Treading Water

" Source of the Thames" Michael Andrews

Before my art class last week I was looking through catalogues from past art exhibitions I'd been to including Michael Andrews at the Tate in 2001 (I'd been particularly struck at the time by his huge Australian canvases). By coincidence(or serendipity) ,when I was discussing potential local painting locations with Joy, she mentioned Michael Andrews paintings of the Thames (above). I love the quality of abstraction, design and colour but grounded in traditional landscape painting - what I'm aiming for in my own artwork. A wonderful re-discovery.

" Me and Melanie Swimming" Michael Andrews

I haven't posted for a couple of weeks because I've been struggling for a while in both work and creative arenas to keep afloat. I've been seeking advice to help me cope and correct for an overly negative view of life but until I get that support it's proving difficult to focus. The house has never looked so clean - normally household chores get put off for more interesting things like sewing and painting but it's good to do something where I don't need to think too much, I've even caught up with the ironing!

What I've got pinned up on my notice board at the moment, waiting for inspiration to strike, are several studies of waves based on photos and sketches in Greece. This mixed media sketch is in watercolour, acrylic ink ,'inktense' pencils and 'neocolour' crayons, trying to capture the different colours and the movement of the water.

I printed out a photo on fabric and quilted with different machine stitches with this splashy 60's print cotton as the backing.
I painted over this backing with acrylic paint. There are still glimpses of the pink showing through which I like but overall the effect is too realistic and photographic - this textile sample shows some skill but no soul!
What I'm after is the excitement of this detail from the initial mixed media sketch - how to maintain that on a larger scale?

Back to Basics

Following my recent painting course at Malham Tarn FSC I realised that I needed more regular painting classes, to get 'back to basics' in the words of recent article by Robert Genn, looking at drawing, composition, colour control and other technical skills. In particular I want to become more proficient in using acrylic paints.
Most evening classes cater mainly for beginners ( which I'm not) but luckily there was a space on one of the workshop evenings run at Kew Studio, an artists co-operative. I'm getting to grips with still life for the first time since painting masses of them in oils for A Level art ( many years ago). It's proving an enjoyable challenge! Started off with doing several drawings in pencil and in my case watercolour to get a feel for composition
I then moved onto colour studies, using acrylic like oil paint on canvas papers. This was fun! I liked the vigorous nature of the brush strokes and the swoops of colour. I already found some of the limitations in my Liquitex acrylic paints - that some are transparent rather than opaque. This doesn't matter when using them like watercolours but it does when using them like oils! I'll need to construct some colour charts with my paints to get a feel for their properties.

I've been taking photos at different stages to identify what needs more attention and also to capture areas I'm pleased with. The trouble with having to work all over the picture is that you sometimes have to paint over areas that you like and of course they're never as good again. For instance I liked the folds in the fabric in the early stages above but lost the plot afterwards!
The tuition has been just what I want - mainly leaving me to get on but with helpful suggestions ( eg removing the sugar bowl from the painting) and when to leave alone ( I'm a terrible fiddler). We've had some interesting discussions about art and exhibitions eg Peter Doig at the Tate earlier in the year.

For the first attempt at still life in years I'm reasonably pleased ( especially with the fruit in both paintings even if the pear was switched for a lemon this week - can you tell?!) More attention is definately needed in drawing ( teapot handles in particular) and in painting folds in fabric. You'd think as a textile artist I should know better! Next week we're concentrating (at my request) on a restricted palette.

Textile Work Spaces

This months 'Take it Further Challenge' is to think about your textile work space. How do you feel about this space? What role does it play in your life?
This was the subject of my very first post on this blog, written when I was about to move from a much loved space in a partially converted loft ( 2 photos below) and wondering how it would work out in my new home. This loft space had 2 Velux windows and was the full width of the house with built-in storage and work surfaces. Access was by a ladder which had its advantages in detaching myself from the world while I was up there and shutting the hatch on the mess when I'd finished.


