Forget-me-not sea-stars

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven,
Blossom the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow )  

If you saw my earlier post this week ( click to take a look) you may remember I was working on a seascape collage/painting and was about to add the forget-me-not flowers. I was so inspired by their beautiful colour and tiny but perfect flowers.

The more I read about this beautiful little plant the more fascinated I became,
 I discovered.they have royal connections, as King Henry IV of England adopted the flower as his symbol  way back in the 14th century and the tiny blooms were symbols of love and mourning especially during Victorian times. For such a small and unassuming flower they have a whole lot of history!

After collaging the background land/seascape I tore small paper fragments to create the flowers and then used paint and iridescent three dimensional paints to create depth.

WIP

And then built up paint layers. The sea was collage/painted onto aluminium foil so it has a metallic sheen behind the flowers. This is very hard to photograph, but it really does shimmer through the layers.

Detail

Finally the finished canvas below.....

Linking up to paint party friday

forget-me-not beginings

My workspace today has the beginnings of a new collage/painting

A couple of weeks ago I was reading the blog of the very talented Lisa Graham. She had taken a beautiful photo of her riverbank blanketed in Forget-me-nots.
The little flower stuck in my head and I went in search of my own. These ones are not so large, nor do they blanket a riverbank, they are still very beautiful. I wondered If I could incorporate them in a seascape I had begun working on.

For the seascape background I am trying something new. Painting on aluminium foil. I have had several failed attempts so am hoping I have finally cracked it.

There is something very special about forget-me-nots, according to legend their name originates from medieval legend and involves an unfortunate knight and his Lady love. Whatever the origins are, it is a beautiful name.
Who could resist a bouquet of forget-me-nots? ;)

My sketch gives me the form I want to collage. I also stick paper fragments in my sketchbook to help me decide on colours and papers.

Another paper delivery yesterday... Wonderful!!
Paper makes me happy ;)

Linking to WOYWW
and Paint party friday

April red

What's your favourite colour?
When asked I used to always reply 'red' although now it depends on my mood, sometimes it could be emerald green, another cerulean blue. I know from how quickly I get through the crimson paint it is certainly a colour I paint with constantly. I also use loads of red papers. Japanese  paper is beautifully intense.

My canvas may shout 'Summer', but Spring too has some beautiful reds.

 My canvas began around six weeks ago and it has been slow progress, I was still suffering with my broken foot and found it difficult to stick at painting, prefering to use my sewing machine, However my canvas kept grumbling on the easel everytime I walked past.

It began like this..... lots of paper pieces and gesso. Very slowly I began adding paint.

Then a couple of little houses turned up.

Some celandines joined the foreground.

Some textured grasses and moulding paste.

two cottages became one and the poppies covered the foreground.
I need a title..
It hasn't come to me yet, if you have any thoughts drop me a comment..  ;)

finally finished, a combination of paper, acrylic paint, gold flakes and moulding paste on canvas.

linking up to paint party friday

lemon yellows and Island hideaways

 Springtime yellows and orange are creeping into my colour palette. Inspired by the beautiful lemon yellow celandines and primrose which blanket the ground.

Island hideaways, wild sewing panels
made with paper cloth, fibres and metallic thread.

Here is a wee sneak peep at what I am working on at the moment...
It is a combination of paper collage and acrylic paint, I have also begun adding moulding paste and seashells.

If you look closely you may notice a Chinese take-away container which I use as a paint palette. ;) They make great palettes as they have lids which keep the paint from drying out, and you get  to eat the vegetable sweet and sour first!!

linking up to paint party friday

Wilderness Sewing in progress!

I thought I would share a little of what I am working on at the moment.
More 'wild sewing' and I have been using buckets of this wonderful metallic thread!
I love it... it makes the seascapes shimmer even more. It is a little tricky to sew with on paper cloth but practice makes perfect. ;)
What is paper cloth?
Well....

This is paper cloth, these three sheets are laid out on my floor at the moment drying. Muslin is covered in  watered down pva glue and then collaged with paper fragments.
I then use ink sprays to decorate the surface.

 The paper cloth pieces are cut and sewn in an appliqué type way to a backing cloth.

Slowly the landscape comes to life.

The free stitching makes scratchy grass like lines.

This one is more muted in tone.

For this one I wanted to create a craggy coastline in an almost abstract way.

So, another busy week.  I am so happy at all the positive feedback on my 'wild sewing series' Thanks so much to everyone who has commented.
 For me it encompasses all the mediums and subject matter I love best.

 Paper, collage, paint, ink, thread, fabric, foil, hills, sea, Skye.

This weeks wild sewing selection

Thanks for dropping in,
Hope to see you soon,

Linking to WOYWW and paint party friday

Finger painting and more wild sewing

Pinks and babies breath

I had a lovely surprise a few days ago when a beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived Interflora!
I was apparently supposed to have received them some weeks ago when I was housebound with my foot fracture but there had been a mix up and the order had never gone through.

It doesn't matter that they are late, flowers are never late, as they are always appreciated!
I love that wispy Babies breath... the flowers name makes me smile.. ;)

As you know I have been 'wild sewing ' for weeks and fancied a little painting breather away from the sewing machine.

I started with a geli plate page, just because I am not fond of painting or drawing straight onto white,

I painted most of this with my fingers... I love finger painting.. not good for your nails, but very good for your soul...

And added a little line definition..

Flowers are a bit of a theme this week

... I did a little sketch book experimentation..using oil pastels on fabric, sewing into the coloured drawing with thread. Then adding small paper cloth fragments from my scrap box.

 Of course I also made  more 'Wild sewing' panels.

 Here is a little snaphot of this weeks bits and pieces.

Wild sewing

Wild sewing pieces are made from papercloth, machine embroidered and stretched over wooden panels

Linking up to paint party friday