Wednesday 14 December 2016

Back To Winter

It's been a while since I last updated due to having a lot of other work to do since October.  It's been worth the break.  Sometimes leaving your art work and then return later on gives perspective and ideas about what direction to take future art.

The skyline of bare trees is fully achieved by the start of December.  The autumn leaves are gone and instead there are bare branches and often grey skies that are only temporarily cheered up by the Christmas lights.  Many people see the bareness of winter that starts in the festive season as sad and depressing.  I find that this time of year allows me to see shapes and patterns that are completely covered in the warmer months.  There is a beauty in the bareness if one takes the time to notice.  I mentioned this in previous posts, however I'll say it again, it is worth taking time away from ordinary cares in life to spend a moment looking around us rather than fixating on phones, etc.

This drawing focusses on the familiar bareness of trees in winter complete with abandoned bird's nest. Drawing these trees can be 'involving' due to the way the branches intertwine and spread out like a road map.

Back To Winter, pen drawing A4 (2016)

Tuesday 27 September 2016

Aphaia

It's been a while since I did anything with the temples that I've visited in Greece over the years.  I've had lots of different projects going on and different things to focus on.  I thought that now would be a good time to get back to my temple drawings.  The last one I drew was Sounio, my favourite temple.  Aphaia on the island of Aegina is probably my second favourite temple.  We've visited this early 5th century BC temple a few times with our last visit in 2013.  Rather than catch a bus up the rather large hill that it is situated on, I liked to punish myself with a gruelling walk up the very steep ancient road that would have connected the temple to the sea 2,500 years ago.  Yes, I like to do these things in 40 degrees centigrade.  Sometimes the local people have offered us a lift in their car when they see use hiking for miles down some deserted road at midday in the middle of nowhere and we have trouble trying to explain that we actually like what we are doing!  Such was the situation whenever I visited the temple of Aphaia.  One hundred years ago it was completely ruined, however after archaeologists had excavated the area they realised that a large part of the temple was still there and basically put the stones back together.  They also found the remains of a much earlier temple on the site. 

When I first learnt about this temple while studying my GCSE Classical Civilisation it was always taught as the temple of Artemis on Aegina.  It is actually the temple of Aphaia, a local goddess exclusively worshipped on Aegina.  In some versions of mythology she was a companion of Artemis, in others she was the daughter of Zeus.  The temple was said to be built on the spot where she was seen by the locals and then miraculously disappeared. 

Aphaia, pen drawing, A3 (2016)

UPDATE! Some further drawings of this temple


Temple of Aphaia (detail of side view), pen drawing (2016



Temple of Aphaia (side view) 2016

Friday 16 September 2016

Autumn Colours

It's nearly that time of the year already when the colours start to come through on the trees and the weather starts to get noticeably colder (especially after such exceptionally hot weather).  I wrote about this time of year last year.  I always really love the colours of the leaves however I hate being cold and this country seems to have never ending cold and darkness throughout the winter.  We brought a SAD lamp last year to see if it helped with seasonal affective disorder.  Some scientists are sceptical about whether this is real while others notice that populations that are further away from the equator and in particular live in the northern or southern hemispheres tend to suffer more depression during the winter.  I must admit that after using the SAD lamp I always felt slightly less tired and had a feeling of energy.  I hope this winter has a lot of sunny, frosty days.  Winters with lots of sun albeit really cold seem to me to be much easier to handle than wet, windy and dark winters.  There is also more opportunity to gather ideas for future art projects when there is more light.

Autumn Colours, pen and coloured pencil drawing (A4) 2016

Section from Autumn Colours

Section from Autumn Colour





Saturday 10 September 2016

Two pen and coloured pencil flower drawings

Mahonia 2, pen and coloured pencil drawing, A4 (2016)
White Orchid, pen and coloured pencil drawing, A4 (2016)

 

Here's some my latest work from this week.  The first drawing is a continuation of a painting called 'Mahonia' that I worked on earlier this year.  The second drawing is more abstract.  I didn't purposely set out to make the drawing this way, it just happened.  I think that art should be like that, allow it to happen.  Sometimes the results are what you expect and sometimes not, for better or worse.  #flowerdrawing #pendrawing #abstractdrawing #fineartdrawing



Sunday 4 September 2016

Art on Ebay

After a long break from making any art due to other work commitments and a long holiday abroad I have started to clear out some of the art I already have at home so that I have space for the next batch of work that I will be starting on this week.  Starting prices are low so if you want a bargain original art work then have a look at my auction listings on Ebay. #abstract #artforsale

