canvas.

This was a lot harder, and took so much longer than the pastels. However, it’s all part of pushing yourself and your knowledge of different mediums.

Gave me an excuse to use my new H-frame easel. I started off by laying down a deep background of ultramarine blue darkened with a little black, then lightly scumbling some warm white for the sandy footprints.

The sky was laid in, then light ultramarine dry brushed into the shadows.

Vegetation and foliage was roughly scrubbed in with a very dry brush. Some pinks were laid down in the dune shadows.

The plants are becoming more defined, and fence posts added.

The very top picture show the finished piece, with the highlights from a low sun being added last.

All inspired by a recent walk along the shoreline.

Recently I caught up with the owner of our old home. She kindly sent me a pic of Jez’s old room. I was surprised she hadn’t painted over it, because you know, Medieval is so last season.

The adjoining wall which you can’t see had a huge crack painted in it, in which I stuck some faux ivy. Everyone that ever went into that room tried to stick their fingers in that crack.

Ten years on, you should see Jez’s room now…

Yesterday I took part in a Pastel workshop which was just magic. Having only painted one pastel piece previously, I was a sponge ready to soak up any knowledge in this medium, along with the other 10 eager participants.

After only a few  short hours, we all had pieces we were happy to take home. Mine (top), is still a work in progess, but is mostly done. That’s the tricky part, knowing when to stop and not overwork a piece.

The generosity of spirit and knowledge from other artists always humbles me. Of course you will come across those who wish to keep all their tips and working methods Top Secret, but the majority of  professional artists are only too happy to share what they’ve learnt with you. They can distill a lifetime of successes and mistakes into a workshop that will steer you along the right path. I really do admire them.

For artists who work from a Home Studio, constant distractions are never-ending - the phone ringing, the drop in visitors, school commitments… even the housework can seem like a pleasant diversion when your creativity has hit a brick wall.

Then there is the Studio Muse/Supervisor.

I’ve had my fair share of these creativity companions. I  scanned in some old photos of this ”muse” from waaaay back (must have been the 80’s - look at that typewriter!). She may look sweet but she was an absolute spit fire of a cat - only the dog could get near her without being shredded. I blame the family I rescued her from - a gaggle of kids who threw kittens around like tennis balls, and the fact that they wanted rid of her at just 5 weeks of age.

A Muse can take many forms…

This Male Orchard Swallowtail butterfly was having a lovely drink of watercolour.

Fingers crossed the cobalt wasn’t toxic!

My current puss is a real bugger when it comes to knocking things over, putting paws in wet paint, and generally getting her whiskas in where she shouldn’t. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Guess what I’ve been painting?

All the best stores in Fremantle are sporting Zebra Stripes this season.

If you’re near the Piazza in Freo, pop in to see what Vicious Delicious have in store.

Bright and early I had an army of painters in to repair the damage from that Hail Storm.

Whilst in my studio (above), the Painters commented on my paintings. I replied that we’re all painters here, it’s only the size of our brushes that sets our work apart!

Tonight was opening night of an exhibition presided over by the Mayor.

And a lovely little Red Dot greeted me when I walked through the door. It’s been a painting kinda day…