Over a year later after we moved in , I've pretty well sorted out my working space - the 'master bedroom', the largest room in the house (except for the kitchen). As compensation, Ian got the bedroom with the best view overlooking the garden as his study ( and we can wave at each other across the landing)
The main difference is the loss of a design wall but this hasn't caused as many problems as I thought it would - I've hung a sheet from the back of the door but mainly use A1 size cork boards which are easy to move around.

The main working space is a huge desk (thanks to Sue), with our old solid butchers block kitchen table at right angles - a reasonable height for cutting out. For storage, I've just put up some bookshelves saved from the living room of our old property - they're just the right width for the alcove ( must be Edwardian Proportions, both old and new houses date from around 1905). For my art equipment I've got Ikea Ivar shelving and boxes that have aged nicely after 15 years.

You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff I got rid off during the process of moving but I've still managed to fill this huge 3 door wardrobe with fabric, smaller pieces in these baskets, yardage in big plastic crates.
In theory this is the guest bedroom ( a single fold-up bed) but they'd have to put up with the pins - Ian has a sofa bed in his study which is probably the safer option. The bed unfolded is quite useful for propping up the design boards.
I used my previous studio space for both stitching and painting, which meant being meticulous in clearing up between different activities and carrying buckets of water up ladders. Now, I've taken over the conservatory (more of a lean -to) for painting and printing. The light is fantastic even on a dull day (although it can get very hot). Money ran out before we could replace the lino - probably just as well - I trod on some monoprints that I'd left to dry on the floor and left a trail of glittery footprints. What is also different from my previous workspace is that it also houses my computer and printer. When I work from home on scientific papers etc, the cutting table is handy for laying documents out. The computer can of course be a terrible time waster but the benefits of being able to print fabric out or work directly in Photoshop means I'm much more productive ( and not having to shin up a ladder everytime I feel creative)

So overall while my working space has always been important to me ( and major factors in buying the last 2 properties), it is now the room I spend most time in , both for work and pleasure and my output has increased accordingly.

Now how to interpret this as a textile piece ? I'm wondering about a collage of photos from various viewpoints (it's a while since I used 'stitch -assist') or concentrating on one or two key items. I'll keep you posted!

Meadow Grasses and Mixing Greens

On our excursion to Box Hill last weekend I made several sketches and colour studies of the grasses in this species-rich chalk grassland meadow- I particularly liked the golden seadheads against the dark green of distant trees.
I've had this vibrant lime green African damask for a while (bought from ebay rather than Magie Relph ) and had plans to use it as the 'canvas' for a piece based on landscapes inspired by Malham but the colours and the shapes within the tie-dye seemed to shout 'grasses'. I used narrow double-needle machine quilting and stitched by hand with cotton perle and long tacks with variagated machine thread
I painted over with acrylics - mixing the different greens was quite a challenge, a different colour palette after my more recent sea and coastal pieces. I scored into it with a palette knife to indicate the grasses (detail above) as the 2mm double needle does not give so defined a ridge as my more usual 4mm.
Despite this scoring and some extra stitching, it still lacked focus and defination so I printed out a manipulated photo of grasses onto silk organza and applied this to parts of the surface with large tacking stitches. October 12 x 12 inch Journal Quilt completed !If I ever do a large piece on this theme it would have to be called ' Urge for Going' as in the Joni Mitchell song " ...... when the meadow grass is turning brown...."
The combination of painting and layering with organza is something that warrants further investigation I think.
I tend to finish the edges of my acrylic pieces with 'no-binding binding'. 1 1/2 inch strips are sown to the front of the quilt, right side together , seam allowance pressed towards the binding strip and staystiched 1/8 inch along the binding strip. The strips are turned under the quilt so they are not visible from the front hand stitched in place ( usually turn under a pressed 1/4 inch allowance ). This facing method gives a neat finish and is useful for controlling the slightly wavy edges that can result from dense quilting.

