catching up

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”.

The behemoth outside my bedroom window.

The Bolt Hole – my temporary studio and retreat.

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.

The hollyhocks are past their best now and these are just a few. Around the corner of the house some are about three metres tall!

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.

Dame Vivienne Westwood

Dame Judy Dench

Sir Anthony Hopkins

Stephen Fry

Dame Maggie Smith

Sir Edmund Hillary

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.

ArtGraf Viarco and clear gesso, 840x600mm

Matt – graphite and clear gesso, 840x600mm

Kian – graphite and clear gesso. 840x600mm

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.

Peregrinations: a meandering journey in mixed media

Way back when I first started this blog I was interesting in art journaling and followed Tammy Garcia over at Daisy Yellow. My interest didn’t last but something Tammy wrote did, “you don’t have to catch up, you just need to start.” And start I did.

I’ve explored natural fibres and dyes, paper, fabric, wire, encaustic medium, ceramics, and paint. I’ve used them traditionally and in unconventional ways, meandering where impulse and curiosity led me. Hence my small solo show “Peregrinations” at A Gallery in Whanganui.

While the scope of my work is broad, it reflects my love of the transparent, the delicate, the marginal annd neglected as well as my desire to convey raw emotion as a personal response to the environment and society.

I have always said I use paint but don’t actually paint. It’s vaguely annoying that everyone who learns you make art assumes you’re a painter so that statement was often trotted out – no longer though as I have exhibited and sold my first painting! He’s ‘That Guy’, the image below. He kept turning up in my sketchbook and one day made it in paint without my really asking him to. I haven’t drawn him since, nor do I know what he’s so concerned about.

I’ve flirted with painting off and on over the decades but interest quickly waned each time . . . perhaps because I didn’t have time to devote to it, through a lack of encouragement, or access to teaching. Now, all of that is readily available online and through friends I have made. So, painting! Me! Painting! How long will it last before being eclipsed by something else? I have no way of telling but while it’s fun . . . .

And some gallery shots for those of you who can’t make it to the gallery.

painting

I always joked that I used paint but I wasn’t a painter and to some extent that was true however over the last 18 months or so I’ve been drawn to it more and more. My first commission was at age 11 by a classmate for a girl in an ‘itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka do bikini’ however there was no payment and my first memory was yellow and blue creating magic in front on my 5 year old eyes.

I guess since childhood I’ve flirted with painting. My first course was with The Learning Connexion about 30-odd years ago and then again about 20 years ago with the school art teacher who held some classes for friends in her garage . . . I still have that work on my wall. In 2015 a weekend with Gill Allen and then a course with her a couple of years later reawakened my interest.

I was always more interested in making things Though, the physicality, exploring materials, and then using my skills to explore concepts but now I guess the material I’m exploring is paint and the physicality of applying it is what appeals. It will take time, it will not replace making, however it will have its season.

An exploration in colour and texture on a 30 x 30 cms panel.

Detail.

A delicious detail!

Sometimes I find gems.

Yet to be finished . . . or maybe it is.

Another 30 x 30 cms panel . . . although this was a step along the way, and I almost fell in love as it was but it’s received another layer of exploration.

Had it been this size . . . .

Now all I need to do is continue with the experimenting, the exploring, and then work out how to scale it up without the aide of an app on my iPad! I’m aiming for bigger surfaces, bigger tools . . . because I have big ideas.

a visual review

Far too much has happened in the 14 months since I last update my blog to go into all the details and I have spent very little time on social media or commenting on blogs I follow. Settling in to a new home in a new location has had its highs and lows, some expected and some, not at all. But here I am living in a lovely home, I keep in touch with old friends and have made some interesting new ones. There is a variety of delightful walks close at hand for the dog and me, and Whanganui, while small, has everything I need for the most part.

In my last post I shared details about a pennant that has been to Sydney and since returned. The installation was co-ordinated by Mo Orkiszewki over at It’s Crow Time and you can see a stunning display of everyone’s work here.

Earlier this year I participated a workshop organised by Fibre Arts Australia with Hannah Lamb where I stitched a memoir of sorts on a top that I wore until it died and then deconstructed to use as a pattern. There is more of this work to come . . . right now it’s just notes and sketches.

An Internal Landscape: Beneath the Surface is a comment on my life.  A family of orgin gone separate ways, events seldom straightforward, occasionally unraveling, messier beneath the surface, support often unseen by others, always moving on creating a new landscape.

