Reflections

A very Happy (*Insert holiday here) to one and all and if you are celebrating it - a Happy New Year. 2013 should be a good one, the biggest news being that I am 13 weeks pregnant. Not sure how this is going to impact on the artistic stuff just yet but I promise to keep you in the loop about it all. It's due the 4th July, so we are looking forward to an Independence day baby with Lincoln Washington Touchdown NASCAR Noble being the name top of our list!

Its been bus here the last few weeks so I apologise for the later blog entry. We've been getting ready for Christmas and all the Chaos that surrounds it. Now its all over and we have just a few hours left of 2012 I thought I would take a moment to reflect on this year and what it has brought us, personally and professionally. 

We relocated back to the UK from Switzerland at the end of May, which was a massive change for us. We had made so many wonderful wonderful friends there and had made so many fun memories, it really was difficult to say goodbye. Over the 4 years we had been in Switzerland we had learned to snowboard and spent time in the French Alps and the beautiful countryside. We had our first addition to our family, Belle, our Golden Retriever. Husband's career got the boost it needed and enabled us to see that living in the UK was not the only way to live. We took great holidays around Europe, maximising our central location. We made some of the best friends we have, knowing we would keep them forever, wherever in the world either of us may be. And lastly, and rather importantly for this blog, I re-discovered my passion and thrill for painting and got the opportunity to develop it. So leaving Switzerland was not at all easy.

Heading back to the UK meant being closer to old friends and of course family, which has been wornderful. Its been so nice to re-connect with people we haven't seen for a while because life got in the way. Belle has settled into her new surroundings well, claiming the nearby forest as her own. Chasing rabbits, pheasants and the occasional deer and generally lording it over all the other dogs. Husband and I also settled well in our new (its 400 year old) home although there were a few new experiences and challenges which included a steep learning curve on how to cook on an AGA and heating solid stone walls - not so energy efficient as our last place...

I also got to set up a new studio in the house so I commandeered a bedroom and took up the carpets and now I am quite settled in my lovely new space. We have a nice daily routine whereby Belle and I head to the forest first thing, me for inspiration and thinking time, Belle for small rodent chasing. This helps me to get into the right headspace for the day ahead. I can work out what I need to accomplish and brainstorm any new ideas or concepts. We head back and I do some chores before heading up to the studio and zoning out.

Being away form Switzerland has forced me to think on some new ideas and so my India project has taken shape nicely, as well as some mixed media ideas and experiments. Being forced out of your comfort zone is a great exercise for artists and for anyone who enjoys indulging their creative side. If you haven't done it before, I urge you, as a new year's resolution, to try something different. Look at something a different way, take inspiration form someone so completely opposite to your style and see what you come up with. you never know until you try! I am having way more fun now I have the blinkers taken off me. I still love painting mountains and will continue to do so, but it doesn't mean I can't try other things besides. 

I have been lucky enough to continue my relationship with the Gallery in Verbier (www.nanuq-gallery.com) and so every now and then, pop back over to see how things are going, deliver a few more paintings etc. And of course catch up with all my girls on the latest goings-on! I am still trying to find an outlet for my work here in the UK as nothing seems to fit with my concept, although I have had some sales success via Saachi online, so I might just stick with them a bit longer. 

2013 is going to be another year packed with change and challenge as I work out how to balance motherhood and painting, however I am not particularly daunted by it as there are so many fantastic artists out there who balance parenthood and full-time work (some, singlehandedly) who I am totally inspired by. There will be a way, there always is if you want something badly enough. 

I wish you all a very happy, healthy 2013 and hope you can look forward to the new year's challenges and surprises with great anticipation and eagerness to see them through.

TWEET!

 So I received news today, via the world wide web, that my two pieces that I undertook and donated to the #TwitterArtExhibit have made it to L.A. safe and sound! They will be processed and curated with other pieces from around the world and will be made available to buy on the 12th January 2013, 7-10pm. 

Huzzah! If you are lucky enough to live or be in the city of L.A. between the 12th January and the 10th February, call in. The exhibit is being held at the Exhale Unlimited (E.U.) Gallery, 953 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

This year, each postcard will be sold for $35 a piece and the money raised will go to benefit Art Division, a nonprofit program for underserved youth (ages 18 – 25) showing commitment and passion for the visual arts. A worthy cause indeed.

