Busting out of my skin.

On Sunday 15th May I wrote:

After a winter of painting mostly small pictures I have a huge urge to paint something enormous. I'm challenged that right now I need to finish my series of smaller paintings for "Boundaries" and can't afford to lose concentration on that.

Some of the "Boundaries" images are bursting out of my brain clamouring to be made up.  I can feel the bluebell wood as a vertical 4' x 2' with more detail in both the trees and the bluebells.

The recent sky motifs with silvered winter wheat are screaming to be rendered - also 4' high.

I also have to do the cherry blossom - NOW whilst they are in bloom.

What to do????


It was quite cathartic writing that - I realised that I just needed to get on and do - rather than thinking about it.  It is now Wednesday and I have just added what I think are the final touches to a painting that incorporates most of the above.

Every spring for the last several years I have tried to paint the cherry blossom.  It only lasts a day or two and is like lace blowing in the breeze.  I finished this with a healthy slather of white using a tiny painting knife, which gave much looser petal forms than the brush did.  This is a spot on our daily walk with the dog - still on PF thus only two people (or the favoured few) get to see it.  The winter wheat is just beginning to form and the awn glints silver in the spring sunshine.





I feel like singing and dancing (even though it is raining today) think I shall now go and paint wheat fields and bring some more sunshine into my world.

Getting ready to exhibit.

This has been a busy week - again.  Started off well have 2 small paintings on the easel prepping work for Boundaries in July and 4 on the floor next to it that need finishing glazes for Dorset Art Weeks.   Then I decided that I would spend my time better hanging the work I want to show for DAW and that way clear out my mind.







Had to paint a couple of extra walls in the shed/studio and the hanging system using fishing line is too complicated, but have managed to hang 17 oil paintings, 24 watercolours and 23 pastels.

(I ache in places that shouldn't and on the last step off the ladder yesterday I twisted my knee, but such a a feeling of satisfaction - I could conquer the world!)

This is how I work - laying everything on the floor and then have to scramble around choosing things that will hang well together - its rarely about the image and almost always about the size and shape - so that you end up with a harmonious whole on the wall.

The watercolour wall needs some adjusting to its bottom row so that it lines up and doesn't stutter along.

There's still quite a along way to go - prints cards signs and the biggie - working out prices, but I can do that slowly over the next couple of weeks.

The facebook page set up for the North East Dorset Artist Trail section of DAW is going quite well. I have managed to post something about every venue - the last one goes up tomorrow (Monday 2nd May). Hopefully when we get together on Saturday I will be able to demonstrate to the non believers that social networking is a good thing. I don't think many artists understand that it is all a question of numbers - if you get 100 people to your studio one or two may buy something - if you get 1,000 10 or 20 may buy - that makes a huge difference to the cost of opening your studio to the world.

A funny week.

It's been a funny week, two meltdowns and two lessons learned - (I think).

First the meltdowns: On Tuesday I decided that with Dorset Art Weeks (DAW) looming (six weeks to go) I HAD NO WORK to show. Not withstanding the fact that since the New Year I have created nearly 60 pastels, countless small drawings and around a dozen small to medium size oil paintings.  It's no good you know, on planet Karren normal things don't make sense and for a whole 24 hours I was totally panic struck. By Wednesday I had taken the proverbial big breath and pulled a few things out to reassure myself, that whilst none of it was up to scratch, the walls would not be bare.

Meltdown number 2 came on Thursday when the postcards I had had printed arrived and they were not postcards but regular opening cards.  Aagh - I wanted them to give to other artists so that during DAW they could have them on display.  We always swap small items so that we can point visitors on to the next venue, and as they are free people love to pick them up and carry them away - it may not bring them to your studio this time, but they may remember you next time they are planning a trip around.  I spent all day mentally fussing about what to do - what a horrible waste of money on top of the uselessness of it all, and I still needed something to hand out.  Eventually the smarts kicked in and I emailed the printer. Dearest Chris Oldroyd got back to me immediately and accepted responsibility for the mistake - the postcards will be with me on Monday and he reckons I should be able to sell the cards anyway.