An Internal Landscape: Beneath the Surface.       Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

 

An Internal Landscape: Beneath the Surface. Front, exterior.    Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

 

An Internal Landscape: Beneath the Surface. Back, exterior.       Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

 

An Internal Landscape: Beneath the Surface. Back, interior.       Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

Later a 5 day course, organised by Fibre Arts New Zealand, with Mary Hettmansperger set me off twining (a skill I taught myself almost 40 years ago because I was fascinated by taniko) and working in wire.

Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

Then it was gum nuts picked up on the riverbank . . . 100 gum nuts bound in cotton. Remains is a comment on individual difference.  I also wanted to comment on how when a primary use, or perceived usefullness, has been served there is usually another purpose to be found. This came about when I was musing on the number of gray-haired woment who were out that day walking their dogs and how they could be so easily dismissed as just a member of a particular demographic.

A converation overheard during the exhibition:

A:  One is diferent.      B:  They’re all different.

Remains.                   Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

I’ve continued messing around with a quick collage as a warm up most days or eight very quick androgynous sketches in acrylic and charcoal.

Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

I continue to enjoy learning new skills, developing old ones, using them to express my thoughts . . . and generally enjoying my life.

A sun-filled studio has been set up in the house and another workspace in the garage so I can fling paint around. My last attempt to paint was a brief dalliance with oils about 20 years ago and a play with acrylic on a orkshop in 2015 so I’m not sure why I’m drawn to it again: I always said I use paint but I don’t paint. At the moment I’m playing with colour and texture and aren’t at all certain of where it’s going. Somewhere? Nowhere? Does it matter?

I’ve taken a few painting and mixed media online courses with Misty Mawn and Jeanne Oliver.  Both sources offerings are reasonably priced, specific and professionally produced by knowledgeable and supportive tutors.

Wendy Watson – Late Start Studio

More of my results with later perhaps.

That’s it! There are no plans for attending future workshops at this stage . . . time to consolidate and just work with what I have.   And while I have work at a couple of outlets I’m more interested in developing the work than exhibiting or selling at the moment.

Catch up soon?  Soon is a relative term.

experiments continued

Having liked the results written up in my post, experiments with plastic, I decided to try different combinations of black and bright colours.

Black gesso and black acrylic under brights (magenta vermillion and cadmium yellow medium).

Black acrylic and India ink as the top layer over the bright colours.

In each case (black under/black over) I used the medium at full viscosity or watered down.  I also used the magazine-wrap plastic as well as cling film.

The results were similar to before however the most effective, in my opinion, was when I used a diluted top coat as more of the previous layer shows through.

Diluted India ink over bright acrylics and magazine wrap plastic . . . I forgot to dilute it before application so I spritzed it with water.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

Diluted bright acrylic over black acrylic and cling film.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

Brights over black gesso and magazine-wrap plastic. Unfortuantely I put the black smudge on after with my grubby fingers.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

Even the magazine wrap plastic looked interesting after I’d used both sides . . . I’ll probably use it again knowing that it will leave remnants of colour behind.  Hmmm . . . I wonder if I can stick down with a matt gel? 
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

I used Atelier Interactive acrylics for these samples. I bought them myself however if Atelier wants to subsidise my play experiments that would be lovely!

And now that my curiosity has been satisfied it’s time to put all my paints away otherwise I won’t get some presents made and of course I can’t tell you about those because my family read this blog.  Maybe I’ll lay our some cardboard first and make gift tags . . . I’m thinking of white under and over pastels.  So just a little more playtime perhaps or is this perseverance beginning to blossom?

experiments with plastic

In the last post I wondered how the thickness of plastic placed over wet paint and allowed to dry, would affect the texture.  I also wondered how the thickness of the paint would affect the result.  Two variables – two experiments.

Step one was to apply gesso to some sketch paper and allow it to dry so I would have a non-porous base layer.  After that I applied a background of deep turquoise and magenta acrylic paint.   When the background was dry I used some lime acrylic paint thinned with water on one sheet and straight from the tube on the second.

The plastics I used were cling film (Glad Wrap, Saran Wrap) and the plastic that comes wrapped around magazines received through the post (there’s nothing like free resources).  I also used re-used some 25 mm or 1 inch bubble-wrap.

1. Diluted top coat, magazine-wrap plastic.  The variation in the background looks especially good to me.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

2. Diluted top coat, cling film.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

3. Diluted top coat, re-used bubble wrap. I just love the remnants of paint that have been left behind.  And again, the transparent top-coat allows the variations of the background to show through
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

4. Full viscosity paint top coat, magazine-wrap plastic.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

5. Full viscosity top coat, cling film.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

6. Full viscosity top coat, clean bubble wrap.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

7. Full viscosity top coat, re-used bubble wrap

8. A close up from the previous sample.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

I liked the effect of both parts of the experiment, I really liked how the re-used bubble wrap left remnants of paint behind.  The diluted paint gave a lovely transparent effect with an opaque paint . . . the first three images have to be my favourites.   Whether I use diluted paint or at full strength would depend on what effect I wanted to make.

