studio reorganisation continues

It's over a week since I posted, and the studio is still in limbo.  I should have taken photographs before I started to tidy up.  The corner of the studio shown below, with the bookcase and my book press was totally filled with boxes and canvasses, up to the top of the bookcase and overflowing onto the floor.

It was impossible to use the book press, and the clutter had filled the floor space so much that I couldn't get to my easel which is in the opposite corner (photographs later). 

Today I am going through the stuff in the bookcase.  The top one and a half shelves is full of my sketchbooks, some of which I never look at, so they are being relegated to the loft.  I also have A LOT of gallery exhibition catalogues, collected over the years, or in the case of the Sotherby's and Bonham's catalogues, bought from a Marlborough bookshop whilst on holiday.  I need to go through all these catalogues WITHOUT getting distracted, and weed out any that have no interest for me and pass them on  to someone who would appreciate them.

The art books will mostly stay in the bookcase, although I do have a lot of some artists such as Monet and Van Gogh as I pick these up in charity shops for very little and I can't resist buying them.

This is the IKEA wardrobe which is next to the bookcase, crammed full of STUFF - mostly paints, mediums, and sketchbooks, plus the wire drawer is full of paper - all muddled up.  This is the problem when you like to try everything and anything, so I have pastels, acrylics, oils and watercolours plus all the mediums for them, plus coloured pencils in a variety of mediums, charcoal etc, etc.

I have now tidied this up, and am trying to work out how to stop myself piling stuff onto the space in front of the drawers.  I guess I will move the drawers to the front of the shelf, and store stuff I don't use much behind them. When this stage is finished the bookcase is coming out of the corner and the wardrobe will be moved into it's place I hope.  The Ikea wardrobes are very heavy, even when empty, so I think it will be a struggle.

Studio reorganisation

I have been thinking about altering the layout of my studio for several weeks.  Over the last few months I have come to realise that the layout at present just isn't working well.  I have corners that fill up with clutter, the access to my easel is easily blocked and my table tops soon become covered with STUFF.

I need somewhere to store blank supports, and also work in progress, and work which is finished, but may be worked on again.  I also need somewhere to put work up so that I can see and assess it over a period of time.

I have accumulated a large collection of jugs, bowls, cups and the like, for my still life set-ups, and these are stacked precariously in plastic boxes.  I would like them to be out on show, but not in the way.

I have come up with some ideas that I hope will cover most of the above problems.  It does mean that the two large IKEA wardrobes that I use as storage cupboards will have to be moved - and of course emptied before they can be moved!  The two bookcases are also being moved.  So I am not going to be able to do any work for at least a week.

In between heaving all this stuff around I hope to be working on all the ideas that are spinning around in my head, after the visit to Hull museum.  I also have ideas for new work in general.  I may post some preliminary sketches, but I really want to keep these ideas to myself for a while.

Hull museum

Here are a few of the photographs I took.

Household shrine - also me taking the photo, reflected in the glass.

 Medieval stone arch

 Medieval stone carving.

 Medieval wood carving

I can't remember which area this was from, I liked the pattern, and the crack.  Reminds me of a landscape.

Hull & East Riding Museum

I visited the above museum yesterday, with Diane and Jacqui.  We were looking for inspiration for an upcoming ERA exhibition titled 'Layers of Meaning'.  It is linked to the East Yorkshire Archaeology Society, hence the visit to the history museum.

We had a great afternoon, and all took lots of pics (without flash, but it doesn't seem to matter too much).  I particularly liked the Gothic medieval period, the stonework and wood carving is amazing, and I love the colours from the hand-painted books of that period - brilliant blues and reds with gold.

I have a few ideas for the exhibition, but the pieces will have to be small as hand-in day will be end august/beginning September and we are all three exhibiting at Burton Agnes in the summerhouse 1-10th September, so we are all also working on pieces for that.

I will also be away the last week in August as I am going down to Art Van Go at Knebworth to do a workshop with Alice Fox on experimental mark making and stitch - I am so looking forward to that.

So - looks like I have five weeks to do both sets of work!  I think I will be working small for both exhibitions!

Art Society preview

I went to the Bridlington Art Society annual exhibition preview last night.  I haven't been for a couple of years, mainly because I just tend to forget.  Diane offered me a lift, so I had to remember.

The exhibition was very nice, some very good work.  I was very pleased to get the Still Life category,  I think this is the third year running that I have won one of the categories, in fact last year I won the Acrylic prize and the overall best picture of the exhibition as well which amazed me because the painting was put in as an after thought.  Perhaps I need to paint more of these casual, off-the-cuff paintings.

This is the painting that won the Bridlington Art Society Still Life painting category of 2015.  I do like it, although I think a few more edgy lines would improve it.

And this is the painting that won the Acrylic and the best painting in the show last year.  This really was last minute as it was one I literally dashed off at Neil Helyard's class, using up paint on the palette.

I think this is the painting that won a category in 2013, but I can't remember which category, or even if this was the painting which won in 2013!

I am trying to see if a) there is any common factors of composition in these paintings, and b) am I improving?  I don't know - perhaps I need to print out the photo's and pin them on the wall for a while.

more on mini canvasses

The mount I painted yesterday with the acrylic inks has worked out quite well.  I think the colours are a little on the strong side, and I would do them much paler next time.  I finished framing it and took it up to the Old Town Gallery where I was stewarding this afternoon.  The one below isn't it.

I had made another one with a spare mount which also had a mark on it (they seem so prone to it) I don't think it quite works with this double canvas as the colour as pooled and run down the inside edge, making it look grubby.  I can take off the back mount and just leave the front.

I do feel that since I said I would be part of the Old Town Gallery my paintings have been more 'touristy' and also smaller.  I don't think this is a good idea, painting for a venue.  I feel I have lost my way since I got back from holiday, I'm confused and just don't know what my style is anymore.

I do like to do quirky paintings, I love colourful work, and I do like collage.  I also like muted, softer work and probably don't do as much of that as it just isn't saleable around here.

Back to the drawing board - why do I paint?  I paint because I have to do something creative.  I need to try to improve my work all the time - I can't just do the same things.  I critique my work all the time, probably too much.  Should I just paint for myself, or to sell?  If just for myself, how will I evaluate my skills? 

How hard it is being an artist.

Mini Canvasses

I have worked a little on the mini canvasses today, but mostly on other things.  I took three pieces of work down to the Spa for the annual Bridlington Art Society exhibition this morning and unfortunately one of them fell out of the boot of the car - the glass broke and the frame did too!  I had to come home and re-frame the piece, by which time it was lunchtime.  

I had various housework and other boring jobs to do after lunch, and by the time I actually got into the studio it was nearly four o'clock and I was just too tired to do much.  I did float mount one of the mini canvasses into a frame, and it looks nice.  I've also experimented with painting a mount using acrylic inks to go with another mini canvas.  The mount had a slight mark on it so I couldn't use it, so nothing is lost if it doesn't work.

I coated the finished canvasses with acrylic varnish today and noticed something which I probably wouldn't have otherwise noticed.

Wish a little pre-planning, the mini canvasses could be made as diptychs or triptychs.  I think they would look very nice in pairs or a row of three, and it was only because the two canvasses above were side by side and I saw the way the houses seem to be in the same scene.