windmills and teapots

What exactly is 'good taste' ?
Who decides?
I guess this little windmill teapot set could be described as 'Kitsch' and that is why I like it.
So much today is about clean lines, minimal colours and co-ordinating pattern, I'm not sure this little teapot would fit into many peoples lives.

I am a collector of things, if I like something, I like it, and often I can't even quantify why....
Usually the things I love are colourful
Colour makes me happy.

To many people still life paintings are DULL....

Depends what you choose to draw! I love this teapot because it may be many things but dull is not one of them!
 I think It was made in the 1930s and is known as a type of china called cottagewear. made by the Price brothers. It is wonderfully frivolous, rather impractical and to many it would be seen as 'bad taste',

Who cares? It is fun! ;)

I used neocolour crayons and pen and ink.

Happy tea-times.......   ;)
Hello to all those visiting from paint party friday !

little houses and grasses

I have been keeping busy making more little wooden collaged panels.

I used lots of gold papers and gilt flakes on this little piece.

It is a little larger than my usual wooden pieces.

During the summer I spent time gathering and drawing grasses and seed-heads ( sorry about photo quality, this was drawn outside and photographed on my mobile)
 For me landscapes are about wide open space punctuated by details. Flowers, little houses and grasses.

The grasses have lots of crackle glaze over them. If you look carefully you can see some of the text paper under the glaze. I love how layering can reveal secrets.

And two more panels to add to the mix.... These two are smaller.

More patterns peep through the layers.

I am really enjoying painting little houses in my landscapes at the moment and combining them with paper layers of pattern and texture.

Hello to everyone visiting from Paint party friday

falling stars on wild shores

Wild shores ( mixed media collage)

Last weeks post had an autumnal theme....
This week... well lets wind the clock back a few months to warmer days. We all have favourite seasons and Summer is mine. I dislike the cold and damp days of November and am constantly complaining of cold toes and fingers, so here is a little piece of Summer sunshine.

I finished this canvas a few weeks ago and hadn't got round to sorting through my photos till now to share with you how it was made.

It's not often that Scotland can look Mediterranean but on a day back in August it DID! ;)
I was driving along the coastal road marvelling at the sparkle of the deep azure sea when I noticed a carpet of wild Montbretia tumbling down to the sea.

In the UK it is a garden plant so I am not sure how it ended here!

I read that in the States the plant is known as Coppertips or falling stars... what a wonderfully descriptive name!
A cascade of golden orange blooms...

 The sea was collaged first

Then moving down the canvas more pieces of paper tumble down to the sea.

The distant hills of mainland Scotland are added.

along with liberal amounts of gesso

Purple foil and discarded sweet wrappers are added to the foreground to add sparkle.

And very last of all I add the montbretia blooms...

Made from hand printed mulberry papers

linking up to Inspiration Avenue where this weeks Theme is Seasons...
 and also.paint party friday

Roll on Summer 2015....  :)

wild grass and 15 crofts

 My work has been becoming more abstract recently
.
The weather is becoming darker and the wind colder.

... Perhaps that is why I want to create atmosphere rather than pictorial representation in my wooden panels.

My colours are becoming more autumnal, russets, golds and deep reds.

my skies are becoming darker and stormier.

sketchbook page acrylic and ink

my sketchbook experiments are echoing the darker months.
 Sheep huddled together for warmth, surrounded by dark brooding skies.

My wooden panels are cut and then sanded with my hand sander.. it is a great machine that saves lots of time.

I work on several at the same time, that way each panel can dry while I work on the next, creating continuity. I hate waiting for things to dry... often a heatgun can blister glue and gesso and so I am careful not to apply too much heat.

The wild grass panels are coated with layers of gesso and paint. While I am waiting for it to dry I begin building up texture on my next panel.

 The 15 crofts piece begins to take on a more abstract form. the oblong shapes representing the little fields in front of the shoreline. I use lots of gold leaf and foils as well as paper and acrylic paint.

The wild grass panels are given a sprinkling of cosmic shimmer mist through some plastic netting,

I cut lots of gold paper strips for the tall grasses.

wild grass1

 My wild grass 1 and 2 are complete....

wild grass 2

And to finish the third panel 15 small cottages are added along with a couple of sheep to finish' 15 crofts'.

15 crofts

Linking to Paint party friday

Skyescape of flowers

This is another of my small pieces made for Skyeworks charity exhibition 'Home to the Hills'
Often my inspiration comes from photographs, as although I do love drawing outside the weather often conspires against me, and to be honest it gets a wee bit chilly at this time of year! I took this photograph earlier in the year and I love the contrast between rock and foliage.

to begin with I began creating the collage using the land, sea and sky in a similar format to the photo
.

But I decided the sea was detracting from the composition.

So sea became land.... the flowers are very textured. I used crackle medium on the petals.

And the rock is a piece of citrasolv paper..
As a final touch the little croft was added on the horizon.

Skyescape

linking to paint party friday