Tag: lace
You can never have too many books about hares!
I am a fiend when it comes to buying books on subjects I love. Hares are no exception. I now have four and counting. As of this morning it would be five, as I came across a wonderful lecture about the Three Hares motif, and when I discovered that the lecturer had written a book on the subject, I thought it would be perfect for my collection. But alas, the book is now out of print and remaining copies are upwards of £140. 00. I like a hare book as much as the next lagamorphile, but that’s beyond extravagant. Thankfully there is a great website all about about the book, and even a form you can fill out if you’d like a copy of the book, so they can gage interest for a possible 2nd printing.
The Three Hares motif is very interesting and shows up in many places around the world, including a heap of churches in Devon, Synagogues in Europe, caves in China, and on various object in Iran. No one really knows what the motif means, but as with hares in general, is thought to be associated with magic, the moon, and femininity.
I am still painting hares, as well as bones and lace, and am still trying to figure out the confluence between the 3 motifs and the degree realism I want etc. Progress is slow, but I am enjoying the process.
I am also working on a painting made up of different sections, that when all put together will make one big painting. Its conception and composition is very similar to the big canvas painting I had to abandon. For some reason, painting separate sections makes it a lot easier to keep a handle on things. Also, this one is on paper, which is better than canvas for this kind of painting. Here is one of the sections I have been working on:
The life and times of Chicken-Geoff
Chicken-Geoff, my fella’s name-sake, lives at my friend’s allotment. When he was born on my birthday last April, he was going to be called Rebecca, but the tell-tale yellow spot on his head indicated he was a male, so he was named Geoff.
Chicken-Geoff soon grew big and strong, due to his fondness for mealworms and treats. However, he was a gentle sort of fellow and would get pecked-on by the other cockerels, so it was thought best to put him in with the hens, where he soon made himself at home.
Chicken-Geoff adapted so well to life with the hens, that he recently took to the nesting box and laid an egg.
Along with Chicken-Geoff’s exciting news this week, I am pleased to say I have been running every day for Run 62 Miles in March for Cancer Research UK. So far, I have raised £450.00 which is well over my target. Of course, getting out of bed at 5.30 every morning hurts a little, but I wouldn’t feel too sorry for me, because this is where I am running:
Also, my lovely fella gave me some very fancy ear-pods, so I have been running along listening to Audible. I am currently listening to a series of lectures on The Pagan World, which I am thoroughly enjoying. The lecturer has a slow, methodical way of talking that makes him very easy to follow. I highly recommend the series for anyone interested in the subject.
Before the lecture series, I listened to a wonderful book about hares, and have bored my fella silly with what I’ve learned. I even had a dream last night that I was telling someone all about hares.
Yes, I am still nutty about hares, and can’t seem to get enough of them. To my utter delight, my fella and I saw a hare the other day. It was having a snack on the side of the road, and we managed to get a really good look at it. We then noticed a few more in a nearby field. They were too far away to get a really good photo, but if you zoom in, to the wee fella on the left, you’ll see his black-tipped ears, which means its a brown hare.
I have been busy in the studio painting untold hares. I am attempting to find the right balance between the different components of the paintings – i.e., hares, lace, water, bones.
I am also trying to figure out the level of detail I want in the hares themselves, so I am trying lots of different things. I really like having see-through passages of paint.
I am currently subscribing to the more is more philosophy of aesthetics. I am aware of the criticism that too much detail in a painting can be suffocating and that breathing space is important in a composition. However, I would counter that a sense of suffocation is precisely what I want in the paintings, to convey the sense of being underwater/drowning.
I’m desperate to see a hare!
Spring has almost sprung, and top on my list of things to do this spring, is see a hare. My fella’s Pa saw one on the top field near our house, so I have a good chance of seeing one if I head out at dawn or dusk, keep down wind, hide behind a bush, be very quite, and don’t move. If I’m very lucky, I may even see them boxing, as it will be breeding season, and to fight off unwanted male attention, the females give the fellas a clip around the ears, quite right too!
Hares have become one of the central elements in my paintings, and the more I learn about them, the more they rightly deserve that place. There are currently 4 visual elements in the work that I am trying to weave together: Water, Bones, Lace and Hares. There are also two conceptual elements: Pain and Receptivity.
The Manx word for hare is cleaysh liauyr – which means good listener (also: slow to answer, forbearing person, long-eared). I love this meaning associated with the hare, and would like to incorporate it in my paintings somehow.
Hares are a very important animal in Manx folklore. They are associated with witches/wise women, or “they that have the charms” (as my Manx family do). Hares are also thought to be inhabited by the souls of old women. For this reason, as in other Celtic lands, hares are not to be eaten.
Here is a delightful recording of Johnny Crellin talking about Manx folklore regarding hares.
Protected: Finding my visual language
Summer – week 3 experiments
Monday 3rd – Thursday 6th July – drawing
I decided to spend the week drawing – above are some of the results. These aren’t really the types of figures or faces I would have in a painting, but they are good practice. I’m trying not to get attached to the outcome of an individual drawing, but rather see them as exercises to get more fluid and confident with drawing. Hopefully, by the time I come to put figures in my paintings at the end of the summer, the drawing practice/discipline will pay off.
Friday 7th July – Sunday 9th July
I thought it would be nice to take a break from drawing for the weekend, and work on developing the lace detailing, trying different designs and techniques etc. I love no.99/100, adding the vertical lines of dots really enhances the overall design. I love this kind of painting. I’m not that keen on the more formal/balanced designs of no.98/101 (I prefer the more free-form design of No.99/100/102). Although No.102 isn’t finished yet, I like where it is going. I think this technique will be a good way to represent water underground.
Week 30 experiments
Monday, 12th June
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.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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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.
Week 29 experiments
Monday, 5th June
No.65 – This painting felt like another breakthrough. I can really see the potential in this kind of work. Painting bigger definitely allows for more detail. This is a very exciting process. Sea underpainting.
Tuesday, 6th June
No.66 – This is a sea-painting on canvas (30cm x 30cm) – just trying different things. This type of painting takes well to canvas, which is good.
No.67 – Another sea-painting (on paper). Rather than paint an entire big painting just yet, thought I’d do close-ups of certain aspects. Again, I like the amount of detail that can be used in bigger work.
Wednesday, 7th June
No.68-70 – These were some unfinished small paintings I had lying around, so I finished them off. I like aspects of them, but it’s definitely more enjoyable painting bigger.
Thursday, 8th June
No. 71 – This is another painting I had lying around. It was initially of something different. The only part I liked was what is now the octopus’ head – so I kept that and painted out the rest and added the tentacles. It was pleasant to paint.
Friday, 9th June
No.72 – I spent the morning at a pre-op appointment with my Mum, for her hip replacement, so I painted this in the afternoon. Rather than a sea underpainting, this underpainting was done by spraying seawater. I love this painting. I’ve often thought that the white in these dark paintings look like bone. The lace overlay is another breakthrough – I’m thrilled it looks great with these paintings. I will definitely explore these two elements (bones and lace) in the coming days.
Sunday, 11 June
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