Unfortunately my artist's travel allowance (!) wont cover a return flight and accommodation in L.A. so I wont be able to be there for the exhibition (Sad face). If any of you lucky ducks make it, I would love to hear from you. What you thought of it and any photographs of the exhibit you managed to take.

                          

                                  Photo courtesy of Fox News 

#Twitter Art Exhibit

Imagine my excitement when I read that I could be part of a huge international collaboration, pulling together artists from all over the world to exhibit in Los Angeles and (cherry on top...) it was all to raise money for great causes!! I'll explain...

Artists from all over the world are submitting tiny postcard sized works which will be curated in The Exhale Gallery, Los Angeles and sold for $35 a piece. The money raised will go to the nominated charities. Simple! 

Some very bright spark had the idea a few years ago and so far, this will be the third exhibition whereby a call to artists for entries is put out on Twitter. I saw the chatter from other artists I follow regarding what they planned to submit. I dug deeper and contacted the Twitter Art Exhibition directly to see what this was all about and if I was eligible to submit work.  But of course! Its open to everyone, but you must submit a one off piece and it has to be postcard sized (and on paper).

#TwitterArtExhibit

I thought long and hard about what I was going to submit because, as someone who likes to paint a mountain here and there (and it is representative of my work) it will not fit on a postcard and oil paints do not sit very well on paper. So that was out. So I decided to draw on the inspiration I have been getting from my latest project - Rajasthan!!

A photograph I completely love was taken in Jodhpur market and is of some tie-dyed cloth hanging over a bicycle to drip dry. I loved it the first time I saw it but could not get my head around how to best paint or draw it.

I decided to go down the acrylic route. This would speed drying times and would work on paper, plus I had the added bonus of being able to water them down slightly for a thinner (almost watercolour?) feel.

I was very pleased with the result and set about a second piece that was a sort of 'still life - Rajasthan style'. While we were at the palace in Johdpur, there was a fantastic display of Elephant Howders. These were the plush seats used to carry dignitaries (and the driver) on the back of an elephant. they were very popular during the 'British Raj' and got very ornate during this period. I thought it might be nice to have something a little unusual and stand alone on a postcard, so I painted that too. 

All finished, I packaged them up as carefully as possible, knowing their journey would be a long one and they may fall into the hands of a careless postie or two. I went to the post office, bought a 'DO NOT BEND' envelope and sent them on their way to L.A.  Fingers crossed they will get to their destination safe and sound and help raise $70 for a charity. 

The best part about this exhibit is its accessibility. It is open to everyone from anywhere and likewise, anyone can buy these little postcards. You may even get yourself a bargain! Many well known artists are submitting pieces so $35 might be a worthwhile investment.

A Brave New World

Forgive me for being slack with Blog, but I have been syphoning, filtering, distilling and swigging the creative juices. Despite the ongoing India project, I have been thinking on other ways I can communicate stuff in a visual and hopefully, pleasing-to-the-eye way.
On the weekend I was lucky enough to head back to Geneva for a catch up with some friends. The weekend was perfect but I was reminded how much I miss that part of the world and now with the ski season fast approaching, how much I was gong to miss the mountains this year. This kick started a few thought processes and on a run through the woods on Monday with Dog, I had a vision! Ok, maybe not as dramatic, an idea then. I had to get home and get it down before it flitted away.

My idea (vision!) was a mixed media piece - or multiple pieces. I have never done anything mixed media, apart from the odd cut and glue in primary school and a horrible failed attempt in year 10 of a model village type thing. Needless to say, I am untrained and unexperienced in this field of artistic expression, nevertheless, I was going to give this brave new world of mixed media a shot.

Im a bit of a do or die girl, once I have made my mind up to do something, I have to do it and there are very few circumstances that can assemble to reverse my thinking. This was no different. After 10 minutes I was already putting together the ingredients and items I would need to make it work. I dug around in the shed and found sand. I found some white acrylic paint I hadn't used for a year - that would do. Some wall filler from when we moved out of Geneva flat to give the paint a bulk and allow it to hold stuff. All I needed now was some glass...

Anyone who knows me knows that the Jayne in my name stands for "Calamity Jane". Precious or delicate things and I don't go well together. So smashing up glass bottles wouldn't be a problem for me, but dealing with all the tiny tiny shards afterwards was something of a risk.
Slamming a hammer into a glass bottle is awesome. Very good for stress levels, although make sure its properly wrapped up in a carrier bag and a tea towel. I decanted the shards and headed up to the studio where I entered into the world of mixed media!

