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....

Flirting with beginings

914 x 914 cm canvas, the base for the Ensembli painting. Painted up in graduations of colbalt blue as the first stage.

Sketches and ideas for the Ensembli painting.

Well its a week of all go, my blogger template is working and I love it, which means that this design can be worked back through to the rest of the website now and subsequent business cards. Hopefully if the plan comes together the site will be a smooth transition throughout, nothing flashy, just a simple site to show my work as I begin to take my work seriously again after having Hayden...its taken me long enough! I am excited by the site and it appears that it will do exactly what I wanted, and hopefully I can integrate links etc to external galleries and artists sites as I go along....exciting times.

The second major beginning is this new painting for an office building in Sheffield, for a company called Ensembli. Using the logo and its location I have come up with a concept that seems like a goer, just the fine details to iron out. I wanted to express thier Blue Skies attitude to thier product, its roots and foundation both in the physical building and industrial heritage of Yorkshire. To reflect the impact that thier ideas have/will have on the world and the ripples of influence those ideas will generate. The emergence of the bubbles from the chimney represents how ideas can become reality yet the solidity of the chimney gives grounding. I am also aware of making these concepts work away from Ensembli and as a stand alone painting and I think it manages to achieve both.

Latest painting...

Alpha Male II

26 x 18 inches, Acrylic on Canvas board.

Latest painting, part of Alpha Male series, looking at the shoulder and arms of the beautiful male. Playing on the strength of the male role. I have tried to express the lifting up, guidance and safety of the male, and to honour the beauty that is the male.

Brand new day...

...well here it is, my first blog, and just a small piece in my aim for world domination. Seriously, it is time for me to take my artwork seriously again, and so heres my blog that I am commited to updating showing what I am upto in Nikki World. The blog template will provide the benchmark for the rest of my site which is currently being designed. The theory being that the site then will be seamless throughout and totaly integrated.

All being well the site should be functional within a couple of weeks and my job then is to get the detail in. For some reason I REALLY liked a particular style of gallery and so thats causing a bit of a problem, which I am assured will be sorted.

Thats about it from me, onwards.....