Women In Art

This is quite an old clip but really lovely....

Exploring a theme....

 In the previous post I spoke about exploring a favourite subject or trying different formats. Here are 4 works all derived from the same reference photo. A very typical summer scene in the area where I live. I felt the need to explore it further as I love the combination of elements & the feeling it gives me 

This vertical panel 34cm x 72cm was the first in the series & I wanted to explore the range of clouds & I wanted to attempt to show the tree on the left being buffeted by the wind (See close up below)

Close up of above

This piece 23cm x 30 cm I think may well have been started before the previous picture .... It started out as a demonstration piece showing a rough, quick & fairly minimal under painting in gouache. It then sat for quite a long time gathering dust until I decided to finish it off.

This large piece 67.5cm x 47.5cm is a tighter crop than the above piece & more highly refined

This smaller piece 18.5cm x 18.5cm explores the scene in a tight square format.

May....

Oh my gosh  here it is May...... where did the time go? Didn't think it was quite so long since my last post but have had school holidays & a multitude of horse events to attend with daughter..... Very little time spent in the studio...sigh.

Have managed to do a little work. Here, a small commission & it's tonal study. It is a subject I have painted before but from a slightly different aspect, time of day & season. I think it worthy of a larger work than this tiny piece.

Tonal study



Rolfe Road Study

 I have favourite places & areas  I love to revisit from time to time. The light can be different or it can be painted from a different aspect or in a different format. I enjoy the challenge of revisiting a subject & exploring it further or in a different manner  (but I get very bored with making clones, I won't do that). Sometimes I will zero in on an area of a larger subject to explore it  further, often in a different format.

Larger earlier work "Rolfe Road"



Further down the road.... "Yellow Box Trees, Rolfe Road "



Odds & Ends....

Several weeks later & what felt like hours of filling & I thought I was making headway with filling my travel box. When I compare this photo to the previous one however, I haven't made much of an impression......On the upside I have almost filled one side!

On another note, recently finished paintings....





Micalong Gorge, Wee Jasper



Road to Wee Jasper II

 


This is the commission piece from an earlier blog finished

 


Don't seem to have had much uninterrupted time the last few weeks only short spurts of activity. Looking forward to a big day in the studio today but that didn't happen. Damn !

Class Paintout

I took my two classes to the National Botanic Gardens yesterday. Perfect weather & lovely subjects at every turn. Some snaps....



Up close - Water Dragon



Sketching grasses



Water Dragon again



Leaf Litter



Tree fern



Sketching in the gardens

 

Beautiful bark

 

Beautiful trees



The DVD Saga.....

 A little over a year ago I began production of a series of instructional DVDs. My nephew  Max from Queensland was doing the filming & production for me. At the time he was available to do the filming I had two exhibitions looming back to back. I found it impossible to concentrate on filming the series & paint for two exhibitions so we called a halt to proceedings, he returned home & I painted furiously. After the exhibitions were done Max was married & also as an aspiring actor gained a part in the ABC production Brides of War so was a little pre-occupied. Then there were more acting roles & before we knew it a year had elapsed.... Today I received some rough drafts of the first DVD working title 'Getting started with Pastel'. Yay we are getting closer to having a finished product. Here are some stills !





Filming

 

The back of my head

    

My hand & my left cheek

   

My right ear



Me looking resentfully at the camera

  

Me looking at the camera sort of nicely





The travel box saga .....

Several months ago I purchased a lovely pastel travel box from Dakota Pastels.

  I was so excited when it arrived & I could hardly wait to fill it up. I was very busy at that point so wasn't able to begin arranging my pastels in it for several weeks. When I finally did begin the process I realised what a mammoth task it was.  I didn't want to use full sticks just pieces about 1 cm long because that is about the size I like to work with. I also wanted to keep a record of what pastels I had put in for ease of replacement.  I put in the blues I thought I would need when I realised that what I thought was just a medium sized box was going to take a whole lot more pastel pieces than I anticipated. Oh no & the job was quite onerous....not to mention boring & I am easily distracted.... I started on the greens then put the job in the too hard basket for several months but have just resumed the task of filling this cavernous box & recording what went where. By my rough calculations I am looking at about 430 pastel colours to fill this thing. I must admit it is nice seeing all the colours side by side rather than spread out in different sets. It makes it much easier to select colours & I'm discovering colours I don't use because have forgotten I own them. Well 5 or 6months later I am almost finished the greens (but still haven't finished the blues).....



The story so far



At some point this year I may finally finish filling this box.....  or I could just take it out & use it half empty....but what a waste !

 I was going to set to work this morning & fill some more but instead I weeded the vegetable garden ! Secretly all I want to do is paint....



Freshly weeded vegetable garden which, unlike my travel box looks loved !



Once I've filled the travel box  I need to re think how I arrange my working sets in the studio...oh joy...not!