Finished Rainbow Warrior. Finished exhibition.

Finished - Rainbow Warrior'

47 x 37 cm.

Well...after 7 months I've finally laid down the pens on this one! i'm utterly tired of it. This of course is not unusual...after staring at it, being familiar with almost every dot, I'm ready not to see it for some time. the practise almost always bears out , that when I finish a large piece, it goes away safely where I'm not going to see it. My work over the last few years gets the same treatment..secreted away down at the side of the wardrobe. Having returned to images such as 'Three graces with two headed lamb' 'Lectern' 'Museic' 'Viscount Bubbles' I'm happy to say I'm really satisfied with them now (despite the uneasy nature of their messages)

The swifts are summer visitors here in England...they fly from north Africa each year to breed...they always return to the same nests...they always arrive in the first week of May, and fly back to Africa in August. My Dad used to point them out...he was an incredibly experienced ornithologist who who was a lover of nature. He used tell my brother and I about their journey...the fact that they never land apart from to lay their eggs and incubate them...they eat, mate and sleep in flight.

The above photo and the one below I took using my self timer on the camera. I'm at the gallery in Cromford. Below i've just finished clearing my work out...sweeping the floor and leaving the place the way I found it. I find the end of an exhibition a sad business. I've sat for a week, surrounded by work that had in many cases been the product of deeply emotive issues...if not the subject, the things of life that happened during their creation. I meet people I love...I meet strangers...I have wonderfully amazingly inspiring and encouraging conversations, not to mention the drive home through beautiful Derbyshire countryside. the gallery is with my work in is like my life...my self...the known and the hidden on display. I'm vulnerable, but I'm the master of my work...my expression.

Today I sat...in the peace and quiet, sad for it to be ended, but happy...happy with some special memories...of a very beautiful day yesterday. 

now...what next?

Rainbow Warrior - 46 Day four of exhibition

Progressing well...I thought I might finish today, but it's going be tomorrow now (or Thursday) . I've begun work on the swifts which you can see in the picture below...I love swifts and always look out for their arrival in the first week of May. I want to have a cloud of them flying across the sky behind me...I need to introduce a few more varied poses to break up the uniformity of their flight pattern. 

Below you cans see how the whole composition is working...I quite like the fact that it contains a photorealistic self portrait but stylised other elements.

today I had a nice surprise when a customer bought one of my non-hyperpointillist artworks. A line drawing in Ink,I'd created it for my fist Willington Arts Festival back in 2007 (I think). It was sold to someone I didn't know. always a good feeling to sell an original! :)

During this afternoon it rain a little, a visitor to my exhibition told me that there was a lovely Rainbow...so since I was working on Rainbow Warrior, AND I was wearing the jumper featured in that picture I snapped a couple of shots. I love rainbows (especially in one of my 'happy places')..that's why I'm grinning like an idiot!

Rainbow Warrior - 45 (nearly finished!)

 Apart from the cold, I really enjoyed my time at the day three of my exhibition in Cromford.I only had 33 visitors during the day, so this afforded me the opportunity to spend a good chunk of time working. I made a practice version of the figure you see here. (She is carrying the Moon )....before I felt able to work on the final version on the actual drawing. As the second to last piece of the composition, it was import and I didn't make a mess of it at this stage. Tomorrow I may very well finish....my final addition to the picture is a wavy flight of swifts in the sky....snaking their way from left to right. I'm really looking forward to doing that, as it's been an element I've planned from the very beginning, and will bring this project to an end.

Rainbow Warrior - 44. Cromford Exhibition day 2

 I had an interesting day at my exhibition...I've been learning some lessons too. The last time I exhibited at the Arkwright mills gallery in April, it was the most financially successful exhibition i've ever had...and was guilty expecting this one to get off to the same start as the last one did...how wrong I was....and therein lies the lesson. I never take for granted the uniqueness of my gift/ talent...and although I have a pressing need to earn money like never before, I still have to bring myself back to the main point of why I do what I do. The simple reason is that how can I not?....It is a deep need...an aching need at times to create images that express what, who and why I am...the things I have to say, the observations I make about myself and the world I try to make sense of. The fundamentally makes me happy and fulfilled. Showing my work and connecting with other humans is a big part in the whole process and knowing that having seen my work and how I work, many many individuals leave with a more enlightened view of art..themselves and the world around them makes me incredibly happy and humble. It might seem a little false to say that financial benefit is a nice bonus in that process...but recieving the fruits of my labour in financial terms is also a big part of what I do.

Sadly this element is often and usually the last to be forthcoming. So today it was very good to reach the amount of earnings that means the gallery hire is now accounted for.Excellent!

Here is the current state of Rainbow Warrior...I've worked well on it today and all being well, I should finish it this week! (apologies for the rather yellow tone of the photos, this was the reaction of my camera to the fluorescent lighting)

Two finished minipix and Rainbow Warrior progress.