Leaves
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291863273359?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
 
Mahonia
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291863963063?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
 
Peacock
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291863970027?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Flower Study
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291863965997?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

Thursday 4 August 2016

Anxiety, Oxford Road, London

I've been thinking about how to draw or paint emotions.  Emotions can be difficult to verbally express and I really fail at this.  I decided that the abstract approach was best when dealing with emotions.  I haven't been able to produce any art since the middle of May due to very demanding work commitments (16 hours days including weekends).  I basically do a year's work in 2 and a half months.  It suits me to a point because it frees up my time for the rest of the year, however when I am working I do suffer a lot from stress, anxiety, IBS etc, all the things I used to suffer from when I worked full time all through the year as a teacher.  As part of my work commitments I attend meetings in various parts of the country.  One such meeting is based in London where I had to go for two days.  London is not the most autistic friendly place with the noise, too many people too much traffic that is aggressive, too much smell, just too much.  My hotel was located in South Kensington about 7 miles from where my meeting was.  I stupidly thought that walking would be better than the tube.  I walked all the way down Oxford Road.  This is the most hellish road I have ever walked down.  I'm sure it's bad to none autistic people, but for an autistic person this is hell on earth.  It took me hours walking down that road.  By the time I reached the hotel I was not in a good way.  It made me think about anxiety and how I should try and express it through my art.  So, after months of work, I am now finished and this is my first attempt at a picture showing emotion, in particular anxiety and the barrier that it creates.

Anxiety, Oxford Road, London 2016, oil pastel and pencil on paper, A4

Monday 23 May 2016

Barking Sycamores magazine.

My work is featured in the Barking Sycamores magazine.  Follow this link for more info https://barkingsycamores.wordpress.com/2016/05/18/issue-9-springsummer-2016/

I have a few exhibitions coming up over the next few months.

Friday 13 May 2016

Peacock

Another one of my butterfly drawings.  I have enjoyed working on them and will be returning to this theme later in the summer.  Until then there are a few projects that I am working on and some good news to announce about the publication of a number of my artworks.  I will be giving details about this in the next week or so.

Peacock, graphite and coloured pencil, A2 (2016)

Friday 6 May 2016

Siesta in Epirus II

For some of those people that have read my blog over the past year, this latest update will be familiar.  One of my paintings titled 'Siesta in Epirus' was posted onto my blog earlier last year.  I thought it would be interesting to revisit this painting and recreate it as a drawing.  Recently I have been working more with drawing than painting, however I go through phases so that will change in the future.  I worked on this piece without referring to the painting and only compared the two after I had finished the drawing.  I find it interesting how some areas on the painting have slightly different proportions compared with the drawing.  This isn't because either one is right or wrong proportionally (although the window looks out of proportion but that is the camera rather than the original which looks fine in real life).  I see things differently now to how I did last year, therefore different parts of the composition may mean more or less now than it did 12 months ago.  Maybe I should repeat the experiment next year and see what happens!

Siesta in Epirus II, graphite, coloured pencil and oil pastel, A1 (2016)






Siesta in Epirus, 7th September 2001, oil on board 120x100cm (2015)
And for further comparison here is the preliminary sketch made before the painting.

Siesta in Epirus Sketch, pen drawing, A3 (2015)

Thursday 28 April 2016

Common Blue, Near Styal Woods, 2013

Here is another in the series of butterfly drawings that I have been working on over the last two weeks. 

Common Blue, Near Styal Woods, 2013,  graphite and coloured pencil, A2 (2016)

Here it is at an earlier stage.
 

 

Friday 22 April 2016

Small Tortoiseshell, Near Styal Woods, 2013

This is the next butterfly in the continuing theme of butterflies.  As I mentioned earlier this week, this is new territory for me (drawing butterflies).  I might push things further in the future and try out birds, it's been about 30 years since I last drew one.  This drawing is inspired by our many visits to the area around Manchester Airport and in particular, Styal.  There are areas of Styal that are full of meadows, wild flowers and thus butterflies.  I think a return to this area is long overdue.

Small Tortoiseshell, Near Styal Woods, graphite and coloured pencil, 2013, A3

Here are a couple of photos of this drawing while it was a work in progress.
 




