Crusade #35 – what’s your sign?

Over at Michelle’s GPP Crusades blog, this month’s challenge is to document your sign. Michelle says “The signs I’m talking about are images or things that make you think of a loved one”. My instant thought was “I can do that, possibly even without crying”. And I did. Because I needed to write so much I have created my journal page in Word and Photoshop and will be printing it out to glue into my journal as a reminder to myself.  So, come on, why not join the Crusades too, and tell us about your sign? (By the way, documenting my sign turned out to be more imporant than doing something artsy this time. I didn’t even pick up a paintbrush!)

Lots of little trials

Yesterday I spent a few hours doing more than a dozen 16×10cm tests on Bockford paper using fluid acrylics, pencil, pen, oil pastels, pastels and Indian Ink. As usually happens, I started off quite tight, drawing what I could see. Then, as I got used to the image and the shapes, the works got looser. There are a couple that are heading in the direction I want – both have at least some of the hazy, layered quality I am looking for.

These were all based on just one of the photos so there are more samples to come before I get to a stage where I am heady to bring out the canvases. Not that the paintings will be based on the test runs, but these wee works will certainly inform what I do, and help get my brain and hand familiar with the subject matter.

Looking at the lines, ready to start drawing

I have been looking at my inspiration wall of photos for a couple of  days now. Today I chose about 20 favorite photos and used the “find edge” function in PhotoShop to have a closer look at the lines in them. It’s interesting what turned up; I have shared a couple of them so you can see what I mean.

Tonight or tomorrow I will start drawing them in Indian Ink and pastels, concentrating on the lines and the bigger shapes. At the same time, I am rereading one of my most-used books on abstract art, thinking about the theory behind what I am doing. Thinking about the words, the layers of meaning and what I am bringing to this project.

Inspiration on my wall

Here’s some of the photos that are on my wall, all of the derelict Patea Freezing Works across the river from our house. What fascinates me is when you start looking is how many blue or orange stripes there are, and how many grid-like shapes you can find. 

Some big art decisions

A few days ago I wrote the following to a trusted online friend - a successful artist I admire (no name because I have not asked her permission) -

[edited] “I have been in a bit of an art-funk recently; not sure if I should keep going, paint just to be happy, try to market better, what? This morning I went back to the start of your blog posts in ’05 and re-read through to mid 2007, at which point they felt like much more familiar territory. And you know what? It worked! Thank you. Am I cured and on a roll, ready to take on the world? Nope. But I am sure that there is a market out there and that I need to make some decisions, instead of waffling round. Decisions like – pick a series and really go for it, have a sizeable body of work to show a gallery etc. Get out there and meet some people, don’t expect them to come to me…”

I got a lengthy reply back and really appreciate the time she spent in doing so, and the sensible advice and support offered. I dwelt on it for a couple of days, much of it reinforcing what I already knew deep down. From there I have made some decisions … the main driver behind them being that I know it is time to get more serious and business-like.

I have taken my work off most sites, leaving behind a message that basically says “see you on the 1^st of Jan with new work”. I want to concentrate on starting a body of work without thinking about what is (isn’t) selling.  I will keep on with social networks like Twitter.

Come the 1st of Jan 2010 I will have new work ready to promote . I’ll only load works that fit with whatever body of work I come up with. Which of course leaves the question of what to do with all the random works I have lying around. I think I will go through them and see what ones fit together as small series already. Then with the rest either sell off cheap through a local website or re-use the canvas if that seems a good option.

I’d already bought Alyson Stanfield’s “I’d rather be in the studio” and as part of all this will work my way through it producing a new artists statement, bio etc so the whole package has more cohesion. I’ll also keep better records from day one with the new work so I know where it is listed and so on, so that details are the same from site to site, and I can update things more easily. That should take some stress off!

So, that’s where I’m at. Today I made a start in my visual diary with ideas about what the body of work can be, knowing that I need 20 to 30 works in the same size, style etc. More on that later…

Come over to the dark side

Michelle’s challenge for the Crusade’s this month was to journal on black. Excellent! I painted a couple of pages in my visual diary and then things got busy…weeks later, I finally got back into it this morning. I did two pages; one is about dragonflies, thinking about their wings and playing with iridescent colors. The other is a “proper” journal page, recording some thoughts on my life with Tony, my husband of 17 plus years.  

I enjoyed working on a black background, which I suppose should not surprise me, as I often use plain black cardstock as the background in my scrapbooks. I used acrylic paint this time but the surface is a bit too slick – I think next time I’ll use black gesso.

At the framers

This one is at the framers as my husband wants to hang it somewhere. Because it is for him, he took it t the framer and chose the frame, matt colour etc. It will be interesting to see the final results. It’s done on a half sheet of Colorfix using mainly Art Spectrum pastels.

Back home, and off again

I have been away at the annual LIANZA (Library & Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa) conference, held in Christchurch this year. I flew down 36 hours early so I could visit our daughter Yasmine, her partner Adam and our 2-year-old grandson Rory. It was wonderful to see them. The photo is of Rory and I (also known as Grandma Cath).  [I can't believe I am putting a photo of me on the internet - yikes! Amazing what a grandchild makes you do...]

As always, Conference was very inspiring – I have a had full of ideas, things I want to try, people I want to email, new services to trial. Of course time, money and resources will mean there is some serious prioritising to be done! The flip side of all that is that I am very introverted, so being with so many people for 10 or so hours a day is just exhausting. I have done the Myers Briggs personality test twice, and both times I have scored the top score possible for introversion. It means that at the end of the day I head for my hotel room and lie in the dark for a bit – no radio, tv, lights – nothing – just me and some peace and quiet.

Tomorrow Tony and I are heading of to Wellington for two nights in a good hotel for some r&r. I don’t remember the last time we went away together. My sister is Mum-sitting for us, which is much appreciated.

NZ Art Guild Challenge #11

Title: Inspire me.  Size: 10″ square.  Medium: acrylics, ink, collage, rubber stamping, gel pen.  Inspiration: I bought some new art books from Amazon recently, and have been learning some new techniques – books and learning new things being two of the things that inspire me. The book cover collaged on at top left is one of the new books I got, called “Taking flight” by Kelly Rae Roberts. The style of this piece is what she teaches in the book.

Melting ice – another snow painting

Here’s another in the series of four which has headed off to Auckland and been hung in the Cross Cut hair salon. The salon owner was apparently delighted, as the works are a bit different to what she’s been hanging lately. Glad to have made her day…