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May 18, 2012 By Tara Leave a Comment

First, many moons ago, there was this:

Then there was this, which I posted here:

And then over the last couple of days I’ve been doing this:

Nighttime photography, what can you do? {Don’t answer that!}

And here it is finished:

How much do I really love being able to put a ‘frame’ around an image? QUITE A LOT. Thank you PicMonkey.

Really loving also doing these A4 paintings on paper. I’d ideally like to build up a little collection and sell them. You’d totally buy one, right? I make good price for you.

Filed Under: painting on paper, process Tagged With: beach, painting on paper, picmonkey, sea, stones and stars

May 15, 2012 By Tara 5 Comments

Are you ready for some blurry photo action? I had one of my sudden and unexpected ‘artbursts’ {see what I did there?} last night, the kind where I just unexpectedly sit down and paint, and time simultaneously stops and speeds up, so when you surface you realise it’s waaaaaay past your bedtime.

I visited a couple of Open Houses this weekend {it’s May which means the Brighton Festival and Open House season, where people open their homes to the public and display the work of all kinds of local artists}, and was particularly inspired by some paintings of trees, so I sat down and did a tree painting on paper.

I started with some collage and a sketch.

Then some Titan Buff.

Then colours.

Initially I used charcoal for the tree outline, but it rubbed off {obvs}, so I painted over it with sumi ink and a very tiny brush. There will definitely be more of this ~ muy satisfying.

I used stamps and doileys to make the patterns, and painted layers which I then rubbed back so it looks all textured and old. Lovely.

I found the Kahlil Gibran quote online; I wanted to use something by Hafiz {I seem to love every single thing he ever said} but this was the one that popped out at me.

It was a real pleasure to make this one, and I’m very happy with the result. It’s in my Etsy shop now.

***********************

PS. Thank you so much to everyone who chipped in with title ideas for the untitled painting; it really helped kick start me with possibilities. I decided on ‘Holding Space’ in the end, partly because it just occurred to me, and also because of the spaces in it, like the white area and the turquoise part under the ‘arm’.

Filed Under: Brighton open houses, collage, etsy, painting on paper Tagged With: etsy, kahlil gibran, painting on paper, quote, tree

May 10, 2012 By Tara 4 Comments

Remember this?

I wrote about it recently here.

Anyway, it’s now finished, and looks like this.

{No matter how hard I try, my photography and editing skills SUCK.}

Here are a few close ups:

It has many layers, this one. The one thing that’s bothering me now is the name. As you may know, usually my paintings tell me what their names are during the process. Occasionally that doesn’t happen and I am left with a nameless painting, and the option of calling it ‘Untitled’ which is a personal no-no for me.

All paintings mean something, and even if the artist doesn’t want to distract the viewer from drawing their own conclusions, calling a painting ‘Untitled’ feels like a cop out to me. It makes me feel sorry for the painting. {I know, I’m such an anthropomorphiser.}

So I’m asking for input please; perhaps you see something in the painting that I don’t, which would help me to name it. I may or may not use the suggestions, but daft as I am, I want this painting to know it has a place in the world.

Filed Under: acrylic painting, art, painting, paintings Tagged With: 'untitled', acrylic painting, naming

May 9, 2012 By Tara 1 Comment

I would like to say three things today.

1. Some of what I said yesterday has not been sitting well with me, and while I’m well aware that in the grand scheme of things it’s not at all important, I still want to clear it, if only for myself. I am not retracting what I said, only the implied judgement. I noticed in myself that I felt a bit smug about the part where I wrote “some people feel it’s inauthentic {an overused word if ever there was one} to only put happy things on your blog and therefore must redress the balance by revealing some of their less joyful things“. As if that in itself is not a little hypocritical! People can write whatever the hell they want on their blogs; it’s not for me to comment on or judge that, and especially not to do so from some sort of self applied elevated position! It’s important to me in the work that I do that I walk my talk and apply what I learn; thinly veiled judgements are not part of that.

