Saturday 27 August 2016

I'm Dreaming of a White Autumn...

Oh dear, what can the matter be?
Think I got lost at the fair...:)

So...no more excuses, autumn is beginning her waft past the trees and I'm longing for pumpkins.
My wish would be to buy some white ones locally, (there's little hope growing them here, too many critters with designs on them), but sadly, it is a struggle to find a decent orange one in this area...'sigh'...
So, I had this great idea (great, in my head at least) of painting some white ones.
Then the, 'wouldn't it be cool to put them on white linen?' voice chirped in and I rummaged through my stash of white lacy things and set up a still life corner and started to paint some broderie anglaise...sigh...

First shading of the linen.

What was I thinking?
No, this wouldn't be cool at all, voice in my head, you are sadistic and I don't want to play with you anymore!
Still, I had begun at least, so no turning back I guess...
Who knew there were so many little holes in the fabric...strange how much you scrutinise objects when you paint them.
Pity the life nudes when artists are taking in every little curve and crevice ;)
Time seems to move very slowly but then the little holes begin to look like little holes...

More shading and highlights.
The pumpkin is another matter altogether, you think, ha, pumpkins are just fat round blobs with sticks on the top...
Well, yes that's true, but it doesn't sit nicely on top of old linen, they jar too much.
This pumpkin has to look refined and lady-like.
A big old fat slob of a squash won't do, not in this setting.

Trying to make the ugly stalk look pretty...

Time away from the paintings for a while...and guess what?
I found some more linen and the sadistic voice in my head said, 'Hey, that would make a nice painting'...sigh...and hang head...
So...here we go again with some more fabric but this one doesn't have holes, it has embroidery :o)
Seriously?
Here's a pic of them sitting next to each other on my cluttered work table...maybe it's just me but I'm sure they are smirking...

Pair of  pumpkins :o)

At least they each found a friend...:o)
When they are both fully dry, I'll varnish them and get them ready for their autumn glory...
Or maybe I'll get distracted by some lovely linens and start another painting...
Squirrels are nothing compared to old linens believe me.
Although these pumpkins would be useless for a pie, they might last a little longer?
Now, looking at that messy table, maybe it's time for an autumn tidy up.
I may be some time...so till then...
May your pumpkins be merry and bright, and may all your Halloweens be white...
TTFN
-Cee xx








Friday 4 March 2016

Waiting For Jack

(I know that not many people will read this but that should never stop anyone...:o) )

I thought that I would share some of my paintings and their progress, it also does me good to see how they look on-line, the colours change so dramatically that sometimes they no longer feel like my work...so...here goes the first...be gentle...
Pumpkin Patch

This painting was done to honour a friend who passed away at the beginning of February, she was called Tammy and was an amazing artist.

Tammy had a studio called 'Light and Shadow' so I thought the painting should represent these ideas.
We also had an Ehag Emporium theme of Light and Shadow for Tammy, so this fit nicely.

This is painted in oils on canvas paper, I don't have the space for lots of large artwork, so most of my paintings are A4 size, this is also easier to scan!
Tammy made many pumpkin creations, so naturally the painting needed a pumpkin!
And, of course, every Faerie wanted to join in, so it was hard to chose just one, but this lady seemed to speak to me and so she was posed on the pumpkin...

Hand on Heart
I was thinking of Tammy while I painted her, how quickly things can change, just how much we can miss out on if we let ourselves.
I think that if one positive thing can come out of Tammy's death it is this...
We should grasp every moment, make the time matter, don't let things slip away because we are afraid...and make as much Art as we can, so that when we are no longer here, we have something which tells the world, that we were here, that we did something, that we left something for others to enjoy...
After all...Art is long and Life is short...

Waiting For Jack