'Mums

Today is grey and damp - a horrid mizzle in the air - scuppering my plans to go out with my camera - but never mind, I am definitely in a better mood than yesterday morning, although by the end of the day I was cheered. Today I have played with paints and ideas for actually painting on a canvas. It is so cheap to buy stretched canvases these days, I have got them from B&Q and and from Dunelm. They are probably knocked up in a Chinese sweatshop (but I won't think about that today) I have gessoed my canvas and added a layer of paint and now must wait for it to thoroughly dry. I have aims to develop my thistle head idea from here
Here I have posted a drawing of a bunch of chrysanthemums I did several years ago, which I always liked when I came across it in a trawl through my sketchbooks. So I thought I'd give it a second life and cut round the drawing and stuck it on a prepared background in my art journal embellished with a bit of stencilling from sequin waste - a mainstay for art journal creators.
Chrysanthemums in October always make me think of my poor old mum, who spent her last few years in a nursing home, where she was cared for with much consideration. Her birthday was in October and she always seemed to have chrysanths on her windowsill through out the winter months. So these are for her.

Let go

It is such a lovely morning and yet my body is feeling it's age plus - I want to go out make the most of the mild weather and beautiful sunshine, but my body says curl up with a book. Sometimes we just have to let go, stop trying to control our lives. I shall sit indoors and look out at the garden, may be with my sketch book, may be not. Appreciate not having to go to work, appreciate being able to go with the flow and relax rather than making myself feel I ought to be out gardening or walking or something active. This is what I am learning to do... there will be another sunny day, let it go, it doesn't matter.

Time to move

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Autumn

Let me share this with you, I have been working on it, on and off for a couple of weeks;  paint, collage, colours pens etc.

I feel qute odd about creating images like this which are rather sentimental and decorative rather than what I consider to be 'real art'.  I love doing it, but feel very inhibited for somehow I feel it is less worthy than more serious work. This is my dilema - and it is self imposed, because I can do what I like, but I feel that out there are unknown critics who will laugh at me, does anyone know what I mean?  However the most important thing is I enjoy doing it and I hope you enjoy a view.

By the way - I love Autumn, especially when it is being as kind to us as this year.

Overheard

Year 4 are having a special visit to the Road Safety centre for some invaluable lessons about keeping themselves safe.  There are several police officers to welcome them, they are part of the education team.  Chantelle is holding onto her teacher's hand, she is excited, she doesn't get to go out to places much and 'Miss' likes to encourage her and keep a special eye on her.  As they go into the centre Chantelle becomes even more excited,
"Miss, miss, look!" she implores her teacher.
"What is it Chantelle?"
"That policeman Miss, I know him."
"Do you Chantelle, are you sure?" Miss asks.
"Yes Miss, I recognise him, he arrested my Mum! For swearing at him!"

A recent story from the school where I taught for so many years - there was enough material for endless blogs, some funny, some sad, and some enough to make you mad!!
I thought I'd share this little gem with you. 

(Unrelated police officer I photographed at this year's carnival)

Work in progress

I loved these musk thistles I photographed last month.  They are so viciously spiny and yet thistledown is so soft. I am working on some ideas.

This is my first sketch - pigment liner and colour pencil

and this is what I am working on at the moment which I thought I'd share

acrylic with some gel pen. It could be left like this or I may work in creating more textures. I like to live with something a few days.

An invitation to see my etchings

I had a wonderful day at an etching workshop run by Karen Cameron at Great Linford Arts Workshop which is in Milton Keynes. So let me take you through my day.

I decided to use the sketch I had made of some echinacea which I have already posted in my blog

here. So here I am revealing the first print from my plate...

... and here it is

 (if you click on it you can see all the detail)

I haven't explained stage two, which means covering the plate with a soft wax and then adding some texture. I experimented with pressing some leaves and fibres into the soft ground and making sure the flowers were masked, gave it another acid bath.  Here is the plate inked up.

You can see the textured surface, which resulted in this print...

I had such a great time I decided to go again.

Here's my friend Sally who told me all about the course, working on her plate...

and here is Karen (on the left) and another view of the workshop. It is in a wonderful setting and Karen was a great tutor, inspiring and instilling confidence.