I had a good week in the studio, and really enjoyed being back at school without the dreaded covid. I have a dual focus this term, namely, drawing and my research project. Even though my drawing has greatly improved, after focusing on it this summer, I now realise that when it comes to drawing, learning and improvement never ends. For this reason, I have signed up for a series of drawing workshops, joined a drawing club, and booked one on one sessions with a drawing tutor.
I have also kept up my morning drawing discipline, which this week has consisted of filling large pages with a variety of ink and watercolour drawings. I really enjoy this part of my practice, and try and keep it light and fun.
My paintings this week were sea-themed, no doubt influenced by my passionate love of Moby Dick, which I am still listening to on my walks to see the bobbers. I agree with Ray Bradbury’s assessment –
“Shakespeare wrote Moby-Dick, using Melville as a Ouija board.”
I also experimented with colour and detailing, with the hope that when I come to do the paintings for my research project, I’ll know the palette and detailing style I want to use.
On Friday night, my dear friends and I had one of our ladies-nights at our favourite cocktail bar, Fynoderee. We were two-women down from normal, but we still had a wonderful time. As you can see by the photo I took, I was a bit wobbly by the end of the night.
This was the last week of the summer holidays, and I spent it riddled with Covid. What a nasty, pernicious virus. It was my first time getting it and I had a miserable time. Although I am still testing positive, I am almost back to normal, and last night I was able to sleep properly for the first time since I got it. Of course, just because I had Covid, I didn’t stop painting. It was pretty slow going, mostly just building upon what I did last week, in terms of figuring out the kind of detailing I want to use etc.
I’d like to say that I am faithfully nursing him back to health, but when he tested positive, I fled his house lickety-split and came back to the virus-free salt-air of Anam Cara. I did manage to buy him some Vicks VapoRub before fleeing, so I didn’t totally abandon my fiancée duties.
So now I am hold-up in the studio, waiting to see if I too have the dreaded lurgy. I did wake up with a sniffle this morning, but that might have been due to getting caught in a storm last night while romping around the Ayres. It was all fun and games on the way up there, with a tail wind and all, but I got battered on the way back, and was drenched by the time I got home.
Before my fella went to Seattle, we had the great pleasure of filming Hampton Creer for the Ann documentary. Hampton wrote the book “Never to Return”, about the Manx involvement in the penal Transportation system, which is where I first came across Ann’s story. It was wonderful to see him again, and listen to all his stories. He is so knowledgeable, not just about Transportation, but about Manx history in general. I could listen to him for hours.
I am pleased to say, I finally have a name for the Ann painting, Anileis – which is a Greek word meaning merciless. Not only is it very fitting in its meaning, it is also a beautiful sounding word, and when you say it, it sounds like the words Annie + lace together, which makes it the perfect title for the painting.
Here is a write-up about Anileis, that explains what the painting is about.
While I’ve been hold-up at Anam Cara, waiting to see if I too get Covid, I have been having a wonderful, undisturbed time painting away and enjoying my new satellite internet. What a difference it makes! Instead of waiting an hour or so for things to upload, it happens in an instant. This should definitely make my second year at art school easier.
Speaking of which, my second year starts in one week. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again, but am slightly terrified with how quickly the first year flew by and how much work I have yet to do on my research project. I have pretty much figured out what direction I am going in, which I did while on my long walks to the Point of Ayre this summer. It’s a wild, visually stunning landscape, which makes it perfect for thinking through creative projects.
I am not quite ready to share exactly what I have in mind, but here are a couple of the experiments I did this week for one of the paintings. One thing I have noticed since retuning to painting after drawing all summer, is how much my drawing has improved.
Well, it appears I didn’t flee my fella’s house soon enough, as I too have tested positive for Covid. Luckily, I haven’t got the nobody’s-ever-been-this-sick-and-lived man variety like my fella, just mild lady-Covid. Still, it’s early days, so I shouldn’t be too smug. One good thing is, I can now hang out with my fella, us both being diseased and all, that’s if he is able to prize himself out of his sick bed.