Tuesday 19 April 2016

Swallowtail, Petrovac na Moru, Montenegro

When I was a kid I loved drawing butterflies.  I would spend hours reading about them and looking at a book I had brought at school about them and making up new butterfly designs.  I love English butterflies, however when I go somewhere foreign, the new types of butterfly are very fascinating.  In Greece, I've seen two types of swallowtail, the large almost birdlike one that glides around the tree tops and the smaller more common type that is seen across the Mediterranean.  This Swallowtail is the smaller variety.  I'd never seen the Med in spring until this year.  The wild life, flowers and of course butterflies are amazing.  The weather is much warmer than in Britain during spring which means that one can have lots of comfortable walks in the countryside and take it all in.

Swallowtail, Petrovac na Moru, Montenegro, graphite and coloured pencil on paper, A3 (2016)

This drawing is the first graphite pencil drawing that I've worked on since 2012.  The past few years have been spent developing work with carbon/charcoal pencil, pen and paint so I thought it was time to revisit old fashioned pencil again.

Friday 1 April 2016

Letting Go

Letting Go, pen, ink and coloured pencil drawing, A3 (2016)


This ink drawing is a sort of visualisation of the anger that I used to feel.  The trees are almost cage like.  It's like your mind with it's anger is a prison.  Letting it go for me felt like a huge weight had been lifted.  Anger is not always bad, it's just knowing how to let go once it has achieved it's purpose.

Thursday 24 March 2016

Wanderer

I think that the solitude of wandering and losing oneself literally and in thought to be an important aspect of life.  My life is very structured and that is how I like it to be.  Wandering however releases me from myself and presents opportunities to find out about new places, new things in life and new aspects about ourselves.  Being able to grow mentally as a person is something that is important and necessary.  I often reflect on things from the past when I create my art work.  I think about how I would do various things in the past as I am now.  It helps highlight that one has progressed from mistakes from various points in the past and to not continue to repeat them.  I also find that allowing the mind the freedom to wander allows one the ability to observe others and their behaviour and how that affects me.  My conclusion is that I am now in control of my own mind (although this has not always been the case) and that the only thing that I have control over is myself.  I could say that I can't change various things about me because of autism, but I think that is an excuse for being lazy and not making the effort to improve of some of the difficulties that autism presents.  Obviously some areas such as awkwardness around new people, learning how to keep a conversation going with a stranger may never be improved  to other people's standards but I still think that there are many lessons to be learned from life. 

Wanderer, oil painting on canvas, 106cm x 106cm (2016)

This painting represents a street in Nafplio one of my favourite places in Greece.  The overall composition is structured and with perspective of the buildings an important backdrop to the central figurative figure.  I think that this painting sums up my love of structure and also my love of allowing myself to wander physically and mentally.

Monday 21 March 2016

Καλαυρία

 Καλαυρία, or in English letters Kalavria is the original ancient name of the island of Poros.  There are the remains of the temple of Poseidon in an isolated area at the top of a mountain overlooking the sea.  The day before visiting the ancient temple of Poseidon we had walked up the mountain and back down the other side in order to reach the lovely bay of Vayionia.  We had to walk up the mountain yet again to get back to our hotel.  We were so tired we did not visit the temple while we were on our way back to the hotel having climbed the mountain twice in one day in 40 degrees heat.  Two days later we returned and went back up the mountain again and found the temple and the lovely views over the Saronic gulf.  On the way back we stopped off at a church and sat in the shade and enjoyed the peace and quiet.  This drawing captures a moment when my older daughter sat quietly in the shade watching the birds flying in between the trees in front of the church.

 Καλαυρία, pen and pastel drawing, A3 (2016)

Friday 18 March 2016

Flower Study

This is another of my small studies on a botanical theme using the same material (Walkden Gardens in Sale).  There will be more to come (both oil painting and drawings) of the smaller scale works that I am doing at the moment.

Flower Study, oil painting on canvas, 20cm x 20cm (2016)

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Mahonia

This is a study of some of the material that I gathered on the last day of 2015.  I've discussed Walkden Gardens in Sale in previous posts and this is where I have amassed quite a lot of ideas for past and future art works.  I like to work on pieces that I have an emotional attachment to and Walkden Gardens symbolise some happy years from my 20s.  They also remind me of my new life after leaving teaching.

These painting is to date the smallest one that I have so far attempted to do.  It is part of the overall theme of small art works that I have been working on (so far on paper).  I will be bringing out quite a few of these art works over the next few weeks, although larger pieces will probably be back later in the year.

