Mixed Media Paintings
A very old friend of mine is getting married in a couple of weeks.
As is my wont, I decided the best gift I could give her and her new husband is not something off the wedding list, but a painting crafted by my own fair hands. {For ‘fair’, read ‘painty’.}
Enjoy the process…
The quote reads ‘On with the dance, let joy be unconfined’, some delicious words from Lord Byron.
This puppy has been finished for a week or two, only I didn’t know it was finished til the other night. I just suddenly ‘realised’. Which is cool because I couldn’t work out what more it needed.
These progress shots don’t seem to start very early on, but it gives some idea of how it came together.
What’s also cool is it seems to be one of a building theme, which incorporates colour and figures in a slightly abstract way. I think it’s being heavily influenced by Nia actually; I’m still averaging three classes a week and it seems to impact my whole life. As my teacher says, ‘the wind blows everywhere.’ I think about dancing all the time!
It is hard to describe that internal ‘click’ I feel when I’ve added colour and lines intuitively for a while and then I SEE it, the image the painting wants to be. It’s kind of a buzz actually.
The colours in this one make my heart beat faster! I’m so happy with the figure, which just emerged on her own; I couldn’t have created that sense of a movement captured if I had painstakingly tried. It makes the paintings feel like they’re out of my control, which is both a relief and a bit frustrating at times.
Anyway, I’ve called this one ‘Move’ and it’ll be available in my shop shortly.
PS. Thank you so much for all the lovely supportive comments about the work I produced during my pen and ink class. It was really encouraging and is helping me keep the creative momentum going! xx
Oh my god you guys! I went to my first Nia class this morning, and I am an instant convert!
It was just awesome, and I don’t use that word lightly. If I could invent a dance class to suit me perfectly that was it. Not too many people {around ten of us I think}, a very friendly and welcoming group of women, really lovely inspiring teacher, fabulous loud tribal type music with those beats that get right inside you, bright studio, and no difficult routines to learn, just continuous movement for one hour. I built up quite a sweat, but the pace alters perfectly between fast and slow so you never feel exhausted.
I’ve been wanting to get back into my body for some time now; I’m such a ‘brain’ person and although I used to dance and do yoga, I’d really lost touch with myself in that way. It was like coming home. My body just woke up! Magical.
Enough with the gushing!
The side effects were that I’ve been buzzing all day, and am consequently very much in flow {which is good ’cause I have a commission to work on that’s been resisting me}. Small Stones poured out of me on the beach, as well as a sketch for a painting I want to do which will be called Ocean Goddess. A friend called me that the other day {the ultimate compliment!} and of course I immediately wanted to make a painting of it. D the Artist Friend is also going to do a painting by the same name {at least that’s the plan, he’s leaving the country for flipping ages soon so we’ll see!}; it would be interesting to see how we both interpret it. I may never use the sketch I made, but it’s a step in the right direction.
So here are the visuals {and the orals?!}…
no waves today
only wrinkles
furrowing the water skin
*****
the water, contained by stones and wall
breathes itself in and out
like a mercury jellyfish
undulating
*****
the sea strokes the stones.
it loves them.
in its wake they tumble in delight
*****
looking up at the sound of crunching, I am amused to confront a tiny blonde Crusader
marching sturdily across the stones.
a miniature warrior, complete with chain mail headgear
and a most determined expression.
Whatever her crusade is, it mostly involves marching.
*****
