The Daisy

The struggle with the daisy is finally over and thoughts of a new piece are swimming around my head. Think I'll go back to some everyday inanimate objects that I understand. I bought a couple of new canvases and am itching to get started on them.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

acrylic paint and conte on canvas

60.9 x 50.8cm (24"x20")

Blue Bowl, Yellow Lemons

This canvas was a piece that I just couldn't get to work so I glued on some old book pages as the first layer.

Now I've added image transfers of my grandmother's handwriting and added some patterned paper.

A little wash of colour is next.

A little darker colour for the edges.

Some text stamped on. (Sun was behind a cloud. Hence the variation in colour from the previous pic)

Still looked a bit bland so more colour!

Patterned stamp used in darker colour.

Picture roughly sketched in and filled with colour.

Details and tone added.

I felt the background was still too pale so another deeper wash was added.

Shadow of the bowl added to stop it looking like it was floating in mid air.

Irene's Kitchen

collage, image transfer, acrylic paint and conte on canvas

91 x 91cm (36"x36")

Tuscany Looks Nice This Time of Year

Two posts in one day. What's the world coming to??? Just finished the Italian piece and thought I'd post pics of the layers like I promised.

First layer is just some random blotches of acrylic paint. I don't always paint first. It all depends on what paper I use to collage with. If I'm going to stick on old book pages I don't paint first.

Layer number two is just a wash of one colour to harmonise all the colours of the first layer.

Layer number three is very ugly. Paper glued on and torn off. This is to add texture. I usually like to use old book pages or newspaper or old phone book pages for this technique. Seeing this piece was about Italy I thought English text would be wrong so that's why I went for the plain paper instead.

Next layer is just a wash of acrylic paint and the texture is starting to appear.

Layer 5 is another wash of acrylic paint to make the surface richer.I like to use washes as they allow each layer to show through which adds depth to the finished piece.

I love text in my work so layer 6 was adding some Italian text and some pretty bits of paper here and there to add interest. Some of the text is image transfer using printable rub ons and other text I've written on myself. Got some Italian love poems off the net. It was hard writing in Italian. I had to be careful not to make mistakes. At this stage I'm still only working randomly and not thinking too much about placement.

Layer 7 is some stamping with my favourite letter stamps. The words say "Its a beautiful day, no?" Still just working randomly.

Layer 8 is yet another acrylic wash to blend everything together.

Now here I should have layer 9 where I painted in blocks of colour for the door and shutters etc and then layer 10 is the detail drawn on with conte and layer 11 was another wash to put in the shadows. I didn't realise till it was too late that they were actually different layers and should have been recorded. Will try again with the next piece. This just needs some layers of varnish to protect it and its all finished.

Tuscany Looks Nice This Time of Year

collage, image transfer and acrylic paint on canvas

76.2cm x 50.8cm (30"x20")

Wishes

Yesterday I lost myself in my art. It was a lovely relaxing time where I managed to finish off another piece. Its untitled as yet but its about my wish of travelling to France one day and eating cheese and pastries (without putting on weight hehehe). I used pages from a French phrase book and some images of old French posters as the base to paint over. I plan to start a new piece today so I'd better get cracking.

collage, acrylic paint and conte on canvas

76.2cm x 50.8cm (30"x20")

Too Long

Its been too long since my last blog. Time has been rushing passed me again and before I knew it another week was over.

Went on a photo shoot with Julia on Thursday to Port Adelaide. It's one of my favourite places. The building are old and it evokes feelings of a bygone era when life was tough and men were tougher. I once went on a night tour of Port Adelaide and heard about the history and what it was like to live in those times and I have of course romanticised it in my mind even more. Its magical to me for other reasons too. My dad used to take me to the port for Sunday drives and longingly look at the ships that were in port especially the ocean liners. I think he never lost his homesickness for Germany even though he lived in Australia longer. Its that whole believing you belong to a culture that migrants never quite get in their new homes. My favourite building is still standing but not for much longer...redevelopment grr. Its going to be knocked down to build those ugly concrete multi storey apartment blocks. Its fashionable to live in the port now so the yuppies are taking it over and ruining the whole look of the place, just like the foreshore in Glenelg. Showing my age here a bit hehehe. Anyway I got heaps of photos of the old building and I suppose I'll just have to be content with that.

After my usual market trip yesterday I went to a few art shops and bought a few more supplies. I bought half a dozen canvases (one very large one and the others reasonably large) some more gel medium and a few conte crayons. Next to one of the art shops is an antique shop and I bought a couple of small boxes for some assemblage art. So now I have canvases to paint and collage, some board books to alter and some assemblage art to create. Why am I still here typing then? Bye