life and monotypes

I have been having such a ball spending my weekends learning at City Lit. I love having 2 days a week full time creating. It means I am doing something 7 days a week so it has been hard to keep up with normal chores and keeping up with paying bills and having a some sort of social life(I don't know how any parents do it). I have managed it and life fills rewarding and full. It all finished this weekend it is the last days of my drawing and printing courses. The picture is from week 2 at my printing course, one of my experimental monotypes that has turned out ok. I love learning lots of new techniques, it makes my mind boggle and I get super excited with all the possibilites. If you look carefully, you can see how one of my sketches was the inspiration for this monoprint.



I feel so grateful this very evening, the sun is shining I got home by 6.20pm (a record) I am not working tomorrow and Lawrence returns home after months travelling and working 7 days a week. It feels like it is going to be a great summer, lots of art,working 4 days a week and Lawrence is home 6 out of the 8 weeks. We have tickets booked for theatre and a plan to go camping somewhere in the English countryside. Summer feels like such bliss when your normal is grey days, today it feels like I have won the life lotto. I will ride this wave while it is here.

I am off now to make my new favourite pear and walnut salad with a glass of Oyster Bay and 2 hours of the Grey's anatomy Season 5 finale. See it keeps getting better....

finishing a sketchbook

To celebrate another of my Geneva sketches above.

At the end of my Geneva weekend, I had the wonderful achievement of finishing a sketchbook (it has taken 1 year). I feel very satisfied that the pages are full of good and bad ideas, drawings, scribbles, words.  I have completed it!!! Not backed out halfway through and started a fresh again later, this is becoming a new habit of mine and I am throughly enjoying it. Completing and finishing personally important projects, this is usually something I only do great at when it comes to work and study.  I am not in such a rush anymore or desperate to break free and on to the new and better ideas, fresh books where I can start again. It is so exciting and a relief that I don't need stuff and things to be so perfect.  

If my memory serves me correctly this will be the first journal of any sort that I have actually completed, and I have started many good looking and lovely blank paged books over years.

Yeah for me!

Magic in the land of Toblerone

From My Geneva Sketches

My visit to Geneva was such a delight on so many levels. The sun was bright, the air fresh and smelling the salt water reminded me of home.  Lawrence (the boy) played a fab Cat in Honk a musical based on the Ugly Duckling I still have the tunes running in my head.  It was a pleasure to see Lawrence on stage creating his magic and having lots of fun.  I met lovely people he worked with and it was great to share some Verve Clicquot and celebrate on Saturday night.

On another level I enjoyed spending 2 days sketching for the pure pleasure of it and for no other reason.  Geneva is a lovely place to walk around with many pretty buildings, parks and of course the lake. I was supported well in this process by eating excellent raspberries and some Swiss chocolate.  

Sunshine in Geneva

In the land of Toblerone with the boy. Spending much time in the parks and sunshine, relaxing and sketching to my hearts delight. Big blue skies, the air lovely and crisp and the sunshine so warm on your skin.

Breakfast was in the park and consisted of tasty raspberries & fresh bread. So delightful, it feels wonderful to be relaxing and be able to walk randomly through the day to the theatre and visit Lawrence. (Where I am now doing a quick post before I take another walk maybe to the water this time.)

Au Revoir xx

Developing the Sketch II

Looking at the original sketch I have enlarged  the image and cropped it, focusing on the line and the spaces. This is to develop an interesting more abstract image potentially to use for the drypoint printing. It could be anything which is what appeals to me.

Starting to develop the sketches

Starting to develop the sketches in line with my ideas for printing.  In my course I will be undertaking four different types of printing - collographs, monotypes, drypoint and linocut.  I want to progress one of my sketches in the four different print mediums and it will be interesting to see the results.

Sunday at the National Gallery

On Sunday I had a wonderful afternoon doing some sketches inspired by masterpieces at the National Gallery. The sketches are in preparation for some print making, some inspiration for lateral interpretation on experiences of paintings.  I really enjoyed the afternoon and it was lovely to feel like I had enough confidence to enjoy the experience instead of being worried about the results or self conscious of sitting in a gallery sketching.  

a different type of still life

Here is full mixed media image that I have used in the header. A mixed media on canvas with still life, inspired by reading the life story of Margaret Olley. Margaret Olley is an Australian painter that is well known for her still life paintings, she still resides in Sydney's Paddington at over 90.  I used to think still life paintings were so boring and tedious, but she gave me a new love. 

The images used in the piece a from a day spent exploring London galleries and exhibitions with Mat and Jasper. You may be able to make out the maps. Since this creation I have now started gathering interesting images, maps and pieces, I am scared the collection will out grow me.

This weekend I have two full days learning, Saturday is drawing and Sunday is printmaking. Lots more images to share soon.

painting and drawing a lamp

Sharing a creation that has turned out on the pleasing side. This creation started with me drawing in charcoal (inspired by my drawing class with Jayne Kay), then layers or acrylic, watercolour and gouche to boot. Lots of golden matte gel medium in between.  A big new step for me.

Creations are very subjective as I really liked the outcome but Lawrence really prefers my other type of work.  I have decided to progress this image with another version, try it out for size.  For no other reason than the joy of creating, painting and engagement I have with life when I am doing it.

This week on my commute I have been reading, M. Scott Peck classic the Road Less Travelled and it has reminded me of the value of therapeutic relationships and how healing comes in all sort of ways. For years I undertook many forms of self development, counselling, training to be a counsellor, NLP,  but nothing quite makes me feel so calm and content as a day spent creating.  Now I just have to work out how I can spend more of my life doing it.