Artist Residency

I wouldn't have believed what a difference it makes to work away from home, and to work for a long period, up to 6 hours one day!  Usually it's four hours, and it suits me perfectly.  There are no interruptions, and I just get on and work. I need to put a similar routine in place at home after the residency is finished.  At present, I never get more than two hours, and often not even that.

I have covered the tables and floor with plastic, then covered the floor again with scrap paper I've saved from packaging.  Because it doesn't matter about the mess I feel so much freer.

The major plus is that I have the space to work on four or five pieces at the same time, plus a couple of warm-ups as well.   I can spread them out on the floor to dry, then prop them up and look at them from a distance. I will be sad when the residency finishes in two weeks.

This is one of the paintings I'm working on.  It still needs a lot of work, but it's getting there.

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.

Lesley Birch workshop

I'm going on a one day workshop, lead by Lesley Birch tomorrow, the subject being 'colour'.  I'm really looking forward to it,  hopefully I'll write about it next week.

This week I have been pulling work together, getting ready for the first exhibition of the year at Burton Agnes Hall.  We set up on Friday 29th April, so only two weeks to go.

I have had some lovely frames made by Paul at Blacktoft, I'm very pleased with them.  Together with some I bought last year, my work is going to be in mid to pale wood frames this year, with either white or cream mounts.  I have striven to get a more co-ordinated look, and this year I have finally managed it.

I spent the day matching paintings to frames and mounts, then making a list of the work, together with notes on what else still has to be done.  I have twenty-two pieces of work altogether, sixteen of which are new this year.

Fishing boats. Collager & Oil on canvas with some stitching

This is one of the pieces that's almost but not quite finished.  I still have a lot to do before set up day on the 29th April

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.

Two workshops and a pile of work to review

I missed posting last Sunday because I was on a workshop, more of that later.

The workshop at Art Van Go, Knebworth; Monoprinting landscapes with Sarah Burgess was excellent.  Sarah is a born mentor, and spent a lot of time with individuals, talking about their work.

We did monoprinting on paper the first day, then on fabric the second day.  We also looked at combining the paper and the fabric into collage pieces.

monoprint on paper approx 8 x 10 inch

monoprint on paper, fabric added approx 8 x 10 inch

collage made from monoprints, tissutex, line added, A2

detail of above

 I enjoyed the monoprinting on paper, but was less successful with monoprinting on fabric.  I will do more as I think it has great possibilities.

monoprint on fabric

The way to think about this type of monoprinting for me is as preparing collage elements that I will later combine with other pieces.

Harbourside stage 4

Worked on Harbourside yesterday, and also played around with a few techniques and materials on some heavy watercolour paper.  

This painting is at the slightly ugly stage, but I know it will be fine, it just needs more work, but it's one of those paintings which I need to keep looking at throughout the day to see where to go next.  Some paintings seem to paint themselves and others, like this one, seem to resist being finished.

Harbourside, stage 4

I like how the quay side is coming, it just needs the finer details putting in such as window frames and chimney pots, plus railings, signs etc.  The boats need a lot more detail as they are in the foreground.  Hopefully I will get it near to finished tomorrow.  I don't like the two boats in the background facing the same way, so one will have to up anchor and turn around.

From trees to harbours

I'm still not feeling 100% today, so I haven't done very much.  I came across this prepped canvas when I was trying to bring a little bit of order to the studio.  It started life in a series of trees, but this one never got finished.  When I picked it up today, upside down, I immediately saw it as another harbour scene - obviously I am in a mind set with harbours at the moment.  I added a little more blue ink to the overall canvas to give it the right feel for a harbour scene.

Textured deep canvas, 12 x 12 inch

It has tissue texture on the bottom half, and texture medium at the top.  I am thinking about copying some of my drawings of houses onto watercolour paper , and collaging them into the flat area.  I like the idea of blocks of smooth collage against the more texture top and bottom.  I may even add them onto some light molding paste so that they are raised from the surface slightly,  I will have to see what works.

Red Jug collage work in progress

This is another collage piece, showing work in progress.  I have tried with this painting to use colours which are uncharacteristic of my work, but I don't know how long the jug will stay red as it's just not a colour I feel comfortable with.

When I start with a collage, but no composition in mind, I choose papers which I like, which show good contrast in tone, and work well together colour wise.

I marked in the composition with charcoal pencil, after studying the collage, and looking for something to speak to me.  In this piece I saw the window, the table and the shelf.

This is as far as I have got.  I had a busy day, so not much time to work on it.

Still Life No. 9

I had already made a start on this Still Life Collage, so decided to finish it, then put away my collage papers.  I am still not sure what I am going to do tomorrow but I might get out my oil paints again.  I'll just wait and see.

