I’ve been procrastinating about updating my blog for ages so now that I have a few hours ahead of me while I wait for my flight I can’t think of a good excuse. I missed the flight (long boring partially self inflicted reason) and got on the next. My original flight was cancelled (bird strike on landing) and everyone had to rebook – the more fortunate ones on my flight and quite a few much later in the day. Seems like a pantheon of gods and goddesses were looking out for me is a peculiar sort of way. I might have been facing a ten hour delay instead of a mere three hours.
For the past six months I’ve continued to focus on paint: exploring mediums, experimenting with colour mixing, and training my eye to see shapes and values.
I’ve done a couple of courses with Melinda Cootsona whom I highly recommend. Apart from learning about oils and cold wax I did a course called Re-Marks. For each painting posted in her group you receive questions about your intentions, a critique in terms of the elements of design and in some cases her emotional response. In some cases she even makes changes on you image to illustrate how it might look if X was darker/smaller/a different colour etc. If you make changes and repost the work she comments again which I found well worthwhile. By the end of the month I was able to critique my own work more easily.
The past six months have been somewhat disrupted by significant reconstruction of the riverbank opposite my house. Having a 160 tonne crane outside rather adds to the noise and the whole house shakes when it vibrates 18 metre piles down into the ground.
The construction company has been great though. First the paid for some noise cancelling headphones and when the frame moved closer and the vibrations started the paid for the rental of a small cabin to use as a studio – it’s sitting in a friend’s driveway. Even so, I feel like I’ve only had limited access to my home for the entire spring and summer as the started work in June and won’t finish until “some time in March”.
It’s no all noise though as with traffic diverted and people walking past my house, I often overhear snippets of conversations about how nice my garden is, how wonderful the hollyhocks are. Motorbikes and even cars have come through on the footpath which has me musing about my some people are so inconsiderate and lacking in respect for the community: if you aren’t treated with consideration and respect how will you learn to act that way? But I’m a Hope Hunter – one day I could hear the deep throaty sound of a large motorbike about to head down the footpath as a family was walking by my house. It was apparent the biker was waiting for them to come through before he did which meant he was idling, waiting, for a good couple of minutes. When they were safely through he rode by. Yes, maybe a gang member but he demonstrated a sense of decency. Being a Hope Hunter you notice things like this.
In the meantime I’ve painted lots of A4 two and three value portraits using the Notanizer app which has really helped me develop my eye for shape and values as well as my brush skills. I don’t draw and rarely measure, I just go straight in with the darks focussing on shape and proportions. It looks unrecognisable for a while and it’s necessary to simply trust the process.
I’m also working with ArtGraf Viarco and/or graphite and clear gesso. I love the grungy look and wiping areas back with a rag or my fingers. I started using an A3 sketchbook but now I’ve moved on to painting large A1 size portraits – some of the construction workers kindly posed for me. They’re expecting some nice refined A4 three value works so hopefully they’ll be pleasantly surprised.
With all this going on, I decided I wouldn’t participate in Open Studios this year but I have some ideas: painting members of a volunteer group as a fundraiser and a joint exhibition with a friend later in the year.
So it’s done! An overdue blog update and consequently I have only half and hour to wait. Time to stretch my legs I think.
late start studio 
A great post, airport time well spent!
Sure was – I’m glad I wasn’t one of the people who had to wait until a bit after 10:00pm though.
Hi Wendy
Thanks for a very interesting blog!! Sounds as though you “turned a sow’s ear into a silk purse”and have made really good use of the construction disruption.
Let’s catch up for a coffee at Door on Four sometime soon.
Steph
Yes, definitely! I’ll give you a call later next week.