#1367 theoldmortuary ponders.

Yesterday’s hunt for a particular sketch threw up a huge pile of unfinished paintings. Of course it did not throw up the piece I was looking for.But I found a missing stache of unused paper. The big summer tidy up was effective but not entirely logical. I had a good couple of hours weaving 2 Gelli prints together. They were prints one and two of an experimental seascape.

Not hugely interesting on their own they take a much more powerful stance as a woven collage.

I popped into a craft shop to collect some sepia ink. In a quiet corner someone had written.

“Stick it before you knock it”

A sensible woman, experimenting with paper weaving should have seen that for what it was.

There was knocking, of course there was, but knocking loosened up my weave, which actually improved things. But by then the dark evening was upon me and dogs needed walking.

Goodness I am a grumpy bitch about early dark evenings, but a very bright first quarter moon was out and about to improve my mood. Reflected in the tidal pool. Of course I took a picture.

Which I then superimposed over the woven prints.

Which at least gives me an idea for where this experiment can go. But for today I will be gluing like a demon.

Stick with me, blog friends!

#1366 theoldmortuary ponders.

Unknown to me until this morning the 29th of October has been an arty day often. Facebook memories reminded me of four exhibitions that I have taken part in.

Be the Flamingo in a flock of Pigeons.

Also 7 years ago I went to see Grayson Perry in Birmingham. A funny coincidence because I also went to see him 3 days ago in Truro.

Today was always going to be arty as I needed to hunt down a sketch that had been cleared away since the annual summer tidy up. Then I met a fellow artist while I was walking the dogs and we had a bit of an arty natter.

But the actual project of the day , finding the sketch has failed. Instead loads of colour exercises were dug out of files. The mess they created on the spare bed has shamed me into finding a way to use them up in collage and paper weaving projects.

29th of Artober, who knew?

#1353 theoldmortuary ponders.

I am having a bit of a creative experimentation phase using watercolour, weaving and collage. The colours of the sea around us are constantly changing and I photograph and paint them often, mostly as never to be seen ideas on paper.

This image started life as a storm picture, the colours featured are the sea, old military concrete, rust and vivid seaweed all tossed about in the sea . Then I chopped A3 paper down to A4 and used the cut off pre-painted paper to weave into the A4  and made a weaved image to collage onto the A4. Sheet.  There is a curious pleasure in destroying an image to create a new and unexpected one. I like the sense of unity that my mark making on the original sheet brings to the new weaved image. I like that there are now 3 or 4 layers all telling the same story but in a very different way.

My original was just swirling wave forms but the woven piece almost tells a more accurate account. This is not an area of gentle sandy beaches and murmuring flisvos.

Waves don’t often hit our shores gently and  there is more concrete than sand. This area has been a port for more than 1,000 years. Waves slap hard against cliffs and man-made structures which are built to be resilient. The collision of water and hard surfaces is the soundtrack of a walk by the sea. The sharp angles and abrupt colour changes of the woven areas are a good reflection of the sound and sensations of being at one with the sea in an area that is not completely natural and unspoilt. A little arty, digital tinkering makes me want to try this again.

But for now it is just a fabulous design for a stained glass window.

#1331 theoldmortuary ponders.

Our Autumn Equinox performed pretty well yesterday. Our 12 hours of daylight were sun-filled with just a hint of chill.

And if natural sun were not enough we popped along to Devonport Market Hall to see Helios an installation by Luke Jerram.Featuring a giant orb, representing the sun and an ambient soundtrack that represents many of the cultural, social and science impacts that the sun has on humanity around the world.

Bean bags and chairs are provided for static appreciation and the architecture of the Market Hall encourages  360 degree viewpoints.

I managed to get one of my complicated images. Which has half of my body balanced on a table and plugged into the mains via a socket extension. A dangerous position to be in, if it wasn’t just a trick of many lights.

12 hours filled with sunlight of different sorts. My final moment of sun worship was a little on the chilly side but worth the cold to spend time swimming towards the setting sun.

Helios is free to visit at the Market Hall, Devonport. Open daily until Sunday 28th September.

#1320 theoldmortuary ponders

Friday already and a fabulous bouncy bob at high tide.