Still Life Collage, acrylic mixed media, 9 x 11 inch

Still Life No. 8 plus 100Artworks challenge

I had decided that this would be the last of the Still Life collage paintings, mainly because I feel it's good to try different techniques and different subjects.  That's, after all  what this blog is all about,  exploring design and techniques!  the trouble is, I am still really enjoying them, and I have loads of ideas for more.  The dilemma is should I carry on, or should I force myself to step out of the box onto the scary slippery slope of change?

Still Life No. 8, acrylic mixed media, 8 x 10 inch

I have also decided that uploading single images from the 100 Artworks Challenge is just too time consuming, so here are the first 9 in the experimental acrylic landscape series.

100 Artworks Challenge, acrylic landscapes, 1 to 9

I really can't believe that another month has gone by so quickly.  I have only missed one day since January 1st, so have 89 posts and about 100 photos uploaded.  I give myself a pat on the back, because some days it has just been so difficult to do, but I can see already that I am less hesitant to take chances, less worried about the outcomes (there's always tomorrow's artwork), and I feel I know my materials so much better than I did pre-Christmas 2014.

Here's to the next three months - they will be a real challenge as I am away three times in the next three months, so I will need to plan a lot.

Still Life collage No.5 and No.3 & 4 of the 100 Artworks Challenge

Yet another still life collage, I haven't got tired of doing these yet, and am still loving them.  I have 3 or 4 prepared boards still to use, so expect more of them.

Still Life collage, acrylic, 10 x 14 inch

And here are two more for the 100 Artworks Challenge

100 Artworks Challenge, No.3, acrylic mixed media 5½ inch square

100 Artworks Challenge No. 4 acrylic mixed media 5½ inch square

I am so enjoying doing these small acrylics, giving me a chance to experiment with no pressure.  they only take between 15 and 30 minutes, so if it doesn't work I haven't lost much time, and the materials are pennies.

Thanks to Kellee Wynne for coming up with the challenge.  On her blog today she talks about taking it a step further, making it 10 x 100 Artworks, and I think it's a great idea.  I want to do still life for my next 100!

Still Life Collage No.4

I am so enjoying working with these still life collages.  Each one is an exploration of composition, colour and tone. 

Still Life No. 4, acrylic mixed media, 6 x 7 inch

And here is my second painting in the 100 Artworks Challenge, organised by Kellee Wynne, see yesterday for link.

100 Artworks No.2, acrylic 5½ inch square

I've also worked on about a dozen mark making pages for the sketchbook Practise online workshop with Jane Davies, but will post them over on that blog as they aren't very exciting.

Had a good day today, but I'm tired out.

Still life collage No. 2

Here is the second in the series of Still Life collages.  I am not quite so happy about this one.  I think it needs a little something else, but will leave it on the wall for a while to see where to go with it.

Still Life Collage, acrylic mixed media,  9 x 10inch

Still Life collage

Felt like doing some collage today, so I got out all my papers that I have coloured and patterned, prepped up some boards and got started.

It's very compulsive, once you start adding papers to boards to form backgrounds, and I ended up making eight of various sizes.  I managed to stop myself, and get on actually designing a Still Life collage on one of the prepared boards.  

Still Life Collage, mixed media acrylic, 9 x 9 inch

I also use transparent papers, a technique learnt from Jane Davies in her Extreme Composition class.  These are so useful for adding pattern without adding colour.  I like to use Tissuetex, sometimes called Lens Tissue, or Abaca Tissue.  This is a very strong tissue, which when glued down is almost invisible.  I use markers, pencils and pens to scribble, write or stamp onto the tissues.  

I also use catering greaseproof paper in the same way, the catering type being thinner than normal.  I like the fact that the greaseproof wrinkles when wet, giving texture to the work.  Thank you Jane Davies.

I have worked into the piece when it was dry, with charcoal and water-soluble pencil.

Still life, stitched

I managed to get the still life I showed yesterday stitched.  I'm not sure if I am going to leave it as is, or add more paint and/or mark making.  I will probably print out the photo onto watercolour paper and experiment with it that way.   I wish I had left the pears with only a little stitching, as they leap forward now, and I don't want to add a lot more stitching to the rest of the picture.

Printing onto watercolour paper (or thin canvas) is something I have done for a few years now, and is very freeing, as if things go wrong I can always print out another copy to work on.  I also play about with the photo's of my work in Photoshop, changing the colours and tones, cropping and even stretching or adding artistic filters.

