Doors and windows scavenger hunt!!

'secret garden'

 This Month Artists in Blogland have come up with a new themed Scavenger Hunt and this month it is 'doors and windows' so I thought I would have a look back at my previous work to see what I could find. The idea is to source any work new or old to fit the theme!

This small canvas was finished last winter and is called ' the secret Garden' named after my favourite children's book by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

                                   
                         

I based  the secret garden doorway on this  on this watercolour I painted of an Old Byre door. I love painting and photographing old doors, the two below were in Yorkshire.

 I love the way the Virginia creeper covers the walls around them.

postcard

This is a little postcard I made for a postcard swap earlier in the year.

Thistles in the window (watercolour pencil August 2013)

I love this old doorway, I took it in york when I was visiting earlier in the year, I think it would make a great collage!

linking up to Artists in Blogland scavenger hunt!!!

more sheepyness!

'Little lost sheep'

A week may have gone by but the subject stays the same...

If you saw last weeks post then this one may look familiar. It is another of my 'Summer on Skye' canvas collages and is currently hanging at the Skyeworks gallery on the Isle of Skye.
This one was tricky to photo as the light reflected off the surface. It is a little less blue than it seems here.
Over the summer I worked on various animal and bird projects. Up until then I had mainly used landscape as my inspiration but as a challenge thought I would try using my collage/paint techniques using Scottish flora and fauna as my inspiration.

The little lost sheep is in fact not sad to be lost. She actually prefers to wander away from the flock where the grass is lusher and there is space to breathe. Sometimes it is good to be lost.

She started off with a friend..

Who she lost along the way...

Now she has dragonflies for company.

Plaster painting

This last piece was an experiment on plaster. I rather like it. The plaster soaks up the paint like a sponge. I decided to leave it as an abstract experiment instead of fiddling too much with it.

Linking up to paint party friday
and this weeks Artists Playroom link up which is based around the theme of 'challenge'

'Summer on Skye'

It's getting chilly and the days are growing shorter, so here is a little piece of late summer to warm your day.
I made several large mixed media canvas during the summer. Most for the Skyeworks Gallery on the Isle of Skye. This one however went to a dear friend who loves Skye.
For those who have been following me you will notice the thistles  again ( My favourite summer theme)

Inspiration Avenues theme this week is 'faces' and I thought it would be nice to throw two woolly faces into the mix!

The Highlands of Scotland are filled with them...White dots scattered over the heather coloured landscape.The soft bleating often the only sound to break the silence.
Every turn in the road ...they are there....
Sheep....

This one was just waiting by the roadside waiting to be photographed!

You can go for quite a few days without seeing a human face in these parts, but few days go past without crossing paths with a 'Scottish blackface' or a 'Cheviot'.

They don't have a lot of road sense!

This collaged canvas started life as something rather different... a pair of stags, I loved the idea of the deer but it just didn't seem to work, and decided drastic action was needed!

They morphed into sheep! At this stage black faced sheep, but I didn't like the black, so...

 A bit of a white gesso and a quick change of breed!

I like them better as 'Cheviot ' white faced sheep. You can also see here one of the little collaged Dragonflies. The day after I finished the canvas I saw a beautiful dragonfly on the path down to the sea, he was gorgeous.

Dragonfly

I wished I could take better closeups...but you can just about make him out!

The thistles are collaged with handmade paper.

I have a couple more Summer Skyescapes left to show you, which I will do over the next few weeks.

Linking up to Inspiration Avenue and Paint party Friday this week.

'The path to the sea'

 After a month of faces I longed to post a landscape and this weeks Collage Obsession prompt is ' what view we would like out our window'

I did ponder for a while about collaging a Greek sunset or a tropical beach but with Summer on it's way out instead settled on what I know and love best the familiar view over to the Scottish mainland from the north coast of the Island. The view is often obscured by cloud but on a clear day you can see for miles all the way to the mountains of Sutherland.