My idea had formed when thinking about the beauty of the mountains. The fact that they reflect any colour around them, in the sky or water, so they can be any colour. The range of textures that exist, from soft powdery snow, to jagged rock peaks. Cavernous crevasses and grassy nulls. My work with palette knives had made me acutely aware of these textures and its always something people comment on with my work, so it was always sort of in the back of my mind.

But with this outstanding beauty, comes a very real and primitive danger. Regardless of how advanced we have become with our technology, nature still overpowers us and shows us who's boss every now and again, usually taking lives in the process. It was this juxtaposition of staggering beauty and unpredictable danger that led me to my idea (vision!). I wanted to try something abstract. These pieces are not supposed to be of this mountain, or that mountain, they are just inspired by the shapes, colours and textures of the mountains. The glass element is there to give beautiful colour and depth but also represents the danger of the mountains and the care and respect that must be taken in them.

So this is the result. Its the first of what I hope will be numerous pieces. How they will be received is one thing - how I am going to transport them is another. But I am truly excited about this new world of mixed media and the door its allowed me to creep through.

N.B. For those of you interested and/or particularly keen sighted, yes, they are re-cycled bottles. In fact, both gin bottles, one of which is Bombay Sapphire - such a lovely lovely blue colour, like the colour of glaciers! I can see I am going to have to buy a lot more Bombay sapphire, such a shame. 

The Art of Recycling

July saw me finishing off and framing a new batch of pieces and driving down to Geneva & Verbier to deliver my new work to Nanuq gallery, with a cheeky stopover to catch up with all the guys and gals I have missed so much in Geneva.  The trip was fab on so many levels. I was able to re-visit Verbier during the summertime, take some photographs at the top of Mont Fort, get another Vernissage under my belt, drive down and back - with some great company - through the beautiful French countryside, see all my friends whilst partying at the pre-fete and best of all I got to meet the two newest arrivals to Geneva, Poppy & Jake (Jake very kindly, after months of my urging and coercing, arrived two days before I was due to return to the UK, so I was able to meet the little man). It was, quite the July.  

So now the pieces are in the gallery, I wait for the sales to roll in. And wait....AND WAIT.. And I am still waiting. Unfortunately, this is the way the artist lives their life. No sales for ages, then a bunch at once. I am hoping they come before my death though, not wanting to go all Van Gough (although I have done the Absinthe thing, just not the ear thing, or the death thing yet...). Husband has had trouble adjusting to this way of getting income. We sink lots of money into high quality materials, framing, gallery, promo material etc and then there is nothing coming back at you, so it can, at times, be very frustrating. Although for a person with no patience whatsoever, I am showing great tolerance and even seeing flashes of a silver lining every now and again.

So I have run out of canvases. How can a painter work with nothing to paint on? Well, people paint on more than just canvas nowadays and technically I could paint on anything that oil paint sticks to, but canvases are easier and more portable which, I am sure, is why they have remained the surface of choice for artists all over the world since, god, I don't know, 1410? 

Looking around my studio, there are about 8 paintings that I have started but have either messed up to the point of no return, hate or both. they have languished in both studios, following me back to the UK whilst I decided what I could do with them and yesterday, I found the answer. I would re-cycle. I would strip the paint off the canvas and re-use it for something I wouldn't mess up or hate. 

My experiment yielded 2 results: Oil paint is much harder to get off a canvas than you could ever imagine and it is far easier and cheaper to buy new canvas.

Being a knife painter, I generally lay the paint on nice and thick (never thinking I would have to reverse the process at some later date). And then I add more. It means my paintings take ages (like, a year) to dry, but usually gives the finish I want. When stripping back, every layer is a nightmare. I used scalpel blades, stanley blades, sandpapers of various abrasiveness and turps. I soon re-evaluated my target to get all the paint off the canvas to, just get as much off as you can to give a smooth surface. It has taken me nearly 2 days and an almost broken shoulder to do 2 canvases. I also think the amount of money spent on turps, breathing mask, sandpaper and blades could easily have gone towards a new canvas. A nice, shiny, new, clean, flat canvas. Damn it. 