Stitched Still Life, acrylic, collage, stitch, 8 x 8 inch

I have also including a quick collage I made using transparent papers.  I like to use up any surplus acrylic paints or inks with transparent papers that I can then use in collage.  I use thin greaseproof (deli paper), catering tissue which is like the paper they wrap bread in at the bakery, and dressmakers tissue.

Still Life collage 8 x 9 inch

The pears are greaseproof paper, which wrinkles when wet and leaves these lovely marks when you paint it with very liquid colour.  The only problem with making collage papers in this way is I find it difficult to stop, and have mounds of them.

Abstract collage

As a change from the Still Life painting, I did a few abstract collages yesterday.  I love preparing the collage papers, using brush, roller, spray, stamp, scraper - in fact anything to make a mark.  I then go over the dry papers with more mark making using pen, pencil, crayon.

I like to use either catering greaseproof paper or tissue paper.  I order the cheapest I can find on EBay, and they are usually very thin, without too much surface sizing.  They take the colour very well and are thin enough to almost disappear when they are collaged down.  Sometimes the greaseproof wrinkles with the moisture, but I like the added texture, so don't worry about it.  I use Matt Acrylic Gel medium to glue down the papers.

Abstract collage on board, 12 x 16

 I can hardly believe I am at the end of month two.  This is the 59th painting I have posted since Christmas.  Of course I have done many more, particularly during the Jane Davies online course.

This year I had decided to do less exhibitions (we did 6 last year!) and concentrate on painting EVERY day, and taking as many courses as I could afford, and fit in.

I have signed up for Jane's Sketchbook Challenge online course starting on the 25th March (now full), and I have also signed up for her online course '100 Drawings on Cheap Paper'  which focuses on different elements each week, creating quantity, letting go of inner judgement.  This course doesn't start until September.  I missed the one in January as it was full and I don't want to miss it again!  If the last course is anything to go by I will end up making 20-40 a week, rather than 10, which is all to the good, if very tiring.  I have marked it on the calendar and will try to keep the ten weeks relatively free!

I am also doing several real time textile based courses, and trying to maintain my textile blog lynneportermaterialmatters.blogspot.  This has suffered so far because I was fully stretched doing this blog and the Jane Davies online course.  I intend to fit in at least one and preferably two blog posts a week in the future on the textile blog, and I will set aside one morning and one afternoon to work on samples in my 'dry' studio, which is actually our spare bedroom.    See the textile blog for more on this.


This blog will of course continue daily.

Still Life, rework of first painting

I have taken a photograph of the first still life in the series, altered it in Photoshop Elements, printed it out onto watercolour paper, and then re-worked it.  The photograph has come out a little bright.

I find this is a quick way to experiment with a painting, and if I find I really like the result, I will then go on and actually paint it on board.

Still Life No.1 reworked, acrylic, 10 x 12

 I have also taken another photograph of yesterday's painting.  The colours are more accurate now but it is a little brighter than the photograph shows, but if I alter the brightness, the colours are not true.  I think it maybe because there is a lot of scumbling one colour over another.

Still Life, version 3

I am enjoying this series, or sequence of paintings, and will be doing more in March.

Extreme composition, lesson 6, part three

Sadly, the last work in this great online course with Jane Davies.  I have enjoyed it so very much, and have learned a great deal, particularly mark making and layering with transparent papers.  I am already taking some of these elements into my work.

Part three was looking at modular work as part of working in a series.  That is, work which would be displayed together as a body of work.  Again we worked from a previous painting for our inspiration.

from lesson 2

Triptych modular pieces overall 34 x 9 inch

Extreme Composition, lesson 6, part 2

This part of the lesson was looking at Extreme formats, working in a series and using a painting from a previous lesson as our source and inspiration.  I choose a piece from lesson 4.  I should have done three pieces but ran out of time.

from lesson 4

Extreme format 24 x 8 inch

Extreme Composition lesson 6

This is the last lesson in the Extreme Composition course.  The six weeks with Jane Davies have been very good, very intense, but very informative.  It has been exciting seeing the other student's work, and their response to the lesson, as well as watching Jane's video's.

This lesson is about Proportion, Orientation and Format, taking them to Extremes.  It was also about working in a series, and working in Modular Format.  The first part of the lesson was an optional warm up exercise, in our own style, but using extreme formats.  Although I had only one day to paint, I decided to do this option.

The picture below is my first of the lesson, showing an extreme vertical format.

'Dawn breaking'. Acrylic, mixed media 24 x 8 inch

It's my 50th post today  I'm absolutely amazed and over the moon that I've managed to keep going for so long.  It's been very difficult some weeks to actually 'make' work, and some weeks have been so busy I have had to squeeze in painting.  Anyway, here's to the next 50 posts until I reach my century!