Although my summer has been very productive outside my studio has been like a foreign country. I think this was partly due to the stress of dealing with the challenges lockdown threw up which led to the creation of a vegetable garden. I now have time to draw breath and I forced myself to get going again. I always find it hard to start creative work when I have been away from it so I start with getting my work space sorted out, and believe me. it needed sorting out.
This painting oils called SEA KALE on 70x70cm box canvas has been hanging around in various stages for about three years and as I don’t like not finishing work today I got on with it. It could be finished but you never know!
My daughter has a tattoo studio called Love The Rock Studio with a small gallery on the ground floor. She organised an exhibition entitled “The Heart” of it”. A plaster heart was sent out to all entrants with a return label and a brief to decorate or alter it in any way they chose and return it to the gallery. The resulting exhibition is a wonderful kaleidoscope of talent and here are some examples. the exhibition can be viewed in its entirety at instagram.com/sltr_the_heart_of_it/(opens in a new tab)
Several years ago I set out to do a series of small gouache paintings recording some childhood memories. Tomorrow is 75 years since VE day and one of the paintings depicts a vivid memory of the celebratory bonfire on our street complete with an improptu Bitannia with dustbin lid shield and toasting fork trident. Bonfires were not allowed during the war years so as a just turned five child it was magic.
We lived in an end of terrace house and one of the two communal air raid shelters was againt the end wall so it was literally next door. The shelter had a dog legged entrance to stop any light escaping and making us a target for bombers. When the siren sounded an ARP warden stood by the door with a doward facing dim torch and helped people in. For some reason I was frightened of this man and I vividly remember him shouting to a man running full tilt across the cobbles in the street, “Hurry up! The Jerrys are coming.” I had no idea who ‘the Jerrys’ were and no real concept of the danger we were in but the panicked atmosphere coming off the adults communicated real menace.
The shelter had wooden benches running along both sides and was dimly lit by a single light bulb suspended from the ceiling. We sat by the entrance and our neighbour, Mrs Freeman who lived across the Terrace, sat on the opposite bench with her faithful little companion dog, Judy. I remember my Mum muttering that she was not supposed to bring a dog into the shelter but I as very glad she was there as she held my attention while the antiaircraft gun pounded away from the nearby Park.
We had a small canary finch cross which sat in a cage hung in the window of our kitchen living room. I didn’t know much about the bird except that because it wasn’t a pure canary it didn’t sing, Sadly we returned from the shelter one night to find poor Joey dead in the bottom of his cage. Perhaps all the crashing and banging was too much for him or he was just an old bird. The other possibility was that gas got to him. We all had gas masks and I remember mine having a Mickey Mouse shape.
There was no street lighting because of the blackout but one night I stood in the back yard with my Grandad who pointed out strange lights beaming upwards.To me these were just pretty lights but I now know they were searchlights trying to spot enemy planes in order to shoot them down.
I really meant to post more on this blog but somehow what with trying to source groceries online, worrying about my very vulnerable spouse, getting a raised bed up and running for the first and time tidying the rest of the garden after a very wet winter I didn’t manage to get anything finished in my studio. It has been a difficult time for everybody but for me at last I have managed to clear the back log and got into my studio to finish off this triptych started in response to the Australian fires which seem a long time ago now.
Who would have thought the humble toilet roll could become such a soughtt after item, there must be vaults of them carefully guarded in the royal mint. My husband has the lung condition COPD as well as being over 80 (I’m getting there soon) so we come into the most vulnerable category during this corona virus crisis which means weeks and weeks of lockdown for us.
We are lucky to have a garden back and front and I have my beloved studio so It won’t be too bad. Because its now almost impossible to get a delivery slot from my long standing supermarket I have sent for a raised bed kit to grow some greens to stop us getting scurvy during this long voyage. I have decided to be kinder to my neglected blog and post more often so will be reporting on armies of slugs eating my produce, cat invasions,( there are bound to be some of those as my neighbours felines will find the newly filed bed put these especially for their use) and with luck, some food.
There will be new work from the studio and things to make you smile, I hope. We can get through this!
The other day I took out a plastic container with pigment in but was alarmed by my finger going through the plastic lid which had denatured and turned brittle. I soon found that all the others were the same so ordered some lovely glass jars from a company called EcoRefill seen on line. This new little company also delivers dry goods as well as glass containers and even reuses the packaging which is sent back to them. I will be buying more of these containers which come in a variety of sizes. I will be ordering some of my dry groceries from them too which will reduce the amount of plastic packaging going into my rubbish bin.
Today I’ve added one or two more collaged bit of paper and covered the picture with a a glaze of Indian Yellow which gives it a more orange appearance and unifies it as a whole. I think its finished though I may add one or two thinner lines in the background but at the moment I am leaning towards leaving it as it is. This not a very good photo as its too wet and windy to take a canvas outside to photograph.
I am still mentally reeling from the the images of the devastating Australian bush fires and here is another picture started in the firestorm series this time collaged paper and acrylic on canvas. In progress. 50x70cm
Yesterday I posted some digital sketches on the theme of the Australian bush fires. This painting in oils is called ‘After the fire’. It is 80x80cm on coarse Jute canvas. I used black oil stick to create the tree lines which worked well on the jute though used the stick up rather quickly.
As some one who believes passionately that we need to take the issue of climate change much more seriously than we are doing I was filled with anguish and horror at both the burning Amazon and the terrible bush fires caused by drought in Australia. As an individual there is very little I can do but as an artist I can try to put some of this distress into my work, This probably achieves nothing but at least it gives me some relief.
I have been using my new iPad to produce sketches which I will turn into much larger paintings and here are a few examples.
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