As I wrapped a new bit of sandpaper around the block, I blinked away the oil paint dust and took a look at my work and I saw a little bit of that silver lining I was telling you about. As I was sanding the paintings down, the effect, through the varying layers of colour and thickness, was great. Well, It wasn't AMAZING, but I saw a flash of what it could be. The idea that you are creating something by destroying it got me thinking about what destruction meant - was destruction only change labelled subjectively? The fact that everything is temporary makes it available to destruction, but why do we choose to categorise certain acts and occurrences as being 'destruction' and others as 'change'. How much does something have to change before you consider it destroyed?

I now have 2 canvases, one of which I am going to recycle and use as a surface for another painting. The other, I am not sure. It sort of stands on its own as a piece, an inspirational piece. So I plan to pursue this further, much to my own horror. I really don't know how my shoulder will cope with more sanding. I think this is why artists have assistants. Daniel San! Sand the floor! 

Bonnie Scotland

So this weekend, whilst Husband indulged his patriotic side and went to Scotland v Serbia world cup qualifier (see, I do listen!), I thought I might try and take some photographs of Loch Lomond and get some wild, craggy glens for a Scotland project later in the year. Very kindly, my in-laws had offered to drive me about while I snapped away.

I know a lot of artists wont admit to using photographs to work from but I see no reason why not. I make colour notes and scribbles while I am out and about and then bring everything back to the studio and work on it at a later date. You can do all sorts of things with the colours and cropping etc on the computer. Whilst we have this sort of technology, I say why not use it. There aren't many artists that grind up their own pigments or boil rabbits to make gesso anymore. Just because you use paint out of a tube, blended by experts, doesn't make you less of an artist. I feel the same way about photographs. Everyone has their own creative process and we shouldn't judge artists on how they come to their piece, just that the piece they have created speaks.

Anyway, I digress...and I do that a lot... I got some very nice pictures of Loch Lomond although every now and again when I thought I had the right composition, a certain Golden Retriever would dash into shot...

The weather was moody, but actually, the sky was quite flat and not as turbulent and dark as I wanted it. Nevertheless, we had to head back into Glasgow to collect a defeated but still very chipper-about-the-whole-thing Husband. 

The second day we went to Lead Hills - a beautiful spot where one can pan for gold if one so chooses or has a 5 year old to entertain. We stopped for tea in the little village of Wanlockhead - the highest village in Scotland no less - before heading back home. 

The Lead Hills are stunning and around this time of year, all the heather is out, making the hills look sort of stripy.  We managed to stop at a few of the local galleries to check out the competition. The competition is good, I will need to work hard. There are a lot of very talented locals who sell their varied and vibrant work through several galleries in the area. 

I am very excited about my Scotland project, but have a lot more work to do before I can start painting. The father in-law has threatened to come with me on a tour of Scotland, but I seriously think we will end up sitting in a bar drinking wine and putting the world to right far too often for anything productive to come out of my trip, although they say the best artists were always at their most creative whilst either sozzed or stoned. Hmm.. 

Indian woodblock experiment

Last September, during a tour of Rajasthan, we had the opportunity to see how traditional woodblocks were carved and used for printing fabrics.  It involved building up the lines and colours through a series of wood blocks. First, the master block was used to give the outline, followed by three different wood cuts, for three different colours. Line up the woodblock with the lines left by the master block and give the block a hard smack. All lined up nicely, they create a very nice picture or pattern. Repeat as necessary. 

Never one to shy away from a new experience, especially one that involves slamming things down, I promptly demanded a go and set about making a colourful print of an Elephant.

Indeed there is more to this print making than I have suggested. Aside from the art of actually carving the wooden blocks (a pattern can contain up to 7 colours and therefore 7 different blocks), it takes years of practice to get it right, a multitude of chemical and vegetable dyes and a concoction of very nasty chemicals to set the dyes and rinse the fabric. Whist I was very pleased with my colourful Elephant print, I contributed very little to it's actual existence. 

Despite this, I would not be swayed, we were going to take home at least 10 of these fantastic antique blocks and nothing would stop me! Except, perhaps for a husband unwilling to pay more than £1 per block. We found a shop that stocked these blocks - after several heated phonecalls on our behalf by our guide. Beautiful patterns, large and small, new and old were shown to us. I selected 5 and was given a price, which even by western standards was too high and then it started. The inevitable 'haggle'. Locked into bartering hell whereby neither party would shift, we left the shop with nothing, although Husband was very proud of his ability to maintain his position and not back down. I was less impressed at this 'skill' as I had no wood blocks to play with.