Mahonia, oil painting on canvas, 15cm x 20cm (2016)

Friday 11 March 2016

Leaves

This latest drawing is based on the mundane and ordinary, leaves.  During late spring, summer and autumn they are everywhere and little noticed once the first ones have arrived during the spring.  I suppose as with many things, if you pay enough attention to something, even the ordinary things, there can be points of interest found.  When I look at leaves (or many things for that matter) I see the initial leaf and then more and more detail and patterns.  Here is my celebration of the humble leaf!

Leaves, fine line pen, gouache and coloured pencil, A3 (2016)

Friday 4 March 2016

Winter Blossom 2

Here is the next of my botanical A5 drawings that I had mentioned earlier this week.  It is based on the same material as 'Winter Blossom' but less focused on a single area (the flower).  I ended up using similar colours in the end.

Winter Blossom 2, pen drawing and coloured pencil, A5 (2016)

Tuesday 1 March 2016

Winter Blossom

After working on my last two intensive drawings I thought it would be a good thing to get back to my small A5 pen/coloured pencil drawings.  I've got quite a lot of material to work with at the moment and hope to get quite a large number of these together so that I can exhibit them together.  I think they might appeal to some people more than my larger pieces which can sometimes leave some potential buyers intimidated!  I love working on A1 size or larger drawings and paintings however I have found that stepping out of my comfort zone and working small scale is good and changes how I work. 

This latest A5 drawing is based on the winter blossom that I noticed on the last day of 2015.  I have enlarged it to focus on one main flower.  The next drawing based on the same material which should be finished later this week will show more of the surrounding flowers rather than the simple focus of this drawing.  I may experiment with the colours as well, however it depends on how the composition turns out and what mood I'm in at the time!

Winter Blossom, pen drawing and coloured pencil, A5 (2016)

Friday 26 February 2016

The Chain Link Fence (Perception)

My thoughts behind this latest Chain Link Fence themed art work are based on perception.  As with my other Chain Link Fence works, the subject of bullying is central however rather than simply looking at bullying done to me (or to anyone) I look at the part played by the victim of bullying in the process of being bullied.  Generally people have perceptions about other people, situations, places or events.  Often the perception is biased and based on previous experiences that a person may have had in their life such as perceiving hot spicy food to be good because it is something that the person grew up with and therefore familiar with.  I suppose perceptions can also get mixed up with prejudice (to prejudge without knowing the person).  Prejudice is based on past experience in a similar way to perception.  The difference with perception is that although it comes from past life experiences, it is a unique individual way of looking at life which may differ from another individual.  I have perceived a situation to be more positive than it was or even to let my wishful thinking get in the way of seeing reality.  At one place of work I sensed the under hand bullying that I was subject to (being told not to go for a promotion because someone else was meant for it, told that there had never been anyone in the department like me before in a critical way and so on).  There was enough said for a feeling of discomfort and sense that this was wrong, yet my perception or wishful thinking kept over riding my gut feeling that some thing was wrong.  I hoped that things would get better over time and basically allowed an overly positive perception of how my situation in this work place could improve over time.  Things had got better over time in the past, why not now?  This led to 7 years of workplace bullying that progressively worsened and only stopped when I left.  Perception is a good thing as long as you are honest with yourself, however ignoring reality is dangerous for anyone. Socrates the late 5th century BC philosopher described the man who believes he knows the most actually knows the least and the man who says he knows the least is the wisest of men. 

The Chain Link Fence (Perception), pen drawing and gouache painting, A2 (2016)


This drawing/painting uses the Chain Link Fence as a back drop.  I suppose different people will perceive different things in the drawing/painting.

Friday 5 February 2016

Next To The Chain Link Fence

This piece is the latest of my 'Chain Link' pictures.  My last drawing from this theme of bullying was 'In Front Of The Chain Link Fence'.  My discussions centred around the merciless bullying that I suffered from when I was a child and the chain link fence that I was bounced off by my bullies.  The school that I attended after I left Longsight was located in Northenden.  I suffered less from bullying at this school (except at the end just before I left).  The next challenge was starting secondary school at the age of 11.  Bullying was everywhere, the bus stop were I stood waiting for the bus to school, the way into school, lunch time, going home and so on.  Autism wasn't as well understood as it is now and high functioning autism was understood even less.  The whole experience of starting a new school in a new area (we moved from Northenden to West Didsbury so I could attend my secondary school), not knowing anybody at my new school, new routines, new everything.  It was very overwhelming, although I did not show it and did not communicate my feelings to anyone.  I've been called stoical by people in the past because I hide my real feelings and look calm when in reality I am struggling with everything.  I avoid asking for help and have always done that throughout my life.
 