So, having got that out of the way {and apologies if you’re not UK based, this next bit won’t be for you} ~

2. I’m geeking out over Graze right now.

It’s a company that posts you boxes of snacks {it fits through the letterbox so no need to wait in ~ huge bonus as far as I’m concerned}, and you can choose what you like and don’t like from their website. They then send you boxes according to your preferences. The range is enormous, and from chomping my way through my first box this morning I can vouch for amazing quality too.

Not to mention eco friendly {and pleasingly designed} packaging, healthy options, a little booklet full of info, and the possibility of sending boxes as gifts. AND, they gave me a code that can be used any number of times {although just one per person, obvs} for a free box, like mine that you see here. You are not obliged to buy more either. Here’s the link if you’re interested:

GRAZE

They’re not paying me to big them up but I do get some money off I think if you decide to try it. But even if you don’t, I still think it’s a genius idea. It’s like getting an edible present in the post ~ something I’ll always say yes to!

And finally,

3. I did a bit more to my new painting last night. I wanted to put a figure in, and this one from my sketchbook felt right and fitted beautifully:

The painting informed me it wants to be called Vessel, which I really like, and although it’s not finished, I’m pleased with progress so far.

And now I am going to go and dance and sing in my kitchen while attempting to make stew.

Filed Under: food, journey, musings, painting, sketchbook, work in progress Tagged With: graze.com, painting in progress, vessel

May 7, 2012 By Tara 3 Comments

There is no art and no inclination to do any. Actually that’s not strictly true; there’s a faint yearning and a half finished painting, but the feeling of creative deadness is bigger. That’s ok, I know how it goes. I started this painting below and have stalled; I know what I want to do but the feeling of unreadiness to do it overwhelms me just now.

But I have been feeling so disconnected from the {my?} light recently, and last week felt like it was taking huge chunks out of me {in retrospect it probably was and I’m hoping they were chunks I simply no longer need}, you would think some creative activity might be quite healing. I know that for some of us, difficult times are good opportunities to express ourselves creatively; for me I find it just dies away.

Mind you, I have been cooking quite a bit {and now there is banana and walnut loaf to cheer me up}, spending time squishing my little niece

and nephew,

reading, thinking, journalling, so I guess Ariadne’s thread is still running through, helping me find my way back. Sometimes you just have to do what comes up in the moment to survive to the next moment.

I’ve noticed there’s a lot of talk on blogs lately about showing more of our dark sides, that some people feel it’s inauthentic {an overused word if ever there was one} to only put happy things on your blog and therefore must redress the balance by revealing some of their less joyful things; I understand that some people’s lives look almost unreal-ly perfect if their blogs are anything to go by, but your blog is your own space to do what you please with, no? If I find you annoying because your life looks so perfect, doesn’t that say more about me than it does about you? And things are pretty much never what they seem. It kind of cracks me up actually that there should be any kind of rule about what is and is not ok regarding self expression.

I tend to keep stuff back because I don’t feel it’s relevant or it’s just too private to share, and I generally like my blog to be a place that both I and others can come to and find something sunshiney. That doesn’t mean I don’t have shitty times that I don’t tell you about. Sometimes though I know that I am not alone in going through something, and I also know the comfort that can be derived from another’s experience.

I wrote the following the other day; I was in a bad place and needed comfort. It served as a reminder to myself, but quite clearly it’s for all of us. It’s nothing new but perhaps it will be useful for you today.

When we think we don’t know what to do about something, the answers ARE there, within us. There is no need to search, to ask others, or to look anywhere outside of ourselves, because all we need is already within us. How could it not be, when all is one and spirit is everywhere? We ARE spirit. We only think we don’t know because our minds tell us so. Our minds tell us stories about who we are and are not, what we can and can’t do, be or have. In truth, it is all there already. We don’t even need to get caught up in the ‘how’. Ask and it is given. Just ask and listen, and you WILL be guided. You cannot make a mistake for there are no mistakes. Sit in faith. Let go of why and how. Follow the path of what feels good in the moment, and you will ‘reach’ where you have been all along, you just didn’t see it. Trust yourself; you have the answers. Even if you mind struggles to believe that, it is still true.

