A CHANCE TO REFLECT

I just finished, not before time, preparing the material for a talk I am giving about my work to the Somerset Society of Artists.  It has been an enjoyable and enlightening experience; I had forgotten how much there is, even if I don't have photos of lots of it. Is it a comfort that the best work sells?

7.30 pm Taunton Public Library Tuesday 5 November

It made me realise what I enjoy doing and what I should be doing again.

 For instance landscape painting

1991 Greece; pencil and watercolour

1997 Devon; pen and watercolour

2005 Somerset; charcoal and watercolour

August 2013  Brussels; Pentel brush pen and watercolour

and I must keep making abstract work

SUMMER SCHOOL

At lunch it seemed that, inspired by my sketch book, (see previous post), they wanted to go out painting, like REAL artists.  So we did!

We walked to the Park and sat on a wall

We sketched

 

 

and sketched

 

 

a heron came to watch us

 

we sketched some more

 

until we were satisfied

 

and then we walked home

 

That night  Oma and Opa were invited to Private View in their atelier

We were given little slices of pizza and some drinks and then found ourselves invited to bid in an auction of art work.  It seems the entrepeneurial spirit thrives!

 

 

FLEMISH SCHOOL

It is such a long time since I blogged. I have not done much painting for a while but I have been photographing as much as possible of my work, old and new, . All this is prompted by being asked to talk about my work to the Somerset Society of Artists next month. More of that in a future post.  It also means that in while I can maybe start filling the GALLERY section of this blog.

In my last post, here , I wrote of a day missing the grandchildren but doing some sketching.  Now my other half is once more in Belgium but I am in the UK.   She is seeing the grandchildren and I am missing them and her.  It makes me think of a lovely day this summer.

For a few days we looked after the youngest four grandchildren. One morning three of them invited themselves into my studio and asked if they could paint too. I showed them my watercolour gear and let them loose

 

 

 

I showed them the sketches in my little book I posted last time

 

 

They soon disappeared upstairs to the attic, leaving this notice on the door to the stairs

 

What would happen?

(it says Our Studio, no entrance until 7.30)

natural therapy

A "bug" made me decide to forgo a trip to the coast where some of the grandchildren were on holiday.  My missus went and I was feeling a bit sorry for myself.  It was a hot day and after a little gardening I went for a walk to one of my favourite local places.  Parc Parmentier.

 My little A6 sketch book came too and a pocket size box of watercolour and my trusty Pentel Brush pen and water brushes..

Parc Parmentier always puts me in good mood. Beautiful trees, streams and two magic pools in the woods.  

The last sketches I did here  (in 2012) turned into paintings  I think these might too.

I missed the grandchildren but the day was not lost!

little time to paint

After our return to the UK there has not been much painting. Lots and lots of music to play and arrange and, although I love it, I was longing to get back to painting.

But last weekend was taken up with getting things ready for a joint show  with Artists 303, a well known west of England group, at Ilminster Arts Centre 

Here is one of my paintings there - much looser than my architectural work usually is.  Last summer I had been doing some big, detailed, ink and watercolour drawings of  Wells Cathedral  but moved onto some looser oil pictures and then this, acrylic on cardboard (I can't measure it as it is not here, but about 60 cm wide ) - I like it but what do you think?  I call it Dreams of Wells

tablets for travel sickness?

Recovering from yesterday's travelling; 12 hours "on the road", Brussels to Bridgwater, UK. 

 Eurostar is fast and comfortable but there is a lot of waiting.  I sat in St Pancras station finishing lunch whilst better half went shopping .   It gave me time to do a little more Nexus tablet drawing.  It is smaller than an iPad and discreet.  This man in Pret a Manger had no idea I was drawing him

for Lutje's thoughts on the day ,(and some lovely photos) see this

e-drawing

For several years I have wanted to draw on computers.  For five weeks now I have been the proud owner of a little Google NEXUS pad and had tried to draw on a free app. OK ish!

But yesterday my better half gave me a stylus and here is my first attempt.

"Better half reading"

I am hooked = but off now to do some real drawing.

art and Kraft?

marking, cutting and gluing

sealing and painting with acrylic

the first one,  about 40 x 40cm

detail of a smaller one

in progress, about 40 x 40cm

I am pleased with them so far. I am thinking of mounting them on a panel rather than framing them to keep their slightly irregular shape and display the material

 I know people are reading this blog and I hope you enjoy it. Why not follow me by filling in the email form at the top of this page or by the button at the very bottom?

sexy cardboard?

Wikipedia tells us that
Corrugated (also called pleated) paper was patented in England in 1856, and used as a liner for tall hats, but corrugated boxboard was not patented and used as a shipping material until December 20, 1871. The patent was issued to Albert Jones of New York City .............read about it here

Some of my corrugated cardboard was damaged, exposing the corrugations, the internal skeleton.  I love this stuff, perhaps it is my architect's eye that enjoys the economy of structure and the great strength for so little weight. This was particularly nice stuff since it was composed of two layers of ridged paper of different pitch and running in different directions with an additional membrane separating them. A huge improvement in strength/lightness.

I wanted to cut into it, to expose it's core.......

what I found delighted me and I was busy for hours

so, with Stanley knife, PVA glues, acrylic gel and paint I  made lots of abstract reliefs which I will show you tomorrow

I think these two people,  from yesterday, were happy too?

charcoal and acrylic paint on card

be adaptable ...change is good for you?

back in the autumn, and after prolonged discussions over comfort and matters feng shui , a new sofa (self assembly of course) was delivered from

it is so very comfortable, geriatric knees can cope with exit and entrance 

and I can almost understand Flemish TV when ensconced in it

maar

the HUGE cardboard crate was a bit of a problem

 I cut it up in tidy pieces to take in the car, later,  to be recycled

we stored it, pro temp, in the studio but it was an eyesore, it blocked the door,  until, coming home after a few weeks away I decided to paint on a few pieces, to loosen myself up

 

and then I thought .....

this is fun!

I will keep the card and use it ..... and I did (but you will have to wait for my next post!)

it's cosier indoors

A week of snow now ... the birds flock around the house looking for the food we put out.  Tits , sparrows, finches robins and lots of blackbirds

this little chap was sheltering from the falling snow, all puffed up for warmth and waiting for his turn at the table

A few minutes later I did these very quick little painted sketches from memory, acrylic with a big flat brush on A4 card

Lutje has posted pictures of the birds and the snow too; here and here

a slow start?

well...!   I said it would not be a journal.  Almost two weeks have flown since we decamped to Brussels. Two birthdays, one of them mine, have helped fill the time.  Just started painting again, more in my next post.  Mean while.......

Lutje and house guest A** went to the Zuidmarkt and bought olives and lamb and beautiful lemons from the Moroccan stalls.

I drew one lemon in my tiny book with Pentel brush pen and watercolour, the first drawing of the year, (I should be ashamed!)

 and then the other

meanwhile we found that both had friendly faces and Lutje made a portrait, see it here