Eventually another shop with some small blocks was found and a good price negotiated for two, along with a very fetching green horse that I am very fond of. They have been sitting atop a bookshelf for the last year whilst I pondered what, if anything, I was to do with them. It seemed right, now I was undertaking an India project, to use them. Let them fulfil their earthly purpose, even for a short time (and probably in the wrong way).

And so, today I thought, would be the day. As these blocks are normally used with dyes rather than oil paint, I knew the effect would be different, but hell, thats what I was trying to find out so it didn't matter. I had a few goes. Painting onto the block and stamping it onto the canvas. It became clear very quickly that the negative space behind the canvas was a problem and so I needed to press my hand to the back so it would stamp properly. Didn't look too bad. 

I wanted to  to print the blocks onto a coloured background, which I would first need to paint and then wait for that to dry (the joy of oil paints). So I set about doing that. Ta da! Not what I would call a 'full' day at work piece, but everything needs a start. So far a Blue background a la Klein 1959. There are 3 different blues in this and up close you can see them all swirling and blurring into each other. Still, I feel I may have built it all up a bit to much at the start. I think I am going to put another layer of translucent purple of some kind over the top (think Peacock colours) and then start printing with the blocks.

Disappointed not to be able to use the blocks and at having to finish up after painting only a blue square, I figured I'd have a go at a tiny canvas . Thick thick red and orange paint, straight from the tube onto the canvas. Two colours I love to see together (and saw a lot while in India), plastered together with a square tip knife and topped off with a woodblock pressed into the paint. A negative of what a usual print is about. As the paint is so highly textured, you could almost miss the tiny delicate flower print, but its there, tucked away in hot reds and oranges, amidst frantic knife strokes, highlighted in tiny gold flecks. I really like the symbolism of this tiny and spontaneous piece.

I really feel like I achieved something today and that the India project has a third dimension evolving, keeping it contemporary. I am loving my print blocks, thinking of heading to Etsy to get a few more as they are so much fun. How can someone get so much satisfaction from a crisp, woodblock print?

First Post

Hi guys! Welcome to my new Blog. 

I have promised myself that I will be very disciplined toward Blog. I will nurture it and pet it and keep it updated with all my news, thoughts, inspirations and ideas; as well as the odd things that amble into my life from time to time and the chaotic troublesome bits too. 

I have been feeling a bit left behind with the social media - I don't want to use the word Phenomenon as I think it was that back in 2003 - maybe, surge? My mum is on facebook now and pretty much everyone is internet shopping or tweeting so I figured I need to make this work to my advantage. Get my artistic thoughts and processes out to the people (or at least, to those who feign an interest). I am sure it will only be a few people at the start (hi Mum!.....) but I hope that the light hearted content combined with thoughts on my artistic process and the odd useful tip about painting will reach a wider audience and encourage those who believe they have only a creative freckle, to pick up a brush, camera, other artistic tool - far too many to list here - and have a go at creating something.

So that, along with the cabin fever I am getting being trapped in a tiny village with sporadic use of a car, is why I am blogging. 

The dust has finally settled on our move back from Switzerland, the studio is up and running and the reality of living back in the UK is raining down outside as I type this. But, as I am now a UK contemporary artist, I fully plan to embrace this new environment and reflect it in some new projects. A Welsh project, A Scottish project, some projects in the Lake District, some in the South Downs. I actually prefer the dark, moody and rainy skies. Its a much more accurate depiction of our little island. I am happy to leave the dramatic storms and bright sunny skies for my travels - there will be travel projects too. The current project is India, using photos and experiences of our trip last September. And of course, I will not be turning my back on the Mountain Landscapes of the Alps that got me here in the first place. So much to be getting on with really, I just wish I had more time in the day.

So now for a swift lunch before today's experiment with some Indian woodblocks I picked up on our visit last year. I have an idea in my head what I want the pictures to look like however, I am pretty certain it will not be as straight forward as it should be. I will let you know later how I got on with the attempt to capture the "vibrancy of colour and the detail of pattern on Indian fabrics" on a canvas. But I think the properties of the oil paint will dictate how this ends up. Its Playtime.