Like Rumi says “Do not feel lonely; the entire universe is inside you.” It’s all in there. You are ALREADY the things you seek.

PS. I feel almost certain I’ve written a post identical to this before; either an extreme case of deja vu or I’m getting repetitive in my old age. I can’t be arsed to go back through the archives and check, so I’m going with the deja vu theory. Besides which, you can never over-repeat wisdom, right?

Filed Under: family, journey, musings, Uncategorized, work in progress, writing Tagged With: authenticity, family, journey, thoughts

May 2, 2012 By Tara 3 Comments

Artur Akopjan‘s work gives me pleasure and inspiration in the same way that the paintings of Jennifer Mercede, Dominique Fortin and Sabrina Ward Harrison do.

The backgrounds are as interesting as the foregrounds, and each painting works as a whole without being either too busy or too quiet. There is also a naive quality which I love.

I particularly enjoy the saturated colours, the drawn and written elements and the patchiness.

I didn’t find too much detail about Akopjan, but the paintings speak for themselves anyway. I found this though:

Creation is equal to complete freedom; everything is acceptable when it comes to art. Artur Akopjan has no special expectations from the viewers.

‘Everything is acceptable when it comes to art’ ~ I like this.

Here is the artist with one of his paintings:

And one of my favourites of his:

Filed Under: artists, love it Tagged With: artists, artur akopjan, inspiration, paintings

May 1, 2012 By Tara 2 Comments

That’s ‘ark’ as in godDAMNIT my whole week’s turned upside down and it’s only Tuesday, not ‘ark’ as in ‘Noah’s’. I am overreacting really; just all the things I was looking forward to this week have been cancelled. All of them! I am disappointed but I assume the universe has a very good reason and if I just pipe down and listen it’ll probably tell me what that is.

So I’m not feeling QUITE as serene as my latest sketch, but I fully expect to be thoroughly zenned out shortly.

Oh, and France was lovely, in case you were wondering. We managed to squeeze in a trip to Mont St Michel, Honfleur and the beach as well as doing the errands and collection of offspring. Here are just a few photos…

{the abbey on Mont St Michel}

{arches inside}

{D and me at sunset}

{Honfleur}

{moules mariniere}

{Mont St Michel from the ramparts}

{sunset}

{car picnic in the grounds of an empty chateau}

{view from a tiny window in the ramparts}

I do love France.

So now I have a very open week ahead; goodness me anything could happen! If it does I’ll let you know.

Filed Under: sketchbook, sketches, travel Tagged With: france, pastels, sketch, sketchbook

April 24, 2012 By Tara Leave a Comment

I’m off to France tomorrow for a few days with D for a bit of errandry and a bit of road trippery.

I’ll be taking my sketchbook obvs.

Last night I got busy with a pencil, which I don’t often do to this degree of detail/effort actually, and I’d forgotten how enjoyable it is. I was watching Beautiful Lies and there’s a scene where the mother is sitting forlornly on the front step waiting for the postman, and I had to pause and photograph it because I loved the shape of her, all folded together, darks and lights. It seemed like a potential painting.

Obviously my drawing isn’t all that, but I tend to copy things to understand what the shapes feel like and how they fit together, not for accuracy {which is fortunate}.

Once I’d got the main shapes down, the bit I enjoyed most was drawing the outlines really hard with the pencil.

From this point if I was going to develop it into a painting I would want to ‘spiral out’ as Flora Bowley puts it, and bring it more into abstraction. Whether I’ll actually make a painting from it remains to be seen, but it’s all part of the process. It can percolate while I’m away.

So au revoir mes pousses, see you next week. Happy times to you.

xoxo

PS. Pauline at Journal Illustrations has written a fab post today on how to do sketching without needing a rubber {or eraser, for you non English folks}.