Next To The Chain Link Fence, pen drawing and gouache painting, A2 (2016)

My escape from the turmoil of starting a new school and not knowing anyone was to retreat to my gran's house from Friday night until Sunday night.  I could forget about bullies, school, new routines etc until I went back home on Sunday. 

I've wondered sometimes whether people just know you are different by looking at you or whether it comes after you start to speak.  November 1986 I stood waiting for my bus to school in the morning.  A girl from another school would walk past each morning and call me names or laugh at me.  I don't know how she could tell that I was a good candidate for singling out, however I think bullies must have a sixth sense for it.  After several weeks of name calling and other objectionable behaviour she spent one morning gathering a large crowd of friends near the bus stop that I was stood at.  When she felt she had enough 'support' she came over to me and without warning punched me in the face.  I was pretty devastated (and late for school).  I think that day changed my response to bullies, which became a lot more proactive, although it didn't stop them trying to bully. I've talked to other autistic people and their experience of school is the same.  My hope is that when my daughter begins secondary school there will be the support necessary for her.

Friday 29 January 2016

Identity Exhibition

I've just come home from the preview to the Identity exhibition at  Art with a Heart in Altrincham.  There was a wide range of art on offer including film.  The exhibition explores the theme of identity and how this can be expressed in art work.

Here is my offering with two of my drawings 'Behind The Chain Link Fence (left) and Water Reflections At Mourtzakis (right)!


 
 

The exhibition poster.
 


Tuesday 19 January 2016

Passage Of Time


This is the latest work that is based on my 'Girl' themed art.  This project started at the end of 2013 with a series of drawings and paintings based on the face of a girl otherwise known as me in 1979.  I think back to my childhood a lot these days because I find it unsettling how long ago it was.  Time really has flown and changed.  I see films made at the end of the 1970s and I think about life then.  It was another world.  I suppose that is what happens when one gets older (and older).  I was born in Portsmouth and came up to Manchester in 1977.  I have a very good long term memory (not very good short term) which means that I remember clearly moving from Portsmouth to Longsight in Manchester.  I did not want to move 'up north' because I had images in my mind of two up two down rows of depressing terraced houses and dirty back alleys.  Longsight fulfilled all of my worst nightmares and more.  The area still suffered from thick smogs because it was still very industrial and near the centre of Manchester which was full of working mills.  On smog days one would stand outside with a scarf wrapped around my face (so that the particles from the pollution weren't breathed in).  I remember putting my hand out in front of me and it disappeared into the smog.  I couldn't see my feet.  On one occasion I and many other children stayed late into the evening at our nursery long after we should have been picked up by our carers because the smog was so thick the buses had been cancelled due to the lack of visibility.  Times have changed in that regard for the better.  This drawing has developed from my earlier drawing 'Girl' (2014).  I have been using fine line pens with coloured pencil and/or gouache paint more and more recently.  I thought it would be interesting to use these materials to revisit the theme of 'Girl' and see how I have developed or not in the two years since my earlier drawing.  I've focussed on a different section of the face in this latest drawing, with some more of the face shown (rather than just half of it as can be seen in 'Girl').
Passage Of Time, pen drawing and coloured pencil, A2 (2016)

 
Here is my earlier drawing from two years ago.
 
 

 
Girl, charcoal drawing, A1 (2014)


Wednesday 6 January 2016

Anniversary Acer

Here is another one of my A5 size pen drawings.  I hope to do many more of these pictures.  The Acer in this drawing currently grows in our very small back garden at Autumn time.  I brought it for my husband in 2004 for our 1st wedding anniversary present.  We lived together for 10 years and finally decided to get married as a 10th anniversary celebration.  We now have two anniversaries each year, one that started in 1993 and one that started in 2003, both of which are in May.  The Acer has moved house with us twice and will probably continue to move with us as we move house.  It has lived in it's present situation since 2006 and is about 12 feet tall, somewhat larger than the size it was when it was bought.  I like plants such as Acers as a present because they grow with you. 

Anniversary Acer, fine line drawing and coloured pencil A5 (2016)