A moonlight Adventure

I have been making lots of moonlight pieces recently.
This one is on a large MDF panel. It gives a lovely firm surface  to collage onto. I am often asked how I combine the paper and paint layers so here is a little WIP photo, although I'm not sure it makes it any clearer. I tend to work quite organically, often only having a vague idea of where I am going. Pieces introduce themselves slowly.

Sometimes not knowing exactly where the adventure will take you is a little scary, however as the great explorer Christopher Columbus said,
 'you can't cross the ocean without losing sight of the land'.

moonlight Adventure

mosaic croft houses

Long, long ago...well to be honest in April i think, I gave you a sneaky look at my little paperclay mosaic pieces. 

Well I haven't got round to showing you what I actually did with them!

I know, I know... should have explained a little sooner, but better late than never.

They became these little 'croft house mosaics' all individual and unique.

Made from my hand cut paperclay tiles. I stamp, carve and paint each tile then fit them together like a little jigsaw.

Little beads and jewels are also set in the clay

Detail

Detail

And finally presented box framed and ready to find new homes.

Spring croft houses

spring croft

More pieces from my pieces of Skye exhibition. I was emailed this week by a lovely lady called Jen who came to visit me during my open studio day . Last summer her niece visited the Island on holiday and saw my work in one of the islands Galleries, my work is available Skyeworks gallery, The old pier gallery and the Glenview gallery, she pondered over it but didn't buy anything, got home and wished she had bought a piece. So when she heard her Aunt was holidaying on the Island told her to try and find a piece of mine to take back to her. The pieces in the gallery were all new and Jen did not know what to choose, but in the end she chose this framed piece 'croft in spring'. It is made from paper sewn onto a calico backing, little houses played a big part in my pieces of Skye exhibition. Well it seems her niece is delighted, and I am thrilled she has a little piece of Skye to remind her of her holiday.

my textile pieces in skyeworks

little croft houses fill the mirrored shelves

This piece is a combination of sewn paper and acrylic paint

 The houses in the north west highlands have a distinctive feel to them. They seem to nestle down into the hillside, their walls sparkling white, I never tire of painting them or photographing them.

little house at Elgol

As a PS I have finally succumbed to pressure ( Being a staunch Luddite and technophobe) and am now on Facebook as Morag Archer Mixed Media... feel free to drop by, the link is at the top of my side bar. I doubt I will be the most prolific social media devote but I will aim to try harder. :) 

windswept sails

windswept sails. mixed media on canvas

I am very pleased Skyeworks have continued my Pieces of Skye exhibition for an extra week until the 11th of June!

I have received such wonderful comments.

So happy and touched that my artwork connects with so many people, even those who live many miles away. 

One of the recurring questions people ask me is where do I get my Inspiration.

That to me is the easy part!

It's all around!

I take lots of photos, but not to copy, more as a sensory reference. They act to re-jig my memory so I remember the colours, smells and atmosphere of a moment. sketchbooks scrapbooks too act as memory banks for ideas. Summer is a wonderful time to be out with my camera, and that is exactly what I have been doing. The weather has been glorious!

I went on a wee trip to Elgol. at the south end of the Island of Skye. From Elgol you can take boat expeditions to many of the smaller outlying Islands.

Set off on an adventure to the Islands of Canna and Rum and Sanday

The Island of canna has huge populations of seabirds, puffins have little burrows in the cliffs.

Every ledge a resting or nesting point.

Canna has a tiny population of around 10. ( It also has a sweet little tearoom) ;)

It also has a lovely little church.

Time to continue the journey to the island of Rum. On the way we passed an eerie shipwreck, apparently too expensive to salvage.

As well as seals Rum has a large population of red deer in Kilmory bay who seemed to enjoy sunbathing on the beach! So wonderful to see.

Then homeward bound to Skye, A lovely view across the sea to the black Cuillin mountains.

When the weather is kind, there can be fewer more beautiful places to be.

A summer evening, pieces of skye

 At last I can begin to show you my new collage paintings made for my pieces of Skye Exhibition in Skyeworks Gallery on the Isle of Skye which opened last week
.It has been so difficult keeping what I have been up to, Feedback be it good or bad is a great barometer, When you spend hours with a piece of work you often fail to be objective about it, Often I need someone to say " that bit's wrong, or that bit is great!" However I made the decision to keep everything under wraps until the opening day,

This piece uses  the colours of a highland dusky evening and is one of a pair I made using these deep blues and golden green tones.

I took some photos last August on a beautiful evening and I loved the way the deep blue hues combined with the whispy white meadowsweet. The air was heady with the scent of wild flowers. I wanted to capture that moment of a still summer evening.
I know many of you like to see my process so here is a little WIP interlude. You can see the paper layers and texture being built up in the sky with moulding paste.

Then paint is splattered over the texture with a trusty old toothbrush!

My other evening piece is ...

As you can see the inspiration from the meadowsweet and evening blue hues is more obvious here.

Unusually this piece is collaged onto a wood cradle, I covered the sides too, wrapping round the paper fragments, time consuming but I think it gives a better effect.

Pieces of skye! My exhibition details and sneek peek!

I have some exciting news!

My long awaited exhibition has a name and an opening date!!

It is to be called 'Pieces of Skye' and opens on the 23nd of May at Skyeworks gallery in Portree on the Isle of Skye.

I have been squirrelling away lots of work over the winter....

Keeping it secret and safe,

Often I have left my blog looking neglected as I thought it best to leave all my work unseen until the big event. 

My theme for the collection is summer on the beautiful Isle of Skye. You won't find any snowy landscapes or gloomy stormy seas ... this is all mid summer on the Island. There are lots of wild flowers, wild mountain views, sparkling seas and wee croft houses. It is true that the sun does not always shine on Skye, but when it does the light and mountain colours fill the horizon.

 I have produced over 40 pieces of work, some on canvas using torn paper and paint, other stitched pieces, stitched on collaged cloth paper. I think the name 'Pieces of Skye' sums up very well the way I work, using small pieces of often found papers, sewing them and gluing them to create my artwork.  There are some new things too. Little mosaic croft house pictures made with paperclay and kissed with gold.

So....just to give my readers a little sneak peak at what is in store I have a few detail photos to show you..... non of these are full pieces, just little areas...just to give you a taster. These are sections of larger canvas collage/paintings made from torn paper and paint.

detail

I will of course blog all of my new paintings in full and embroidered pieces once the exhibition opens..

exciting times!!!! :)