Time seems to fly by between posts here these days. I do apologise. At time of writing, I'm at the start of a three week solo exhibition in my home town of Derby. Furthest From The Sea are an arts organisation representing Musicians, poets, comedians and artists in the Derby area. Based inside the Victorian Market Hall in the city centre, there are studio facilities and a performance/ exhibition area. Something which has been lacking in our city.

There is so much more to write about FFTS, but suffice it to say, I'm incredibly grateful to them for inviting me to show my work....lovely people! Anyway, in anticipation of the show, I've produced a couple of new minipix...here's the finished Crow and a new piece finished yesterday imaginatively entitled 'Blue Tree Cold'. In my mind, I'm producing one of these each day, in reality I've not. Still...there will be more in the coming weeks and I'm not short of ideas.

 

Below is the progress on Rainbow Warrior, today I worked on the smoke from the train, the sky and the lighthouse on the island. the colour reproduction here is not good, in reality it's a lot warmer. I'll be away for a couple of days, but back in the gallery on Saturday, I'll try to include a series of photos showing the gallery then.

Rainbow Warrior - 42

 Have spent a lot of time working towards the final stages of this piece. With the Wirksworth Festival just over a week away, I want to have this piece ready to finish at the festival...my aim way back in March was to finish in September...and this I will do. In the meantime I've got a couple of pictures to frame...and I also have yet to visit my exhibition venue...it's in a school...I'm still waiting for the Headmistress to get back to me to arrange a time.

Below you can see the overall view...I had stated that I'd finished the lower right hand corner yesterday, but spent the majority of today strengthening the yellow hues of the sky and viaduct...I've added yellow not only to the sky near to the horizon, but all the way up the the top of the picture....(trust me!). I've also penciled in the continuation of the viaduct over to the left. Observant ones will also notice that I've added shadow to the base of the seagull I'm holding. There is further toning to do on the body of the Gull.

Below is a close up ...I've managed to reduce the visible white by applying lemon yellow...I've added quite a bit of it to the sky between the clouds..the effect I'm looking for is to bring the viaduct out slightly and improve the overall atmosphere giving a more natural feel. the left hand area will feature almost a mirror image of this side regarding the viaduct and train, heading in the opposite direction you'll be left wondering whether it's two trains passing or infact the same train with locomotives pulling in the opposite direction.

I have yet to decide if I'm going to add some kind of vessel into the sea, or perhaps something altogether unexpected....(stay tuned! ). I'm generally pleased with progress and I'm enjoying the overall feel of the piece...i'm already thinking beyond the finish time to the next project. With a series of exhibitions coming up, I need to create a new selection of affordable works to sell. I want to move beyond the predictable minipix of old and introduce  more surreal/symbolic themes. Either way, read all about it here or on my Face book fan page!

Rainbow Warrior - 41

 Here a re a few shots showing the development of the scene involving the viaduct/ steam train and sea....I would particularly like to draw your attention to the way I'm adding in Yellow Ochre...I was chatting on the phone to someone explaining how I think of it as the 'magic colour'...bringing a sense of reality to a scene....sadly I don't think my rendering of the ocean waves is anywhere close to what i'd like do......so you will see the beginning of a section of grass that will hopefully disguise my shortcomings in the Sea department! (bottom photo)

Rainbow Warrior - 40

I'm back to work after a relaxing week away. Today I'm concentrating on developing the appearance of the sea and sky.My favourite part is when I begin to add the yellow ochre....you can see how I've drawn a strip at the right .....

In other news, it's not long now until the Wirksworth Arts Festival in September. I have to visit the venue in which i'll be exhibiting. I hope to do this later this week or early next week. More details when I have them!

Rainbow Warrior - 39

 I'm slowly reaching the effect I want with this scene. I have no reference to work from so I'm making it up...I realised that the steam from the locomotive was a little lost in the light blue sky, so I decided to add darker clouds to bring about a better contrast ( see below)...I will eventually add lots of yellow ochre woich will bring a glow to the whole scene, especially the brick work of the viaduct as it's bathed in that characteristic low amber sunshine that accompanies the rain and dark background.

I've also added in a small fishing boat surrounded by a flock of sea gulls.I'm quite enjoying this at the moment.

Rainbow Warrior - 38

Hello, it's me again! I wish I was at liberty to tell you about all the things happening in my life at the moment.Suffice it to say that I'm happier than I've been in years and embarking on a new journey. More about that another time.....(I hate having happy secrets...I want to tell everyone)

Today I've begun work on the viaduct and steam train...a long running theme in my work...journeys...destinies....I will never tire of the wonder of  railway station, the meeting place and transit base for myriads of lives...lovers out for a day at a gallery...someone on the way to the hospital to visit a dying relative...someone leaving home for the first time....a family on the way to the zoo....who can tell, but they're all there!

