EDM Challenge 76 - Draw some fresh flowers

Well, it feels good to have done some sketching. I've found it hard to start up again after the painting thing. I decided to re-live the heady days of only a couple of months ago, when I discovered how inspiring it can be to participate in the EDM Challenges, so I looked it up to see what was there to do. Flowers?! What a coincidence! I've been having a bit of a flowery week after being flowerless for a long time. Ok!

Back to the Moleskine. Why are they so seductive??? If I know it doesn't take watercolour or ink the way I want it to, why do I reach for it first every time? This time I remembered about the watercolour thing (I HATE it when I forget and start off and ... yuk!, now what do I do with this page?). I had read in the blurb that comes with them that the Moleskine sketchbook is suitable for blah blah blah and gouache. I've done a bit of gouache in it before, and yes it does work. Thought I'd try to do a mainly gouache sketch. (Actually think I've done EDM Challenge 62 - use a different medium to what you're used to, as well, almost accidentally.)

So here it is. I'm not a flower painter and I don't usually paint in gouache, and I haven't sketched for a little while. And it isn't a good scan. But enough with the excuses!

Last Opening Post

I promise this is the last post about my exhibition... (X) Some people said they'd like to see some photos of the night.


That's me in my 'perfect shirt' (which I did get around to making because I still couldn't find one after scouring 3 cities and one town!)



And that's Dr Leigh Summers with the shawl, officially opening the exhibition. Leigh originally booked my exhibition; at the time she was Director/Curator of the Bunker Gallery. Recently she took up the position of Director of Coffs City Gallery and Coffs Harbour Museum. We are so lucky to have her doing these jobs. She is fantastically enthusiastic and intensly interesting. The exhibition runs at the Bunker Cartoon Gallery until the end of July.

And the man holding the toddler is Christophe Granet, the cartoonist whose exhibition was also opened that night.

I Did It!!!

Yes, I've seen how so many bloggers talk about "Bloglines" and how great it is. So of course I raced off to sign up; I hate to feel left out. Signed up months ago! Completed the registration... and there was this screen with stuff on it. The only bit I understood was that I had successfully registered and now could use Bloglines. So? How do you use it? I decided to think about it another day.

Well, that 'another' day came, actually a few times. I would decide to go and check it out and see if I could figure it out. Nup. (And I'm not really technically backward! But all this blogging stuff is new to me.)

Then today I found a link on Anastasia's blog to another blog (you know how it goes) and on that blog I found this post, and PRESTO! I can now do it.

So all you bloggers out there, I've probably just subscribed to your blog in my bloglines, because now I have 84 'feeds'!!!

Exhibition Images

Thanks to everyone who made my exhibition opening a wonderful night. We had about 50 people there and we all enjoyed the evening.



Refills $3.55 Absolute Matte on canvas, 25 x 30cm


I have occasionally used Atelier Absolute Matte. I find it is difficult as the colours don't mix easily, and some colours just don't mix at all. But for some subjects this paint is the perfect medium. The matte effect combined with the way this paint makes the colours leap off the canvas with a vibrancy that is difficult to get otherwise, was perfect for this night image.




Roll-Up III Acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50cm


Always coming back to the 'double image' in my paintings, this is another wallpaper and clown image where they merge. This one evokes memories of my Nan's curtains.







Clown Skeletons I, II and III Absolute Matte and acrylic on canvas panels, 60 x 60cm each.

These were inspired by the vivid memories I have of the flock wallpaper in the "Marigold Chinese Restaurant", Bridge Street, West Tamworth circa 1975. As a child I remember 'seeing' images in the wallpaper, lino floors, tiles, curtains, the persian rugs on our floor, just about everthing held faces to me. I was also captivated by the cartoon gag (seemingly repeated endlessly in the late 60's and 70's) of the patient being x-rayed behind a screen that showed their head and feed unaltered, and a stylised skeleton in between. The flock wallpaper seemed to be all pelvises, sinuses and collar bones to me, so I turned it into 'clown' skeletons, just for the fun of it.




Roll-Up IV, acrylic on canvas, each panel 10cm x 10cm, 7 panels.

The smallest works I've ever done, capturing the sweep of the clown heads at the side-show clown game.




Roll-Up II, acrylic on canvas, 200cm x 60cm.

And a large one, again with the double image of the clowns and wallpaper.

Roll Up! It's Up!

Well, it's up! Whew! And I feel quite good about it, too. (I did have a panic attack a few times leading up to it...)


Here a a couple of photos taken during the day. The big sign with my name on it (which was a big surprise to me!) wasn't up at the time of taking these. It's funny how strange it is to see your name big and in a public place!











The long black, red and white one was a late addition, not originally intended for the exhibition. Steve, my trusty 'hanger', asked if I had anything else at home that could fit the theme as one more would improve the look of the exhibition. So I raced home, FINISHED IT!, signed it, fitted it with 'D' rings and raced back - all in half an hour!





Yes, at the end of the day I did actually fall asleep in the bath - my first time.



Check back over the weekend for better photos of the paintings themselves.

Progress Report 3

Off to hang my "Roll Up!" exhibition this morning... Actually begining to calm down now. Phew! Been a bit anxious. Looking forward to seeing it 'up' and looking forward to moving onto my new project. (Yes, there is always a new project! You've gotta love that!)

Progress Report 2

Ok, so I'm progressing. I've decided not to start any more!!! I'm going to focus on finishing. I have such a problem with avoidance and procrastination when working for something like this, actually even to some degree while I'm sketching too.
That is why I have Eric Maisel in the 'guru' part of my side-bar links. He has devoted his working life to helping people like me just simply DO what it is we love doing. A crazy situation!
So if you understand what I'm saying here, and you don't know Eric Maisels books, click the link and check him out.
Ok, Ok! I'm off to paint...

Book Meme

From Anastasia
1) pick up a book which is the closest to you at the moment
2) open page 123
3) find the third sentence
4) post it in your blog (plus the instructions)
5) don't choose the book, just pick up the one closest to you

Ok, mine was "Quick Italian" (subtitled "Essential Italian in under 3 hours"). At first I felt sure it wouldn't have 123 pages! But it did - only just - and it is from the grammar section...

"Person
A category used to disinguish between I/we (1st person), you (2nd person) and he/she/it/they (3rd person) forms of the verb."

I also looked up "meme" as I wasn't sure...

meme
Pronunciation Key (mm)
n.
A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.

Thanks Anastasia, for the little bit of fun!

Progress Report

A week to go until my (exhibition) hanging... And I am journalling it in my new Moleskine. I haven't had one of the standard sized ones before. My first Moleskine was the larger sketchbook. I am almost finished it and have purchased a replacement. I also got this little one. I am surprised at how excited I am about this little one. Over the years I have worked big and bigger. Any book, no matter how large it was, wasn't big enough and I felt limited. Then the last few years I have gradually down-sized, but I am surprised at how small I want to go! I do have a 170cm x 60cm work to go in my exhibition, but I also have a series of seven small 8cm square canvases as well.

I won't be posting any images of works for my exhibition until they are safely on the wall. (Check my Archives for the May post "Carnival Clown" - it was the first of these works.) Yes, I'm still painting! But it is going well, just finishing off really... although there are those other ones I still want to do....