Filed Under: drawing, sketchbook, sketches Tagged With: Beautiful Lies, drawing, Journal Illustrations, maddy, Pauline, sketching

April 22, 2012 By Tara 7 Comments

So it was pissing with rain when I woke up the other morning, and I was forced to abandon my original plans and stay in bed with my new Flora Bowley book and some breakfast.

Reading it brought back many of the things I learned in her class last year {goodness me, a year ago next month}, to the point where I was galvanised into leaping out of bed and spending most of the day in my studio. Hooray!

It seemed fitting to tackle this enormous bad boy, who’d been languishing reproachfully in the hall for the past eleven months after being started at said retreat. I felt it was safe to assume that it wasn’t going anywhere in this state by this point, but could at least be a springboard into something new. Not to mention a good exercise in non attachment {especially when you are told later on that it was better before you messed with it. Humph.}

Over the course of three hours I messed with it. A LOT. I referenced Flora’s book a lot too.

I tacked up this image on the right because I wanted to use the shape. I had a vague notion of abstract figurativism, a term I think I just made up.

I’m not sure how possible it is to learn from another artist without at least partially taking something from them that then shows up in your work, whether it’s colour choices, shapes, mark making or anything else. So by this point I felt it was way too ‘Flora’ and not enough ‘Tara’. {God I love those colours though.}

As Flora points out, “There is nothing wrong and plenty to be learned from looking at other people’s work and finding inspiration there; however, doing so has the potential to draw you away from your own voice. Notice when your creative expression feels forced, difficult, contrived, or simply not your own. Listen closely.”

Quite. I didn’t need to listen closely with the sound of my own self screaming in my ear that this was starting not to feel like me at all.

Or at least, kind of me, but also clearly Flora-influenced.

I kept swimming in and out of ugly phases and not knowing what to do and just diving in and trusting, and going away for coffee and snacks.

As it stands now it looks thus:

{ark. blurry. it’s a little sharper in real life}

I hung it up to see if it would speak to me more clearly from the wall than from the studio. Depending on the day I tend to ‘know’ it’s finished and love it to death, or feel very uncertain about the whole thing. I do like the ‘it could be a figure…. but IS it?’ quality. You could hang it any way up really.

Another telltale sign of incompletion {another made up word?} is that it hasn’t given me a title yet. There’s definitely something iffy about the top and middle right area. Today, anyway.

Filed Under: flora bowley, painting, process Tagged With: figurative, flora bowley, painting, process

April 20, 2012 By Tara 2 Comments

Her name is Karen Lewis and she is a very talented seamstress and Creator of Beautiful Things. I met her a few years ago when we were both running online shops ~ she still is, being also a savvy businesswoman {me, notsomuch} ~ and by a strange twist of internet fate we became friends.

{Pleated pouches; I LOVE this design, it’s my favourite of all}

Karen lives in Leeds with her family in a beautiful house, at the top of which sits her attic studio, where she thinks up and brings to life her gorgeously simple, Scandinavian inspired designs.

{Screen printed Triangle Mania fabric in blue; all Karen’s fabrics come in various colourways}

I have watched her business grow from a website filled with gorgeous handcrafted pieces by other talented souls, to a gradual development of her own designs, and more recently the addition of screen printed fabrics and patterns for quilts. Perfect for those who like to sew their own things.

{Scruffy Daisy cushion in teal; another Tara fave. }

Karen has an Etsy shop, her own website, Blueberry Park, and you can also find her on Twitter.

{Grey lavender bag pair ~ look at that gorgeous linen}

And what’s more, she’s currently offering 20% off any and all of her products on these sites when you type in the code TARALEAVER at the checkout. {I’m the code!} This is good for everything except sale items, which are already super discounted.

{Triangle Mania coin pouch keyring; I have one of these and use it every day}

From cushion covers to pencil cases, craft kits for kids to personalised pieces, and all kinds of gifts, there is so much to choose from, for yourself, as gifts or for the present drawer. {Or is it just me who has one of those?}

{Triangle Mania notebook in grey}