Well what did I learn?  First of all over a much needed and lovely coffee break with my friend Amo (check her blog out at Amanda House "View from our Hill") she's a fabulous textile artist, but I digress!!!













She reminded me that although I have painted/drawn something I don't need to display the whole thing. She grabbed some mount corners and proceeded to cover up parts of the pastel I had taken to show her. Doh! Lightbulb moment. It's simple really.





The second thing I learnt this week was also on Friday - I experimented drawing with a pen.


 I have to admit I don't like drawing, not with a pencil anyway and it's something I always avoid if possible.  I love using charcoal, but make such a mess it puts me off. Well I have decided that I love pen and ink.















The odd thing is that I am much less hesitant, more decisive and consequently the lines I produce (right or wrong) have a quality about them that says of course that is exactly how it should be.
 And the bonus is that I find it quite satisfying.




The lesson I will never learn is to think before I panic, but then I wouldn't be me.

.....full time artist

When I walked into my workroom this morning it was in such a pickle that I couldn't even find a pencil to draw with.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Its not that I don't clear up after myself - it's just that over the last week I have been so busy I seem to have had no chance to pick up as I have gone along.

Anyway it got me to thinking... the average job is 35-40 hours a week and over the last 8 days I have probably spent fewer than 10 hours actually producing artwork - yet I still call myself a full time artist.


It seems that the more hours I put in the more hours I seem to spend doing other things. I am taking part in Dorset Art Weeks at the end of May. A huge event encompassing around 800 artists in 350  venues. 16 days of free art, for people to visit as many studios as they can. Thus, this last week has been spent creating an exhibition space.  3 days clearing the weed patch in front of the shed and 3 very long days clearing 35 years of crafting and family detritus from inside.

No small feat  - the boxes were stacked up to waist height over the whole of the floor and two walls with floor to ceiling shelves equally full.

All I have to do now is repair the walls, create screening for the shelves and paint everything white!! Oh and figure out some form of lighting for the inevitable dark rainy days.

The last 2 days have been spent photographing pastel drawings and working on the computer sorting photos and ordering postcards.  I still have several days of computer work before I'm done.

The other option would be to just paint/draw endlessly (ecstasy) and keep storing it away for someone else to deal with at a later date.

in the meantime here are a trio of small skies I managed to complete over the week. (Oil on canvas)

It really is Spring...

At last, Spring is here, we have had sunshine for 2 straight days and I feel happy.  Not least because after three and a half miserable weeks I have finally thrown off the cold that has sent me to my bed more often than I care to admit.  I had a small personal celebration by spending most of those two days surgically attached to my worktable creating pastel paintings.

I started with some sunbathing logs -
we pass this heap each time we walk the dog
 and for over a year I have wanted to do something with it
 but not been sure how to go about it.
 This is me in 'just get on with it mode'








A few weeks ago I invested in a large quantity of different pastel suitable papers and am slowly beginning to get a feel for those that I prefer.

Drawings of my Mother's Day flowers. I have two more to do now that the flowers are going over. Somehow dead ones have a different kind of magic.

These 3 were all done on Sennelier Royal sovereign card.  I have decided I am not too keen on it - it is too coarse and although it "grabs" a lot of colour it makes my work look even less detailed than it is. Each picture is on a different coloured card, to try and compare the luminosity of the pastels.  i don't think it makes a huge difference with this subject as there are so many other variables.









For an extra special treat I took myself outside to photograph and pick some of the fabulous daffodils we have in the garden.

These were all on Cansons Mi tientes paper. This I really do not like, it is too thin and does not hold enough colour.  I shall not buy it again. However, I worked on a light (L) and dark (R)shade of paper and the bottom one I used the reverse side which was rougher (didn't help).

This is how my pin board looked at the end of the 2 days:

Feeling rather pleased with myself.

Now what's next?

