From Mark Making to Colour Work

A really stressful month and I had hoped that 2014 would be a turning point. I am ever hopeful but I am still being bombarded with one thing after another. I have found that working on my coursework has been quite relaxing and calming and here are some pictures of my very slow progress:

Marks made on a variety of papers

Add caption

Activity 2

Mixing Colours

Colour Wheel

My first textiles tutor would never let us wash any unused paint down the sink. We had to always use it all up by painting pages in our sketchbooks for future use. It was a good tip, all sorts of interesting things have been developed from seemingly random daubs. I have kept up the habit and, as my last purchase of acrylic paints imported from the U.S. were extortionately expensive, I am more aware of the value of art materials and do not plan to waste any. Here are a few of the pages that I painted up today from the paint left on my palettes. Who knows what they will later become.

Colour work is not my favourite occupation so I'm going to skip the collaged colour wheel for now and go back to it at a later time.

More Mark Making

Dark stormy days can make you shut down your creativity.  In a practical sense,time has to be spent removing broken fences and gates, checking buildings and making your home safe.  However, when the wind is whistling through cracks and howling through gaps in the doors in the dark days and nights your frightened soul can merely try to keep itself calm in the present moment. Sleep is a comfort if it will come but if you can just hold yourself tightly until the worst has passed it is enough. The sketchbook remains guiltily unopened, paint brushes and pencils lie in anticipation but remain ignored. It is as if you need to protect your mind from even imagining what may be going on outside the security of solid walls.  If you were to surrender to your imagination who knows what demons may rush in to grip your heart into a tumult of dread.  It is better to close down and escape into a self-inflicted dormancy until the light returns.

So, before I begin, I must celebrate the coming of the sun. This morning was frosty and bright.  People began to emerge from their houses. Shaking off the dust they took to the pathways and breathed in the clear new air. Life is returning with a grateful clarity of vision.  The imagination is ready to lose itself to play again.

First the camera emerged, capturing the flooded fields. A walk along the river lifted the spirits and recent fears were soon forgotten. Returning home, the sketchbook became more accessible and brushes and pencils more enticing.  I was ready to begin:

Processes and materials used:

Foam roller (edge);
Foam roller dabbed on and layered;
Side of foam roller dragged;
Dragged foam roller with the end of the roller dabbed on top;
Painting with pussy willow;
Dabbed pussy willow.



    Paint stroked with paper roll
    The rolled edge of the paper roll
    The broad end of a kebab stick
    Drawing with the narrow end of the kebab stick
    A patterned sponge hair roller
    The plastic end of the hair roller













    Kitchen roll

    A plastic cork



Early Days

At last I have made a start. I have printed out the course and organised it, set up this blog, opened my sketchbook

Activity 1.1

Using just one tube of colour, create a range of marks on your page, or even better, several pages!

Page 1

 Marks made with:

Dry paint on brush edge
Dry paint on flat side of brush
Wet paint
Wet paint on flat side of brush
Stippling with wet paint
Cross hatching with wet paint
Narrow bristle brush
Narrow soft nylon brush
Stiff narrow brush
Paint straight from the tube

Page 2
 

 Marks made with:

Dry decoratoring brush
Really dry, stiff narrow bristle brush and wet paint
Same brush with dry paint
Foam brush

A New Blog Site for Work in Progress

A New Year and a new venture. I am starting an on-line course with Distant Stitch. It is a City & Guilds course in 'Creative Sketchbooks'. This a qualification that I already have but I was riding on one of life's roller coasters at the time and don't feel that I gave it my best. My mojo has definitely left me of late so this is a chance to defeat inertia, procrastination, wet Winter misery.....etc and laugh in the face of defeatism. I shall be tackling the course exercises and posting the results of my efforts and experiments. This shall be so that my tutor can see that I am actually up to something and can comment on my 'work'...(its play really but don't let on).  Please feel free to have a browse and join me on the journey.