This viaduct is embedded in the sea...the sea represents life to me...pair it with the destiny and direction of the train...the solidity of the conduit....the addition of the gull, pens, ring and rainbow....you might glimpse a little of the meaning....and hopefully you'll come up with something special....perhaps you could share you finds with me and my readers. i love it when that happens!

Rainbow Warrior - 37

Gradually managing to block in the sky...not sure I intended it to look like this, but hey!...it's looking satisfactory. It's a shame that I'm losing touch with the blogging world at the moment....and if as a regular reader of this page, you're one of the dear friends of years past, I can only apologise... Face book seems to be all consuming... The truth is my life is changing...evolving...I find myself standing in unchartered waters...not always a pleasurable experience, but certainly one's eyes have been opened..and currently I'm at a happier and more peaceful harbour than I've enjoyed for many a year..unfortunately this means certain factors contained in this piece have changed their significance...( always a danger when a piece takes up to 6 months to complete!) .But as always...every picture tells a story...and this story is mine...and it's being written with each dot and day.

Rainbow Warrior - 36

Today's progress involved the clouds...I've deepened the shade of the sky behind my head to highlight the star. I have also finished the hair!

Rainbow Warrior - 35

I have hair!! 

Hello...it seems ages since I last posted here. So much has happened since last time...not least of which was ( for me ) probably one of the best Wimbledon finals weekends ever. I had two of my favourite Ladies in the final which was won by French number one, Marion Bartoli, and of course Andy Murray became the first British winner of the men's title for 77 years! what a great time I had!! 

I've also been in hospital for a planned operation from which i'm recovering well. spending time working has beeen the one thing I've been able to do, so I've put time in to give the back ground a little more substance. the photo below shows the ares immediately behind me over my shoulders is mad up of a graded layer of  purple then red and then light blue. The overall density of this area will be adjusted at a later date as will the addition of yellow ochre.

I've also been looking for work...a few good leads have surfaced then been swept away. It seems that my boss is guiding me continually towards making my living with my talent. To that end I received an unlooked for contact which has come good...more about it another time, but it means I have an opportunity to join with other artists in my home town to take part in art/craft/ makers fayres on a monthly basis. The journey continues!

Rainbow Warrior - 34

Readers will be pleased to note that I'm on the verge of giving myself some hair at long last....!

Rainbow Warrior - 33

Rainbow Warrior - 32

Rainbow Warrior - 31

Added the final layers of detail to the jumper before carefully placing green dots over virtually all the white spaces on the jumper between the blue and red dots.I'm quite happy with things as they stand, but I'll need to return to some of the shadows at a later date. The next stage is to begin work on the back ground and that rainbow!

Today we celebrated my son Sam's 21st Birthday. It's funny, because I can look back over all of his short life and recall just about every year. He still seems so young. but I became engaged to Janet on my 21st back in 1982! Oh how the perspective of the young is different to the more mature eh?!

Rainbow Warrior - 30

Seems a long time since I last posted here. It's odd really, because I've been writing this blog since way back in 2007. ..and have a few readers subscribing ...but nothing in comparison to the readership/ reach I have over on Face Book. I actually prefer the 'space' that writing here gives me, but have tended to scale back the depth of description as time has gone by. I guess it has a lot to do with my changing personal circumstance and the effect that it's having on me. 

Work has continued on my self portrait...I'm enjoying it still, but there is a lot of subtle stuff yet to do before i'm entirely happy with the sleeve. I decided earlier in the week not to bother trying to depict the stitch detail, but as I worked today for a long period, it became something that needed to be done...and so far it seems to have worked.

I managed a weekend away this week with my daughter Annie...we were guests of our good friends Alison and Mark, Josh and Freya in York. The picture below shows Annie and I at Sandsend enjoying a warm sunny day...ice cream was had and a visit to an art gallery made it a very enjoyable day. We then went on to Whitby where we enjoyed fish and chips overlooking the harbour. 

This weekend away actually constituted my summer holiday this year....what it lacked in length, it made up for in being able to see good friends old and new and relax. Good stuff!

Rainbow Warrior - 29

I've added the basic layer of Blue-Black (yes, that is the name of the ink I'm using!)  Detail of the stitches in the garment are beginning to be filled in. It's a tricky process which I hope will give a good effect. I'm also exaggerating the detail slightly from the way it appears in my reference photos, this is purely for effect and to hopefully increase the three dimensional appearance...I want the arms to appear as if they are reaching out to the viewer.

Rainbow Warrior - 28

I though you might like to see a picture which gives you some idea of the size of Rainbow Warrior. Work has sped up somewhat mainly due to the areas of light on the folds of the material. the next sleeve has many folds which are highlighted...so more of a challenge but should be quicker to complete.