Another week has flown past

We finished at Burton Agnes on Tuesday.  Didn't do too bad, but the footfall is drastically down.

I wasn't feeling too great, a combination of the ongoing back problems, plus very tired, and then a sore throat and cough, presumably because I feel worn out.

I'm feeling much better now, and have started working in my 'Trees' workbook again, preparatory to the TSG summer school in July.

I have also ordered 6 canvasses for my artist residency at Scarborough Old Parcels Office, the complete work being 1m x 4m.  I have started planning out how this is going to work, but I am a bit worried that I won't get it all done during the time I have there.  Hopefully I will find time in the next couple of weeks to make a start on the research - walking, collecting, sketching over on the north side of Scarborough, starting at the Sealife centre.

I have also had a lovely time experimenting with pouring acrylics, and am very excited by the results.  It is messy and I think I need to get some of those plastic clogs to change into when I'm doing it as it's difficult not to walk into the puddled paint.  I have a plastic sheet down, but I'm thinking of putting sheets of paper underneath as these would be absorbent, and would make nice beginnings, or failing that, sketchbook pages.

Modiglianis piazza

The above is a collage painting started at Cober Hill.  It's quite large for me, 25 inch square.  I haven't had time to do any more to it, and I'm not sure I want to finish it, so it will be propped up against the studio wall for a while until I decide to either paint over it or work on it.

Cober Hill

I have had very little time at home over the last week.  First I was at Cober Hill, and then Stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall Courtyard Gallery.

I did one or two good pieces of work at Cober Hill, one of the best as far as I am concerned was done in a couple of hours on the last day.  These are both quite small, around 9 inch square.

Seascape, acrylic

I bought a set of spreaders in Poundland a few weeks ago.  I just happened to see them, I don't know what they are really designed for, but were in the DIY department so maybe for filling cracks in walls?  Anyway I decided to take them with me to Cober Hill to give them a trial.

Yorkshire landscape, acrylic

I didn't get chance to use them until the last day, in fact the last few hours before we cleared up.  They are amazing.  Although plastic, they have the same flex and spring as a palette knife, and as they are very light, they are easy for me to use.  The largest is around 5 inch wide, going down to around 1½ inch wide.  The corners are right-angles, but I am going to try trimming one corner to a curve.  I hope they still have them because I love them and want to buy some more.

Burton Agnes Hall and Cober Hill

Spent most of the day setting up our exhibition at Burton Agnes Hall Courtyard Gallery.  The weather was horrible, windy, raining and very cold.  The exhibition looks very nice, but unless the weather improves, not many people are going to come out to walk around gardens, however lovely they are.  I had to do a little shopping on the way home and got caught in a hailstorm!

I have also spent what was left of the day finishing my packing for Cober Hill.  I don't go until Sunday but I am stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall tomorrow, so took the chance to do it today.  After such a busy week, getting ready for the exhibition, it will be lovely just to have five days of painting.

Summer tide

I'm not sure if I've posted this painting or not.  The colours haven't come out very well in the photograph, it's much stronger and the brush marks more prominent in the painting.

Hopefully I will have lots of new work to post next weekend after Cober Hill