I am really starting to consolidate my thinking for my research project. After next week, I will start writing posts specifically about that. The project will be my main focus going forward. I am really excited about it, and am finding it very engaging. In the meantime, here are the painting experiments I did this week, again just trying different things and beginning to think about the elements I want in my project paintings.
Another frustrating week in the studio. I tried to spend most of it drawing, to varying degrees of success. Though, towards the end of the week, I began doing these little pen and watercolour sketches. Using pen means your committed to the lines you make, which can lead to less fussy drawing and which I think ultimately adds character. For some reason I seem to have a knack for old ladies. they are definitely my favourite type of person to draw. I’ll keep doing these for a while.
Painting
No.103No.104No.105
I also did a little bit of painting; mostly developing the lace/water technique and playing around with colour. I am really loving the addition of brown, as in no.105.
No.88 – A few strange paintings this week, including this one.
Tuesday, 27th June
No.89No.90
No.89 – I really like this one, especially the way the image is suspended and emerges from the darkness.
No.90 This was a struggle, especially the shell-like casing on the back of the bug. I got there eventually and really like the result, although the image as a whole is a bit too static.
Wednesday, 28th June
No.91aNo.91bNo.91c
No.91 – I tried this fellow with various backgrounds. With the last one, I used middle-grey, as in film/photography, and although the colours are truer, I still prefer a black background.
Thursday, 29th June
No.92
No.92 – An experiment with a figure. It gives me hope that if I keep practicing my figures over the summer, I could have some really interesting paintings. Here I used a fashion model as a reference for the body – I love the stance.
Friday, 30th June
No.93
No.93 Experimenting with colour here. I like the colour of the thing the bird is standing on, and think that’s probably as blue as I should go for these paintings. Not as keen on the light blue in the bird. I think I’ll keep blue I use in these paintings to a minimum – less is more. For example, in the painting above, I used blue for the woman’s eyes, and a tiny bit to the right of her shoulder and feet. That’s enough.
Sunday, 2nd July
No.94
No.94 – Obviously, I didn’t make the decision about blue for these paintings until after I painted this. I do like the colour of the hare, just not so much of it. I love the colour of the owl, which has a hint of Indian yellow. The little dots in his wings is sufficient blue.
You can always tell when I’m stressed, cause I eat sugar and draw cats. This week Geoff and I have been in negotiations to buy Anam Cara, consequently, I ate a fuck-ton of sugar, and here are my cats (except for the first which is a horse).
Monday, 20th June
No.83
No.83 – here I am experimenting with building up the picture with see-through layers. I really like the look of this technique.
Tuesday, 20th June
No.84
No.84 – I absolutely love this painting, it’s one of my favourite of this series so far. I like all the different elements in it, and think it is a style that could lend itself to storytelling. I especially love the flying cat. The addition to this painting, that distinguishes it from the previous ones, is the use of pencil outlines. I really like the effect.
Wednesday, 21 June
No.85
No.85 – from here on the paintings this week seemed to devolve into frantic doodles, on account of the stress. Still, I love cats so much that I really like this and the following paintings.
Thursday, 22nd June
No.86
No.86 – a negotiation faceoff if ever I saw one. We lost this round, but we’re not defeated yet.
Friday, 23rd June
No.87
No.87 – I love this little scaredy-cat.
Sunday, 25th July
No.88
No.88 – this painting illustrates the fact that losing Anam Cara and owning Anam Cara are terrifying in equal measure. It’s been a very hard week in the studio, with lots of internal disquiet and external distractions. However, looking back over the paintings I produced, I can see some real progress, in terms of style and storytelling possibilities, so it definitely wasn’t time wasted.
