Broch of Gurness

Another hectic weekend over ,chores done and back to preparation for Spring Fling.My trip to Orkney continues to inspire ...
Excavations in the early 20th century revealed the Broch of Gurness at Evie on the Mainland.Dating from around 100BC,the Iron Age broch was originally built as a tall and easily defended tower.
Around the broch was a sprawl of stone dwellings,enclosed by outer defences.As time passed and the defensive role deceased,upper sections were dismantled most probably to provide building material for the surrounding village. The structure that remains today is at its maximum,3.5m tall with a solid base.Within the broch is an underground chamber containing a spring-filled water tank.

I decided to do a loose watercolour and gouache work based on the plan view of the settlement.

                 
                 'Broch of Gurness'
                 Watercolour,  gouache,acrylic ink
                 on watercolour paper

Inktense......

Busy,busy,loads of jobs to do,endless juggling of family lives  but as the children are back at school after their Easter holidays I have a couple of uninterrupted hours during the day.Ive been working on a new piece but revisiting a work I've previously done on canvas and also as a much larger watercolour.

This work measures 16 x 12 inches . I drew the design on lightly then used washes of watercolour and gouache paints. I then used Derwent Inktense pencils for line and definition.These pencils were recommended by a friend and are excellent.When wet the colour becomes more vibrant and the colours of the pencils just suit my work.
Acrylic inks were applied wet on wet and also with a reed pen.A fine black pen was used to add the strata as well as pencil. Watersoluble graphite pencil was also used.
I'll leave it for a couple of days then work out where I need to add any additional colour/lines.....

'If nobody speaks of remarkable things'

Having time to read is a luxury at the moment however one of the last books I read continues to linger in my mind.'If nobody speaks of remarkable things' was written in 2002 by Jon McGregor.Unusual style of writing , describing life in a British city -and  it was brilliant....
Here is a memorable passage from the book....

'...you must always look with both of your eyes & listen with both of your ears. He says this is a very big world & there are many many things you could miss if you are not careful. He says there are remarkable things all the time,right in front of us , but our eyes have like the clouds over the sun & our lives are paler & poorer if we do not see them for what they are.
He says,if nobody speaks of remarkable things ,how can they be called remarkable?'

In the meantime I've been busy....watercolour paints and acrylic inks.....small but multi-layered....

Dot

Jung states that the dot is the 'symbol of mysterious creative centre in nature.'It is the starting point from which all things arise. In Alchemy,out of this little point,the wisdom of God made....the 'huge machine of the world.'

In Norse mythology,the story of Yggdrasil is about destruction,rebirth  and renewal.

This piece is based on the dot,symbolic for new beginnings......

It's a small piece,20 x 20cm,mixed media on canvas however I'm going to put this one in a floating frame....

Three men in a boat

The last couple of weeks has just been one of those times when you begin to wonder what else life is going to throw at you.These times are usually made infinitely more stressful knowing that the deadline is looming for another event. Then you switch the news on and events happening around the world put everything back in to perspective....

This poem by Jerome K Jerome (1859-1927),an English writer and humorist could have been written for the modern world....

'Let your boat of life be light,
packed with only what you need-
a homely home and simple pleasures,
one or two friends,worth the name,
someone to love and someone to love you,
a cat, a dog and a pipe or two,
enough to eat and enough to wear,
and a little more than enough to drink:
for thirst is a dangerous thing.'

I made it back into the studio after time out -back to watercolour paper with pencil,ink and paint.Time to rebuild the energy levels....starting with Standing Stones....

Vacation

 I'm visiting Edinburgh for a few days. So I wanted to let you know I'll be back on Sunday 14th April so please don't go away....
Looking forward to visiting the National Museum as well as the fabulous art galleries that Edinburgh has to offer.
My son is in a swimming competition so it's an exciting time...big city here we come...

See you very soon    x

Whale-Road

Not only do I enjoy using a variety of media in my work,I also enjoy thinking about different ways to present my work. This was encouraged at college where we had to produce a triptych.According to the Oxford Dictionary a triptych is :

'a set of three associated artistic,literary or musical works intended to be appreciated together'.

It's form arises from early Christian art and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Three carved or painted panels were hinged together with the largest middle panel being flanked by two smaller related works.  

First time around it was challenging-composition across three panels and making it work together.....My latest triptych consists of three 20 x 20cm canvases.

Celebrations

It's been quite a day-big family gathering to celebrate my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary which when we're spread across Scotland and England is quite some achievement.

As a memento I made then a box-work incorporating a photocopy of them on their wedding day on hand-made paper,gold ribbon and a golden heart -for love and their surname is Hart!

The three roses are symbolic of the three children-my 2 brothers and I,and also Yorkshire where we were born.I did want to symbolise the seven grandchildren however it spoilt the composition !

With 2 more birthdays in the offing my Spring Fling work is on the back-burner but doing something completely different really is beneficial.  I have loads of new ideas that I just keep jotting in my sketchbook  for another day...

Rock n' roll.....

 Over the last few days it's just been great being able to get out and about-bright sunny days but chill Easterly winds. Living in Dumfries means that it doesn't take long to be out in the surrounding countryside or on the beach.

So my son and I took a trip to Powillhimont Beach on the Solway Coast before heading to New Abbey to warm up with delicious refreshments  at the Abbey Cottage tearooms,adjacent to the ruins of Sweetheart Abbey.....

The images of  ruins  can be inspirational.....

Sweetheart Abbey,New Abbey

So can rock structures.....

And large rocks....

And smaller ones...

To transient patterns in the sand....

And maybe these are some of  the reasons why I enjoy incorporating texture into my work .......

Abbey Cottage Tearoom 

26 Main St

New Abbey

Dumfries DG2 8BY

01387 850377

www.abbeycottagetearoom.com

twitter: @AbbeyCottage

Facebook: Abbey Cottage

Finding texture

When I had completed  the mixed media piece  from yesterday's post I was keen to try the same idea but with different techniques. I liked the composition so transferred it to a large canvas. I added gesso to certain parts of the canvas-when layers of colour were added ,the surface texture added interest.

 

 A different colour palette and loss of the fine pencil and pen lines brought about a completely different outcome. From this I started adding yet more texture and materials from sand to textiles to some of my pieces which I feel gives another dimension to my work.It's just great to change direction now and again....at the moment I'm back working on watercolour paper....

Life before texture

I had one of those interesting conversations last week which basically revolved around the use of texture in my work.How had it happened,where had it come from? And it really made me think ...The last few pieces of artwork have followed a similar vein-layering gesso,using modelling paste and additional materials such as sand or textiles to the support even before I start with colour.

Prior to this I used a variety of media but on watercolour paper and the effect was completely different.

This is quite a large piece-watercolour paint,acrylic paint,acrylic ink,graphite pencil on watercolour paper.

That conversation inspired me to revisit my watercolour paper and I'm enjoying the change.It also reminded me that the above piece still lacks a title so I can have a think on that one too.....

Vision

I was just looking over some of my sketchbooks when I came across this:

'Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.
Who looks outside,dreams;
Who looks inside,awakes.'

Carl Jung