#adailyselfreflection
exploring artistic process and creativityArchive for February, 2012
#dailyfail #46
I’ve been varnishing furniture in an obsessive-compulsive fashion today, having just refurbished a bedroom with predominantly dark oak furniture. The few bits of pale pine offended my sensibilities.
With a few dregs of varnish left in the tin, I thought it might be interesting to brush over some (unfixed) charcoal sketches.
Interesting is the right word. The charcoal naturally dissolved and smudged in a very satisfying #dailyfail sort of way and I think there are possibilities here on a larger scale.
#dailyfail #45
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Still on the greyness of the A58 into town. I am waiting for a decent spell in the studio to do something with these images racing through my head.
But this week is looking as much of a studio write off as the last.
#dailyfail #44
Rules are there to be broken. The #dailyfail is about avoiding the safety net of digital painting on mobile devices, but sometimes needs must. I had a vision of people encountered on an urban ramble today. My pen has run out. So Brushes App steps in to the rescue.
In my defence, I did not press the undo button, and I used the features as if they were for real.
Oh, I do love painting and drawing apps.
#dailyfail #43
Sitting in a cafe, looking out on a grey rainy day, I noticed with interest the dull greyness was punctuated by red-orange at every point. Table napkins, awning, car, balconies. Street lamp, lady’s hair and scarf, traffic sign.
How very curious.
Like this:
#dailyfail #42
Blind contour drawing over and over within confined boundaries of an oddly angled face.
Released from any need for likeness. Always a good thing for the sketchbook.
#dailyfail #41
Back to paint. Still messing with stuff that’s been up on the walls for months. I’m away for a few days now, but I always seem to get an urge to paint when I don’t have access to the studio.
Sod’s law.
Like this:
#dailyfail #40
Just how hard can it be to pull one decent print from a lino cut I’m happy with?
Hours, is the answer. Hours, when the printer to print my chine collé tissue starts playing up and chewing up paper. And the USB lead is too short to reach the printer from the laptop so I have to unplug every time I get up to print afresh.
Anyway, print finally there.
Like this:
#dailyfail #39
It’s no excuse but I can’t begin to explain how hard it is to do any work when additional children appear on the horizon.
It was an achievement to open the sketchbook today.
#dailyfail #38
Spent a delightful morning and afternoon listening to young pianists performing in the school piano competition, followed by a splendid recital of Schubert, Chopin and Listz by the adjudicator, Jonathan Middleton who apart from performing beautifully was a really nice guy and gave sensitive and thoughtful yet well-considered feedback to the competitors…
Bottom line: today was a music day not a studio day, so I ended up playing with thumbnail sketches at the very beginning of my deserted hostelries project.
I love doing thumbnails. It hardly counts as risk-taking: there’s not much less risky than a thumbnail, but more important is the fact the sketchbook came out at all.
Like this:
#dailyfail #37
Back on track. Focussed, experimenting, messing with different papers and colours to decide how finally I’m going to do this print which after the mono printing sessions has finally become a linocut.
I may actually be ready to run tomorrow. If I can print the chine collé bits I want to use.
