Me and my men....

'Spined' Mixed media on canvas paper 260mm x 410mm

'Farfalla' Mixed Media on Watercolour paper 390mm x 560mm

....are at one, lol, well at least paintings of men are. I adore their form, the beauty of strength combined with naked vulnerability. Here two very different pieces, the first 'Spined' using the new Inktense pencils from Derwent, really beautiful to use and do what they say on the tin! I did a sketch with some shading with the pencils dry then once complete sprayed the whole surface with water to make the colours come to life. The yellow turned out a little too intense for my liking so worked over in silver wax crayon, which I then scumbled over with silver polishing powder (used for painting models of cars etc) which stuck to the wax leaving quite shiny silver areas while the powder just softened the yellow where I didn't have wax. An unusual painting for me but with much gained from experimenting with different media.

'Farfalla' (Butterfly - Italian) was produced in a similar way but using Derwents range or Graphitint pencils. Again worked dry then once shaded water sprayed onto it. Its didn't quite have the effect I had thought it would and it tended to puddle (I didn't stretch my paper - bad girl) so I blotted and was pretty disappointed. I left it to dry then worked on top with a slightly dried up marker pen and copper leaf. The background was achieved by painting with a wash of Prussian acrylic paint, then used a crackle medium to be finished with a layer of Paynes Grey acrylic straight from the tube. Not a bad result, and very useful in terms of feedback from using the various media, and it was the first time I had used leaf in any work...it has a mind of its own! and still getting to grips with that in order to get the best from it.

Long time, no see.....

'Big Ideas' 914mm x 914mm Acrylic on Boxed Canvas

Well its been a while since I last blogged...mainly due to the summer holidays and my son Hayden been off school, leaving precious little time to get creative. Sadly my website seems to have lost momentum, Hubby is doing it and hes busy, and don't suppose he would appreciate me keeping nagging...so its seems on the back burner for now. At least I can shimmy the blog along and my tweets, both of which have stood uncomplaining waiting for me to pick up where I left off.

I was pretty strict with myself and when time became more readily available was totally focused on the commissioned painting for Ensembli. That is now complete, having loved the challenge of doing it, and it being so far removed for my 'normal painting styles and topics. Hopefully 'Big Ideas' reflects Ensembli (a new start up company based in Sheffield) as the blue skies company it is, originating in its industrial setting of the old Aizelwood Mill, with its solid brick foundations and feet firmly on the ground. When Ensembli hit the big time they will have a permanent record of their roots as the fly high and into the future. The painting was well received and now resides in their offices at Aizelwood.

I am currently in quite an experimental mood, wanting to push the limits of different media and introduce new media. Working this way is opening new horizons if not producing master pieces, but does afford me the freedom to explore and experiment battling against the easy option of sticking to what I know and typically what sells...always a quandary which can stifle and suffocate even the most creative.

Enjoying using metallics in the form of crayon, gold/copper/silver leaf, metallic paints and silver rubbing powder I acquired from somewhere and have never used. Maybe the results are not always what I expect but I am like a kid in a candy shop wanting to run around and just make marks.

So after I have updated this blog with the finished Ensembli painting, and my latest two experimental pictures I am looking forward to painting some more, possibly using corsetry as the initial starting point. I hope within the next few weeks my website will be up and I can finally build it and get the business cards sorted from Moo...I have so many ambitions for over the next year of which this and my website are the foundations, so onwards....