As to the choice of plastic?  The thinner the plastic the finer the details and the more likelihood the results can be controlled to some extent . . . controlling cling film is difficult enough at the best of times however by twisting it slightly, bunching it up after it was laid on the wet paint, I could manage a degree of control over the number of marks but very little over where they were.  I thought it would be rather wonderful to be able to manipulate it to form the veins of a leaf.

By removing the plastic just before it was dry it would be possible to soften the edges of the marks but right now I’m thinking about colour combinations; neon over black, black over brights, various earth tones with a transparent top-coat . . . hmmm, this could keep me busy.

Did I have fun? Was it worth while?  Will I continue exploring? Will I put samples in a journal? Damn right!

practise makes perfect (if that’s what you want)

This morning after I read The Muse Whisperer on Quinn McDonald’s blog I got to thinking how all creative tasks involve skills plus ideas and then about where, or how, I get my ideas.  I realised that unless I’m working on something I don’t become inspired.  I need to be ‘thinking with my hands’ (thanks Quinn), exploring the properties of a material, in order to generate unique ideas.   Sometimes they’ll come when I’m walking the beach or working in the garden, not thinking of anything much, just noticing what is around me but usually, real inspiration comes when I’m completely engaged.   Ideas come and take on a life of their own through the materials.  Occasionally I’ll set out to make something and end up with something completely different because I listen to the idea . . . or is that the muse?

The other part of completing a creative task are the skills required to actually produce it.  I could have the most ingenious, fantastical, original idea but without the skills to carry to it out the idea would be like a bell without a clapper.

I read once in a book about Tai Chi that there are three aspects to mastering anything; talent, teaching, and perseverance.  You may have a truckload of talent and the best teacher available however if you don’t persevere you won’t master what you’re trying to learn.  You can take talent or the teacher out of the equation and a level of mastery is still possible if you persevere.  This applies to learning anything.

So what ever I want to learn to do, I can . . . as long as I show up and do the work . . . daily.

As a result of turning up today I’ve added to my skills and learned more about acrylic paints and what effects I can get from leaving plastic on it as it dried . . . I know I can use it but I want to experiment with using plastic of different thicknesses. Can I control the effect?  If you look carefully you’ll see I’ve used a large size bubblewrap on the magenta. Some of the bubble wrap had traces of yellow paint on it, traces of which stayed behind when I peeled it off so I stored that bit of information away as well.   Play is a great way to learn.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

 

assembling a portfolio

Yes, I know, it’s been a while but I was away for two and a half months in the USA and settling back in at home has not been without some challenges.  But now, there is work to be done!

I need to assemble a portfolio at gain direct entry into the Diploma of Art and Creativity at The Learning Connexion in 2016 and I’m finding it an interesting and positive experience to look back at what I have achieved and the roads I’ve travelled to be where I am now.

I need to demonstrate technical competency in two of three areas: painting, drawing and 3D work.  The latter is easy, there are many examples on this blog, and although I don’t draw much, I have examples to present, it’s painting that is more the challenge.  I don’t consider myself to be a painter, but if a label is required then I’d describe myself as a mixed media artist.  For me paint is just another material to use but not the primary medium in my work.

It’s not that I haven’t painted.  I had a foray into oils and it was the lovely feel, the lustre, even the smell that I loved but now. for convenience, I use acrylics for prints and making collage fodder. I even use watercolours occasionally.

I started by copying . . . as you do . . . before attempting to work in the style of Modigliani, one of my favourites, but with originality.

Would that I could recall the artist. Why didn’t I write a note on the back!  If something comes to mind please let me know in the comments. 400 x 325 mm, oil on recycled cardboard.

Another copy, this time by a New Zealand artist I think . . . I do wish I could give credit to the original artist. 410 x 575 mm, oil on recycled cardboard.

Finally, inspired by a photograph and with more than a nod to Modigliani. 640 x 500 mm, oil on cardboard.

Despite the last example being a little unresolved or incomplete (she has no nose, just nostrils), there are elements that I am well pleased with such as the background, the proportions, the tilt of her head, the shading on the neck.  No, I’m not completely satisfied but critiquing my own work, what meets my learning goal and the next step to work on, that is what drives me to improve what I do, and at the time, I was satisfied with my results.