Nothing starts the day better than a challenging swim in a very well-understood and respected bay.

There is a turn in the weather so on our return I decided to do some autumn chores in the yard. I was energised for action by the splash and bounce of the sea.

Before loading the garage with summer paraphernalia I collected a stored portrait. A friend and I plan to have a good old natter about the experience of having our portraits painted. My two were painted 10 years apart and I have never before viewed them together.

© Steve Fuller.
© Peter Orrick

I had no idea they had both chosen almost identical colour palates.

Seeing them together and again is a curious feeling.

If I posed now the hair would be grey, the black garment would be a swimming costume and the deep jewel red would be a towel or robe. Cold water swimming is my superpower, I wish those younger women had done it because it really gets me through the tough days. And those two younger versions of me had some really tough days.

#1365 theoldmortuary ponders

©Anne Bobber

Mythical creatures on a mystical night. We camped overnight under a full moon and read books about mythical creatures.

As luck would have it the mythical creature in the book was a Leviathan which we had visited earlier in the day.

Overlooking Plymouth Sound for overnight camping we were not troubled by the low sad songs of unhappy Leviathans. Instead they jumped and frolicked in the bright moonlight which was untroubled by clouds or any other weather predicament.

The Leviathan and a full moon at Stonehouse
The Leviathan and Plymouth Hoe

It helps, of course, that Nana drew a Leviathan a few years ago.

#1341 theoldmortuary ponders.

What bothers you and why?

It has been a blisteringly hot week. I have always been a lover of hot weather but as I have aged my tolerance is reducing. I have a new understanding of seeking out shade, a light breeze, avoiding the hottest parts of the day and sun hats. Sleeping at home daily has become like the giddy first nights of a holiday trying to adjust to flimsy bed coverings.

Abroad I love the abstract shapes that sheets form after a night of fitful sleep in a foreign climate.

This week I have had abstraction at home.

Which I agree does not look all that exciting, but by reducing the detail and adding some colour my bed looks like a sculpture.

Something I might never had discovered if my tolerance for heat had not diminished. So maybe I am not so bothered after all.

Is that why the Italians in particular are so brilliant at creating folds of fabric from marble. Bright Sunlight and folds of bed linen every morning  before they even get up.

#1298 theoldmortuary ponders.

Yesterdays blog about my collection of water colours prompted a bit of digging around in art folders.

#1297 theoldmortuary ponders.

I always thought this failed attempt at a colour wheel looked a little like a Phoenix from the side .

Combining her with a pigment tray from the near the Vatican and some printing experiments has been interesting.

I think I like her best as a dark disco creature.

The reason for all this artistic time wasting, is that for once I am as prepped as I can be for the next art exhibition. The original works are ready and framed. I have done my experimental print run, and am now just waiting for the real print run to be done. The mounts and envelopes are in the studio. Everything is poised for the next flurry of activity, but creatively I am at an impasse. So footling about with some odds and ends was quite cathartic. I might even have rinsed JMW Turner out of my head.

Or maybe not.

#1294 theoldmortuary ponders

Over the weekend I believe I finished my project of creating art inspired by the work of JMW Turner and his locations. I have been focussed on that for about 6 weeks. Doubtless some of the stuff I have learned along the way will stick with me. The random technique that I really like is staining watercolour paper with cold tea. So here are some tiny tomatoes in the saucer of a blue glass cup and saucer caught in sunlight. Nothing Turneresque about it apart from tea stained paper.  To be clear Turner did not dye his paper with tea but it was an option to create paper that was more authentically matched to watercolour paper of 200 years ago. I might also try bolder colours like beetroot or turmeric.

Watch this space.

#1278 theoldmortuary ponders.

A waterfall in parkland.

Just a waterfall in the English countryside, below a pond.

With a glass shute that humans and cows can walk under.

And a message.

If people, or cows for that matter, for just one minute, allowed Modern Art to get into their heads rather than allowing it to flow over their heads, the world would be a very different place for them.

Or maybe significantly different. Not so likely for the cows.

5 minutes is all it takes at Delamore Arts. Staying longer is even more interesting.

https://g.co/kgs/YEDj8mw