I won’t have to pluck up the courage to ask my fella to extend my Weight Watchers subscription for another 3 months, he’s got eyes! I’d like to blame stress, but my fella’s Victoria sponge making ability and the jelly bean dispensing machine I have learned to break into are the real culprits. As always, sugar is my downfall, and when it comes with cream, light-as-air cake, and a knob-turning contraption, I can’t get enough! But when I bent down the other day and the button on my shorts went flying, I knew it was time to dust off my WW app once again – that time being next week of course.
My outdoor Anam Cara School of Drawing got off to a good start, but then the gazebo blew over and it started to rain, so I had to move operations indoors, which, for some reason, bought it all to a grinding halt. Instead, I painted cats all week.
When cats pop up in my paintings, it is usually a sign I am stressed about something. True to form, I did have an external stressor this week. Not that I mind painting cats, I love those fluffy little menaces, and painting them is a real pleasure, hence why I do it when I’m stressed. Here’s my favourite from this week.
As relaxing as painting cats is, I have a paper to research and write, and an indoor drawing school to attend, so I better start carving out some real time for these two must-dos, or I will have whittled myself to a nub by the end of summer with only stack of cat paintings to show for it – not the worst outcome in the world, but doing my masters is a one time deal and I want to make the most of it.
No.75 – Just trying out some more lace ideas with this one. I love the horse and the lace, just not together.
Tuesday, 13th June
No.76No.77
No.76-77 – More lace experiments. I’m definitely not keen on the lace directly on the animals/figures. The palette is really coming together.
Wednesday, 15th June
No.78
No.78 – I love this frog, and prefer it to the one above. I definitely prefer creatures etc to be suggestive of something, rather than explicitly so.
Thursday, 15th June
No.79
No.79 – I love this painting too. I like the lace here, as it looks like a covering, rather than directly on the creature. I also like how weird the creature is.
Friday, 16th June
No.80
No.80 – I painted this on the last day of my first year of my masters. I feel like I have made real progress with the figurative paintings, and I’m loving every minute of it.
Sunday, 18th June
No.81
No.81 – I absolutely adore this painting, and have called it “Colin the long-legged guinea pig”. I’ve begun adding Indian Yellow to the palette, and love what it brings to these paintings.
This week I reached the significant milestone of completing the first year of my masters. It is hard to believe how fast it has gone, but I have definitely made the most of every minute. I now have 3 whole months for summer break. That I get to spend the summer at Anam Cara is a gift beyond measure. Though it won’t be all lolling about, as I have my research paper to write, paintings to paint, massages to do, and sandwiches to make for my fella.
When we were first considering renting Anam Cara (aka paradise by the sea), I regaled said fella with visions of romantic strolls on the beach, and sandwiches. We’ve managed a few strolls, but he’s yet to see a sandwich. It’s time.
Speaking of walking on the beach. I made a few trips to the Point of Ayre this week, to visit Kyle, Jason, and baby Harold, and guess what, Harold has a sibling, Izzy. I wasn’t able to get a photo of all four of them together, but I did get this lovely shot of Harold.
On one of my treks to the Ayres, one of my jandals broke, but some good old Kiwi ingenuity soon fixed that. As good as my repair job is, their days of getting me to the foghorn and back are sadly over, so they shall now spend their retirement as my studio boots.
I’ve been painting my little heart out this week, and have made further progress. My favourite thing I painted was of Colin the long-legged guinea pig.
My last workshop for the year consisted of listening to Spanish poetry and drawing. I’d actually done the course in the first term, but it was so good, I decided to repeat it. I’m glad I did, as it was the perfect end to what has been a wonderful first year.
I’ve loved all the workshops I’ve attended this year, especially the drawing ones. They have helped me both loosen up and grow in confidence. So I don’t loose the momentum of the course over the summer, I shall be attending the Anam Cara School of Drawing. My idea is to spend my afternoons drawing en plein air (fancy for outside).
To aid me in my endeavour, my sweet-hearted fella bought me a gazebo, so I can sit outside to my heart’s content, even in the rain. Naturally, the gazebo will double as a drinking den in the evenings.
bexODESSA 