Colds and work

I started with what I thought was hay-fever on Friday, but it may be a cold as I still have it, even though it's now raining.  The rain usually clears the pollen from the air.

I went to Hull yesterday with a friend to check out a drawing class.  It's a 'back to basics' sort of class, but we both feel that this would be good for our practise.  We had a look at the BA work first and didn't feel that the organisation of it was very good, no labelling of either names of students or the course they had taken.  The fact that there was hardly anyone there is an indication of the feeling it generated.

We then went over to the FE side and found the place packed, the staff were completely different too, couldn't do enough for us, drinks, seats, brochures and arranged transport to the other site where we saw some extremely good work, all correctly labelled, and with a member of staff escorting visitors around and answering any questions - a perfect presentation.  We have left our contact details as we have been told that the tutor will ring us to discuss our needs and arrange an interview.  It all sounds promising.

I haven't managed very much painting this week unfortunately, and what I have done is for the Woodend Open Summer Exhibition which I don't want to post yet.

The picture above is work I have on my studio wall, work that isn't for sale.  They are all from my 'Coast' series of on going work.  The top two pieces are very simple stitched wax paper with found beach treasures, representing the ebb and flow of the tide.  The bottom two are mixed media paintings, representing the fishing villages of North Yorkshire that cling to the cliffs, tiny communities holding fast against the massive force of the North Sea.

Getting ready for the start of the season

I only realised a few days ago that our first exhibition of the year is only six weeks away, and as it coincides with my painting week at Cober Hill, I have a lot to organise in the next month or so.

I have spent the day sorting out frames, throwing out old ones, and checking the measurements of the new ones as well as checking what mounts I need to order.  This has taken up most of the day, but at least I know what I have now.

I also had a nice hour or so doing some expressive painting to music,and managed to finish an abstract collage, shown below.  I really enjoyed doing this one, and have a couple more in the pipeline.

Coastal Pathways 2, acrylic collage 9 x 9 inch

Rain over Flamborough, monoprint 10 x 10 inch

I started a new series of expressive landscape collages yesterday, five in total.  These are larger than the last ones, at 16 inch square.  I have the collage and the acrylic underpainting finished, and will start working on them with the Markal oil sticks tomorrow.

I want to try adding stitch to these in a different way from the last series.  It may be difficult stitching them on the sewing machine as they are on paper and so much larger than the previous ones.  I can only try and see what I can do.

Its been a long time

It's been a long time since I posted here or on my other blog.  I want to start writing a blog again, so have decided to put everything here, whether painting, stitching, assemblage or whatever, it's all art.

I am still working on 'Coast', and want to start walking on the beach on a daily basis when the weather improves a little.  At the moment it's cold and windy, not conducive to walking, drawing and note taking.

I have been down a few times, and always come back with pockets full of things collected from the beach; shells, stones, driftwood.  They all evoke a  poignant feeling within me, a warn piece of wood that might once have been part of a ship, or more likely a box from a ship, or perhaps a limestone pebble with tiny veins and marking in rust and ochre, or perhaps a shell - animal, vegetable and mineral.

I want to be able to capture something of that feeling in a series of works.  I have a small piece of wood, a mussel shell and a small stone with a hole in it, sat in a box on my desk, and they have been there for several weeks.  I don't want to try and copy them in stitch or in paint.  What would be the point?

An idea is gradually forming in my mind, whereby the pieces are part of the actual work, together with perhaps a photograph of the beach, perhaps a stitched piece, perhaps a  painting, but all parts of one piece of work.  I still don't know how I am going to put it together, but like a bud, gradually opening, I see more each day.