 ...and really there are few nicer views, especially in late Summer when the heather and horsetails carpet the ground all the way to the sea. I took lots of photographs over the Summer to use as Inspiration over the darker months.
I also thought I would link up to The Artists Playroom as this week the subject is Landscapes. I have missed linking up with the weekly challenges as the past month I have been busy with the 29 faces and before that had a very busy Summer.

 I used masking tape to section off stripes on the canvas after collaging on some horsetail type stems.

Then I splattered acrylic paint using the masking tape to make stripes. I collaged in some paper with little circles.

I decided to make the foliage more abstract and removed some of the pieces I had applied earlier and sanded the canvas back with sandpaper, adding gesso then sticking squares of paper and little strips of sheet music. I often re-work areas I don't like using gesso and sandpaper. Nothing is finished until the final varnish!

Used lots of paper fragments. I really love Japanese washi papers as the colours are so beautiful. I love the gold ones which catch the light.

Finally I added some modelling paste stencilled through sequin waste to make the textured sky. Not entirely sure the canvas is finished, it is in my 'wait and see' pile of work which I go back to at a later date and view again with fresh eyes.

Linking up to Collage obsession this week
and also The artists playroom
as well as Paint party friday!

Ps To those who took part in my postcard draw last week the winner is Fuzzy Fingers! so I will be posting my little card off to her as soon as possible! Thank you to all who took part!

29 faces best bits

Day 29 and yes it is finally over.. 

a sniff, a sigh, the challenge to complete 29 faces in 29 days finishes today and so I thought I would do a quick best bits for those who haven't been with me for the whole challenge, for those who have, thank you, and thank you to those who have left such wonderful comments for me along the journey.

xxx

 

 If you missed yesterdays post I am having a 29 face giveaway of my final face. It is a little postcard based on my newly finished blogheader 'Bhiornal'

postcard giveaway

just leave a comment here on yesterdays post saying if you would like the postcard sent to you.

Linking for the end of the 29 faces challenge

29 faces final face giveaway!

Bhiornal postcard

Well here is My last face of the challenge. For those who saw my blog yesterday you may recognise the face!

My new blogheader 'Bhiornal' inspired this little postcard which I am giving away as my last post of the challenge.

If you would like to read the story of Bhiornal have a look HERE

and if you fancy being the recipient of my little card giveaway just leave a comment and I will sort out a random draw next week.

Thanks again to Ayala for hosting the challenge. Have a look Here at all the wonderful faces others have produced over the last month. Over the month I think producing so many faces has made me work faster and think more clearly. I have learnt to plan a little better however it will be nice to chill out and do a little creative experimenting with no particular purpose for a little while 'creative doodling' I call it. So I probably go back to my once a week posting.

I need to say a huge thank you to all those who have taken the time to follow me through the challenge and leave such fantastic comments and encouragement.
Much, much appreciated.

'Bhiornal'

                       

29 faces Day 27

'Bhiornal'

After nearly a month of faces the end of the challenge is almost here. It s time to post my finished canvas 'Bhiornal' You may remember my earlier WIPduring the challenge..

Her name comes from an old Island legend that recounts the story of a Viking princess named Bhiornal who whilst sailing back to Scandinavia became gravely ill. The viking fleet pulled into a bay at the north of the Island. She was taken ashore and her dying words to her father were to bury her on the mountainous headland so she might still catch the breeze from her homeland.
 The mountain is called 'Sron Bhiornal' after her.

Finished canvas

WIP

As you can see it is a large  long canvas and it is now my new blog header!I thought it was time for a change.
I have had a thistle theme on the go for much of the summer and this was the culmination of many thistle projects.
If you like her I am having a Bhiornal postcard giveaway tomorrow (Saturday) so drop by and leave a comment.

Thistles

The canvas is presently on show at the Skyeworks gallery on the Isle of Skye.

Linking up to the 29 face challenge

Here are a few of my favourite faces I have created this week

and also paint party friday click HERE to have a look at all the other fabulous  work people have done this week.

Also saying hello to Artists in blogland show and tell saturday