First Commissions!

In early October, I was commissioned for the first time to do two paintings - one of a ruin and the other of Ashiestiel Bridge. I was really excited by the prospect of taking these commissions on.

For both of these, I started by going out and taking lots of photos for reference in terms of colour and light etc. Getting photos of Elibank Castle took around an hour whereas getting photos of Ashiestiel Bridge took around half to three-quarters of an hour.

I then sketched the composition I wanted, added the colour (Inktense pencils), applied the water - making sure that colours which weren't supposed to run/bleed didn't, by allowing plenty of drying time between adjacent sections.

For the Elibank painting, I decided that the castle walls were too pale considering they were mostly in shadow, so I used drawing ink to make some areas darker and to create the shadows seen through the windows and 'door'. When everything was dry, I used fine liner pen to add detail to the bracken, brickwork and fence.

I am really pleased with this painting, particularly the grass detail and the brickwork. I also really like the effect created by using the blue in the background hills because I think it makes them look slightly further away, giving more depth/distance to the painting.

For the Ashiestiel Bridge painting, I chose a view of the bridge that used trees to frame the picture. I think the overhanging branches add detail to the foreground. When I did this painting the leaves were only starting to change colour which is why only the two trees on the left of the bridge are autumn colours. For the river itself, I wanted it to show the ripples etc and the reflective qualities of the water. As I applied the water, some patches of the canvas board resisted the colour/water and I really like the river effect it created as it gives an impression of the moving water. While the base colour for the grass was still damp, I used the inktense pencil to give the grass detail and texture. Once everything was completely dry, I used fineliner pen to give the leaves on the overhanging branches a rough shape.

Overall, I'm pleased with this painting and I think the colour of the heathery hill helps bring out the autumn leaves. I really like the river effect and am pleased with the detail in the grass and the brickwork on the bridge.

Highland Holiday Artwork 2016

This year we were away for just under three weeks and again I managed to do some artwork.  We also had our American friends staying with us for 9 days which was great fun as the last time we saw them was 2010.

Here are some of the paintings I did, using Inktense pencils and waterbrushes.

Duncansby Stacks

St Callan's through Rose Bush

Balnakiel caves from Sand Dunes

I was really pleased with these drawings and particularly like the textures of the grasses and trees.

I also experimented a lot with photographing the water in burns, rivers and waterfalls. Here are some of the results:

 

 I found it really interesting how even the smallest change in exposure affected the image. I really like the photos where you can see some of the droplets from the ripples in the burn. I also like the softer focus which I think suggests the speed and energy of the water.

I look forward to experimenting more with this technique and trying to develop it further.

Post College Artwork

Over the last few weeks, I have used some canvas boards to do some paintings and I am really pleased with how they turned out. I used Inktense pencils and water-brushes, and in a few of them, I also used oil pastels to add the white waves to the sea.

I did two views of Balnakiel Bay, a view of Cullen Bay and a bog iris. The measurements are the sizes that the canvas boards were listed as when we bought them.

Balnakiel Bay
18x24 cm

Balnakiel Bay
20x24 inches

View of Cullen Bay
10x8 inches

Bog Iris

18x24 cm

I really like these paintings, particularly the larger view of Balnakiel Bay which I decided to give to my parents as a small "thank you" for everything they have done for me and my sisters. I think my favourite part is the variety of blues in the sea and the texture I managed to achieve for the grass in the foreground.

Extended Specialist Techniques: Final Piece

This unit was one of the units we did in the first half of this year and I continued using recycled materials as I did last year for Exploring Specialist Techniques, to make different items of jewellery.

For my final piece, I made a necklace using metal bottle caps with photos of some of my memories and fears in them. I used Epoxy domes to protect and secure the images.

Some of the photos I used were of some drawings that I have done, some places I have been and people who are either family or friends.

I was really pleased with this necklace and might try to make other items like this in the future.