Sometimes Life just gets in the way

An average week in the middle of February - weather unseasonably warm, some sunny days, some a little wetter and greyer. A "getting on" time.

Saturday - up and away early to spend lunchtime with the grandchildren. Elliott's first birthday party.

Great fun - but lots of snuffles in the house.

Tuesday - first thing on facebook, a reminder that this is the anniversary of my sisters death.  I try not to remember death days - it's bad enough remembering the birthdays of those no longer with us. It was done with love and I know the person who posted is suffering, but...

Thursday - took my beloved to Salisbury station - he has to go to a funeral on Friday in Leeds.  The sax player from a band he played in  - it may be the last time he will get to see some of these people - how depressing to get to the age where more people are dying than living. I wandered around the town - but its not the same by yourself - didn't even stop anywhere for coffee - headed home as quickly as possible

Thursday evening - it is 40 days since Monika's death. According to the Russian Orthodox faith this is the day when the spirit rises up to heaven. A friend who worked in Moscow for many years is having a dinner party to celebrate M's life. Have to go alone as Mike is otherwise engaged (see above). Dinner guests - me, a Yorkshire woman from the wrong side of the tracks; the host, a southerner who was a banker in Moscow, Paris and Brazil; a couple who escaped from Hungary in 1956 she a potter, he an engineer; the lady who owns the village and her Swiss husband; a retired Dorset farmer who still talks about the year he 'escaped' and worked in Australia and Canada as a young man. It was a wonderful way to remember a dear friend, we laughed and told stories and remembered the time when......   I spoke of Monika and her 'stuff'. How she would turn up with armloads of stuff - mostly plants, but also other things.  Many of which keep turning up as I sort out rooms and cupboards.

I showed them a pot she gave me in which I keep sea salt - I use it every day and each time I open it I am reminded of her.















The other object I showed was a needle case she had made for me from a piece of her own weaving/embroidery based on drawings made from exotic plant leaves. I love them both.










 The food was great and all of a sudden it was almost midnight and Cinderella had to head home.

Saturday - collected beloved from Salisbury so good to have him home again safely. Then to my bed for the next 10 days.

I need staff....

Got up this morning with only one thing on my list - write this blog.  As if that was going to work.

I have started organising an exhibition for Spring 2017 with fellow pastel artist Caroline Ireland (sounds good considering I only started on this particular journey 3 months ago). Anyway on the back of one or two fairly successful drawings have decided I can only get better!!

Then I remembered that Monday I have to take 2 paintings to Shaftesbury Arts Centre for their annual snowdrop exhibition,

                                        and 2 paintings to Swanage for the 100 cubed show at L'Artische.

They are now all gussied up in their going to market outfits (framed with hanging fixings), checked for foreign objects on the surface and any aberrant marks removed/hidden. Forms all printed out, filled in, and attached where necessary. Now all I have to do is think up some titles.

A very busy week this week. The pastels drawings are really taking up my time - I love the mark making, and the colours.....  

                                                                                   I usually photograph my pin board once a month,
                                                                                  here is the end of January..

                                                                           









and this is the end of the first week in February!

Have been spraying the pastels this week - I finally gave in and ordered some fixative.  Memo to self only spray outside (almost asphyxiated the whole household) - even after the windows had been open for an hour couldn't get into my workroom for coughing.  A little disappointed with the results of the spraying, the whites disappear and the bright colours take on a plasticity that I am not too keen on.  Went back into the images one by one bringing back the highlights and recolouring some of the really dark areas, much happier now.  Have ordered some acid free tissue paper, it should arrive Monday, so that I can make covers for each drawing for storage.  I will keep them separate from the watercolours and in a suitably sized box so that they can't slip around. That should help protect the delicate surface. I cannot imagine how Degas managed to keep the freshness and light in his pictures.  I know he used many layers and sealed each one except the top one.  I already use several layers but have only sprayed at the end I shall experiment with intermediate fixing next week.

Now where can I advertise for a helper...?