I’m hoping these three paintings will met the requirement to demonstrate technical competence however I’m left wondering . . . Why didn’t I persevere with painting for its own sake? Why did I relegate it to the background? And, do I want painting to remain there as something I did in the past?

you don’t have to like everything you do

When working with a class of 13 years old students identifying the values they held and the positive qualities they were developing, we used an art journal to record their work . . . some found it really challenging so I developed a simple way for them to critique their work when they didn’t like the results using three quick questions.

1. What, specifically, don’t you like.  It was often something quite small such as the way some lettering went off the page.  This helped me know what to teach them next or, better still, which other student could teach them something about layout or lettering etc.

2. What details do you like (so you can do it again and share it with someone struggling . . . see  #1)?  If I did this again I ask the kids to add their names to a skills list  so that others could use it as a reference for support.

3. What are some ways you can improve on what you have done?  We developed the ‘step away’ assessment to help with this question . . . prop it up, take four big steps back and look at what the work might need.

We also developed, in groups, peers critiques where people noted what really stood out for them, especially if they though it something they could do.  If a student asked for support in the form of a question such as “What would you do next if this was your work?” or “Who can anyone show me how to do XYZ better?” a suggestion could be made . . . other wise it was positive feedback only.

As a result students became adept at finding what worked well and didn’t dismiss their efforts so lightly.  They also saw that many other struggled with the same things as they did.

So why am I telling you this?  Because I attended a workshop with Gill Allen on the weekend and didn’t like every aspect of everything I did.  By applying the same three questions, I came up with just a couple of things I didn’t like and a longer list of successes.

The overall composition doesn’t really appeal to me so I learned that I should go with my first impulse when making a choice.  What It learned though, is that by sticking with the choice it was more of a challenge.  And I learned more about manipulating acrylic paint because that became the focus and not getting the composition right . . . I had no picture in my head to perfect.

I haven’t touched charcoal for years and did very little and I really enjoyed getting my fingers in there . . . it was a great way to warm up.

Charcoal on brown paper: 32 x 43 cms or 12.5 x 17 inches.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

I like details, little squiggly details . . . even in charcoal.

Little squiggly details add to the texture.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

I enjoyed the limitations place on us by the exercise because it allowed a certain freedom to experiment.  Being pushed out of my default way of working also meant I learnt more.

I loved painting BIG with a BIG 2 inch brush and I’d like to have a go at painting BIGGER with a BIGGER brush.

Acrylic 65 x 90 cms or 25.5 x 35.5 inches
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

Tiny pops of colour can make a big difference . . . even of a big painting.

The little scarlet dots made all the difference.
Wendy @ Late Start Studio

And this morning?  How do I feel this morning about the images?  I can see what needed a little more thought when I sketched out the original image and what could be changed now so using the ‘step away’ assessment more would have been helpful yesterday.  And I still like what I liked yesterday, especially those little scarlet dots.

Goals achieved (have fun and learn something), a great day . . . thanks Gill

 

 

welcome rain

It rained for the first time in what seems like weeks yesterday, and again today.  So what? You might well ask.

New Zealand lamb and dairy products, New Zealand wines, all world-class, all contributing to this small corner of the world’s wealth . . . we began building this country and made a name with primary produce, farmers are known as ‘the backbone of the country’ and we have a clean, green image, although in reality we’re probably no greener than many other places.  Perhaps we’re a little greener though in that our native forests are  predominantly evergreen.

But I digress.  The entire North Island and much of the South is experiencing a drought, a severe drought that has everyone saving water.  There are often water restrictions through the summer however in Wellington the situation is such that there is a ban on all outdoor water use . . . no watering your garden, washing your car or windows, filling the kids paddling pool.  So the rain is very welcome even though it isn’t nearly enough.  This satellite picture, courtesy of NASA shows how parched the land is.

Satellite images from March 2012 (L) and March 2013 (R) show significant browning across the North Island. Photo / NASA

 Our lives can have their own droughts too.  It may be time, affection, money, but all, hopefully, temporary situations that will be relieved eventually – harsh circumstances are easier to accept when there is an end in sight.

Sometimes I feel as if I don’t have the time to do what I’d like to do and my weekends could be regarded as ‘drought relief’ as I relax with my family, catch up with friends, or work on some creative project.  Recently I have been making some pencil cases out of hand painted canvas.

I borrowed Canvas Remix by Alisa Burke from the library and started to play . . . with a little help. I used canvas fabric, acrylic paints, an old credit card and stencils – there’s still some more to sew up.  I even made a label for my laptop bag.

Each piece will make 2 pencil cases. I did 2, and the others were done by my granddaughters aged 8 and 4 . . . I defy you to guess who did which ones!

Drought broken!