National Gallery of Modern Art 2

Today we went to the National Gallery of Modern Art to see "Modern Scottish Women" (MSW) and "Surreal Encounters". Both exhibitions were interesting in their own way but I particularly liked one of the paintings from the MSW exhibit.

Josephine Haswell Miller (1890-1975) painted "Memories of the Sea" in 1936 using oil on board. There was a description with it which said:
"It is a calm, reflective study clearly expressed in cool tonalities that typify the artists work of the period."
It also said she was "fiercly self-critical and destroyed much of her work" but she "must have been pleased with this piece" as it was exhibited in 1936, 1937 and 1939. In 1938, she was the first woman to be elected an Associate member of the Royal Scottish Academy.

I love the colours in this painting, especially the combination of the blues and pinky-red colours. I also love the detail in the shells and other items throughout the painting, as I think it adds to the overall impact of the piece. I think the details in the map and the markings on the shells are incredible and give the painting more interest.

I really liked this painting and I think it was partly because some of the shells she used were similar to ones that I drew for part of my higher coursework. I enjoy drawing shells and other beach-found objects, e.g. driftwood, etc. and I hope to be able to include them more in my work in the future.

FMP: Evaluating the Final Piece

This is my final piece:

In the exhibition, I have post-its for the public to write their comments on, to help me evaluate my final piece.

Please comment below to help me evaluate the piece.

Papermaking: Finished Piece

For my final piece for this unit, I decided to make an artist book using a variety of pulps and some different printmaking techniques. I have also used a sewing machine to add some stitching to a few of the pages.

I am really pleased with my final piece because I think it shows the versatility of handmade paper as a medium. I also think it is very powerful because it starts with the heartbeat through the thumbprint as though the pulse was beating strongly and the pages in between show a variety of uses of the handmade paper showing different stitches and prints, finishing on the last page with a flat-line representing the end of the book, instead of the words "The End".

FMP: Final Piece

For my final piece, I decided to use multiple decoupages because after thinking about which places have impacted my identity, I realised that it takes a combination of places to create someone's identity.

In my final piece, I have used 14 locations as subject matter which I think reflect the 14 years since my family moved to Scotland. Some of the places I have used are Yair Bridge, Ashiestiel Bridge, Trotternish Art Gallery, St Callan's Church, Balnakiel Bay and Ravens Rock.

This is my final piece:

I am really pleased with the finished product as it captures all the places that I feel have impacted my identity, and it gives me a unique memento of these places altogether.

This final piece plus other items mentioned in some of my other posts can be seen at the Borders College, Galashiels, Art Exhibition, which is open to the public from Wednesday 8th June to Friday 10th June inclusive. Do feel free to come along...

Papermaking: Final Preparations

For my final piece I am hoping to make an artists book using a variety of handmade papers and using handprints, different stitching techniques and an enlarged linocut of my thumbprint.

I have printed some sheets with the thumb- and hand-prints and I am really pleased with how they turned out. I really like the personal connection created by using my fingerprint.

close up of handprint

I have also tried some different stitches (both by hand and with a sewing machine) to see what effects I could achieve. However the handmade paper didn't like very many of the machine stitches I wanted to use and it even tore when I did plain hand stitching.



I had to use tape on the back to keep the "wave" stitch in the paper  because it had completely torn the paper around it.

 

I tried to stitch a bee onto the paper but the thread was very fine and the needle just tore the paper.

 

back of stitched "bee" showing torn paper

I decided to do a linocut  to add the bees, instead of trying to stitch them and I think they worked really well.

I also tried hand stitching a chain and anchor onto a piece of paper with words from the "Mermaid" story we illustrated. I think it turned out really well and it didn't tear even though I used wool so I am very pleased with it. (There is a slight tear which occurred when I separated the damp sheets of paper so that they would dry quicker).

I am really pleased with these pages and hope to be able to use most of them in my final piece. I still need to figure out how I am going to bind the pages together though - any ideas?