Absolutely shattered today after such a busy week.  I had loads of boring housework stuff to catch up on today, so I am posting a painting I did a while ago and can't remember if I posted it or not.  I do remember enjoying painting it though.

Wild Seas, acrylic 10 x 10 inch

I can't believe we are at the end of another month.  One more month and I will be halfway through my first year of blogging.  I am going on holiday in a couple of weeks, so I'm not sure what I am going to do about the blog.  I don't want to leave such a big gap, so will try blogging on my ipad to see if it will work OK.

New way of blogging

I have tried, up until now, to blog the same day as I work, but this means I am working later and later in the evenings, trying to catch up, so I have decided to blog the day after in the hope that I will have more choice on when to do the blogging, i.e. anytime during the day.

I am giving myself the day off today as I am going to Hull to do a workshop with Jake Attree, which I am looking forward to.  I will blog about it sometime Sunday.

Meanwhile, here is another Daily Drawing Practise.

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.

No.2 Harbour Top finished?

I worked on this painting again whilst stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall Courtyard gallery.  I think it's finished now, but I need to live with it for a while before I'm sure.

No.2 Harbour Top, mixed media, 8 x 8 inch

I seem to be working in a series of these harbour scenes.  I'm enjoying it, so I'll just carry on for the time being.

Harbour village in pastel

I went to the art class in Beverley today and did this picture.  I prepared the board last night with a mix of white acrylic paint and pumice powder.  I applied it firstly with a brush and then evened it out with a decorators sponge roller.  I gave it two coats, letting it dry in between each coat.  I read about this in Mark Leach's wonderful book "Raw Pastels".

Cornish Harbour, Pastel mixed media, 14 x 17 inch

At the class I brushed in a quick under-painting in watercolour, using complementary colours in places.  After this was dry I started to apply the pastel.  Pastel isn't something I feel in control of, but it's something I admire and I would like to get reasonably competent with it.  I didn't mean to make such a big picture as this, but perhaps using pastels works better on a large surface.

I intend to keep going with the pastels, and want to try all the things I have read about such as using alcohol to liquefy the pastel, making runs and drips; using different supports; using pastel pencils as well as soft and hard pastels.  I also want to experiment to see if I can include collage in a pastel painting.  I think this would work if I use acrylic matte medium and pumice over the collage.  I will have to try it and see what happens.

daily drawing practise

I am still trying to keep up with my daily drawing practise,  still doing my hand.  I really need to find something else to do.  Had a busy day at Burton Agnes Hall, and getting ready for my Tuesday art class.  

I haven't been to class for three weeks so I'm looking forward to it.  I have decided to give pastels another go, trying to use them in an expressionistic way.  I have prepared two boards to use, with a mix of micaceous iron oxide and fine pumice medium.  They look as if they are going to be good when dry.

Daily drawing practise.

I worked on a couple of paintings whilst at Burton Agnes, but they are still there.  I have brought home No.2 Harbour Top, but it isn't quite finished, hope to post it this week.

There are times, when I'm tired and/or busy, I wonder why I am doing this blog, but I know I wouldn't get half the work done if I didn't do it.  I still need to work out how to balance work and and the need to  blog about it.  I feel under pressure, and do try to work small, but it isn't natural to me.

Whie blossom in blue vase

This is another work in progress post, as I am remembering to take the photos at the moment.  I'm finding it quite helpful looking at the photos, it gives another view of the work.

The piece started as one of my abstract 'beginnings'.  The picture above isn't the actual collage I started with but it is very similar.

white blossom in blue vase, mixed media 12 x 10 inch

I missed taking a photograph of the blocking in part of this painting as it seemed to go quite quickly.  It's one of the paintings I was working on whilst stewarding at Burton Agnes Hall on Saturday.

This one is quite interesting because I haven't radically changed anything.  Often I will change colours or shapes, but this seemed to work from the first.

I have added some charcoal lines at this stage, done on Sunday morning.  I like the graphic quality of charcoal.

Although there doesn't seem to be very much change from one to the other, there are subtle shifts on colour, tone and some edges are softened and lost whilst others are sharpened.  

The painting is propped up in the studio where I can see it as I come in.  I have already changed the chair back (the yellow rectangle with the orange & blue square in the middle, on the left of the vase).  I felt the angle of the top of the chair back needed to be higher on the left to balance the golden bowl on the right.  I think I am also going to lighten the yellow of the chair.  I think I also need to add a little dark mark in the top right-hand corner to balance the two other dark areas.

I really like this painting, and hope it works out, but the one thing that painting every day has taught me is that you can't be precious about a painting - if it doesn't work then it has to go.