Over the fields

Over the fields

Last week I mentioned I had started a commission which I'm not ready to share yet as I’m still working on it but instead a new piece which I have just finished. I like to work on many pieces at once, each at various stages of readiness.

   This way when a piece isn’t working I can leave it. Often pieces need room to breathe before I decide if they are finished.  I leave them for a day or two, sometimes longer. When I look again with fresh eyes I know what needs to be done to finish them.  Sometimes it’s a splash of a complementary colour, sometimes a tweak in the composition.  Collage is great in that paper can be layered over surfaces if things are not working, it’s an intuitive process and it’s very hard to explain why I know when something is wrong and when I know something is right. It can take a short time, it can sometimes take longer. Often the pieces which I have to battle with are my favourites.

 When the painting stops  grumbling at me it is ready to go on its way.

At the same time as I was working on the little wooden panels i posted last week  I was working on a similar larger canvas.

I used similar colours and fields of Thistle like flowers which blanketed the hillside during the Summer months.

I think this is knapweed, my thistly inspiration.

I liked all the textures and papers but spend ages deliberating on the size of the wee house on the hill. If you look at this shot you can see it has been painted out and in several times!

The finished house

After several days rest I returned to the little house and knew what size it should be....

It has stopped grumbling at me and can be seen at Skyeworks gallery in Portree on the Isle of Skye

Three of a kind and something new.

Three new little wooden panels on my workdesk, each slightly different. Small fragments of an Island summer.
Collaged with paper, gesso, paint and molding paste

Also been working on a new commission... not much to show as yet, but if you follow my blog you will probably know that the paper layers are just a starting point... lots more to add.

Michaelmas daisies and new stencils

I purchased some lovely stencils off Ebay recently.

The seller very kindly put a load of extra stencils in with the ones I ordered for free!

That brightened my day!

I use stencils for ink spritzing, modelling paste layering, gelli printing, in fact anything and everything!

They make a lovely background for watercolour sketching in my sketchbook.

I use inked spritzed through the stencil and painted on top when dry.

Michaelmas daisies are so evocative of autumn days and that 

 breathy chill in the morning air,

Summer seas

After weeks of appearing to have not much to show, at last a new canvas!
I have actually been working very hard and have made several new pieces, but for the moment they are under wraps and I'm only letting one free at the moment.
The summer seas canvas was inspired by a little boat trip I had in August into Portree bay.
I took the photo below because it made me smile.
I did not go for a boat trip in this particular rowing boat! The real Brigadoon is a little larger and more seaworthy, thank goodness.

August was a dreadful, wet month, but this particular day was beautiful!

 A large pod of dolphins swam alongside the boat, it was magical...my camera ran out of charge after this shot....not so magical!

Well my seagull canvas began with a boat in the foreground but I really didn't like it, the seagull to me needed to be the main focus. All the heavy shapes of the boats just seemed to battle against what I wanted.

I then remembered the little sail boat I had seen at sea on my boat trip.

So out went the big boat and in came the small distant sail....

I am much happier with it now, my seagull has space to fly.

Collage workshop, finished pieces.

I posted Last weekend about my collage workshops in Lancashire at Drift Gallery in St Annes and progress so far, as promised here are some photos of last nights frenzied finishing session!

The workshops ran over 4 evening sessions each lasting 2 hours.
After previous sessions on paper layering, gesso and paint application this last session was about embellishment. In other works 'bling'

We used napkins, dimensional paint, glitter and sparkle!

Papers, paint, gilt leaf and flower petals.

I am thrilled by how my talented group of students began to develop their own styles!

I have had a fabulous time over the past few weeks explaining techniques and I am looking forward to my series of Christmas workshops in December.... details to follow soon!

Updates on my workshops!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was teaching a series of  evening workshops in Lancashire at 'Drift gallery' in St Annes-on-sea
. Well although I said I was going to wait till the end of the workshops to reveal what the very talented students had created, I really couldn't wait till the final session as already their canvas landscapes are looking beautiful!!!

The first week we concentrated on laying down torn paper layers.

Using photographs as inspiration.

One inventive lady brought her I-pad and a whole selection of beautiful images, in the end she chose this tree.

Week two we began to add black and white gesso, this is the way I work and I explained my methods but really wanted my students to experiment and have fun with the various mediums using their own style.

Week three, the penultimate week and we are adding acrylic paint over the paper layers.

I use babywipes to apply paint as well as brushes, it stops fiddling with paint. Many people are afraid of paint and tend to get too 'tight' when just given brushes.

I  love the mauve hazy tones in the distant hills.

This one is a beautiful sand dune seascape!

I like the trees in this one which are beginning to emerge on the shoreline, drawing the eye into the picture.

The oak tree is slowly growing...

I am having such fun, I am so fortunate to have such a lovely and talented group of students. Next week is the final ' embellishing' class where we add a bit if bling to our pieces so I will post the finished pieces next weekend!

Decoupage chair and some sketchbook pages

Another week seems to have flown past and I have put it to use sorting out my studio, this chair was in the corner looking very unloved, after an attack with patterned tissue paper and paint it is no longer unloved ;) I wish I had a before shot, but I forgot to take one!

I have also been working on new ideas for projects, this is an preliminary plan for an eagle collage... watch this space!

My sketchbook is where I work on ideas, to me it is a place where I experiment rather than just sketch.

My sketchbook, filled with ideas

I have also been using some of the hundreds of photographs I took over the summer. One trip was to Abbotsford House in the Scottish borders and I found buckets of inspiration to keep me busy.
This wonderful wallpaper is in the Drawing room of the house and was hand painted in China. My photos in no way do it justice as flash photos are not permitted, so if you want to have a close up view this link to the Drawing room will give you a much better idea of its beauty.

Chinese wallpaper

Abbotsford Drwaing room

sketchbook ideas

As you can see I used the photos as ideas to work on further. This may become a starting point for a larger piece, or an embroidered panel.

The background was Gelli printed and the branches were collaged. A bit of digital messing about to see if I like the background darker. I often do this as it enables me to see if things would look better with a change of tone or colour,

Digitally darkened