Box Hill Excursion

As the weather was so glorious we went walking on Box Hill yesterday. We used to go regularly every few months but realise we hadn't been since November 2006, so preoccupied with selling and buying houses and settling in. The main attraction for us is its accessability ( it's even quicker now by train from Brentford , changing at Clapham Junction). I first went there as a student, analysing the vegetation across transects of the path to assess the effect of trampling and then later to wear in new walking boots and practice for trekking holidays. The variety of terrain and habitat and the wealth of flowers and wildlife ( not to mention the National Trust tea stall at the top!) make it a great destination. My favourite location is this meadow, one of the best in the UK for butterflies, overlooking the main chalk ridge that people walk up. Most visitors congregate around the car park, the tea gardens and the viewpoint with its vista over the surrounding countryside so although this meadow is reached by only 20 minutes walk through the woods, very few of them make it there.
I had a very pleasant 40 minutes sketching here while Ian read and dozed. Not among the best watercolours I've ever done (particularly as I've just changed some of the colours in my paintbox) but there's something magical about sitting among the grasses, hearing the insects and feeling the sun beat down. Definately the pleasure of the process rather than the product.
I tried to capture the colours of the meadow - lime green at the base with a haze of golden brown at the top, silhouetted against the dark green box trees in the distance and dotted through with violet of scabious and gentians. I found a neat way of drawing grasses - tracing the shadows cast on my sketchbook! (the photo below is a mixture of shadows and pencil lines)
The railway station (Boxhill and Westhumble) is a treat in itself with the layers of peeling paint - such a variety of colours. There's a real sense of connection to the past, people have been visiting for centuries (Box Hill even played a critical role in Jane Austen's 'Emma'). The visitors having picnics yesterday probably aren't that different although most arrive by car rather than train now. It's not the countryside of spectacle and solitude but there's a nice atmosphere of shared enjoyment in admiring the view while tucking into home-made cakes. I collected some blackberries too.

Experiments in Acrylic Inks

One discovery on my recent painting course in Malham was the versatility of acrylic inks , both for drawing and adding different effects to mixed media . A piece of kit that Katherine uses a lot is a Dahlia Mister which delivers a fine controllable water mist, used to move paint and ink around the surface, even to draw with. She graciously allowed us to borrow it and on any excursion, Dahlia came too and there would be frantic calls of 'where's Dahlia?' when we'd come to a crucial point. They are however rather expensive so I was experimenting instead with a £2.95 Ideen 'Funpump' from Art Van Go. My palette of inks has also increased to include Sepia and Payne's Grey (much less harsh than black)

I have it in mind to try a scale up of the studies I did of Gordale Scar ( detail above) on fabric, planning initially some Journal Quilt trials of sections of rock. My first experiments with Payne's Grey and the 'Funpump' were on watercolour paper(below) - I love the feathering you get and the separation and granulation of the ink. The 'Funpump' was not as controllable as a Dahlia mister but was still superior to a standard spray bottle being slightly pressurised. For practising on fabric I had a sample of 3 different fabrics sown with a variety of machine and hand stitching and then painted over with acrylics. The result had been very boring and I'd attempted to cut it and re-assemble with no noticable improvement - nothing to lose in drenching it in inks.
The results pictured here are rather interesting. Although any glimpse of the underlying fabric has been lost, the ink has concentrated in the stitching and emphasised it. Ian has already ear-marked it for his office - it reminds him of the snowy landscapes we saw in Northern Iran . I thought it looked coastal but I suppose that's the beauty of abstracted landscape, each viewer sees something different.
The combination of ink and water mist acted quite differently on fabric compared to paper. I thought the acrylic painted areas might act in a similar way being water resistant but most of the ink soaked through along the stitching lines as you can see from the back!
And a considerable amount soaked into my unsealed drawing board - a thing of beauty in itself but I'm afraid I'll have to scrub it off . Might print the photo on fabric though.
What I might try for my next experiment is painting some fabric with gesso before and after stitching to see if that resists the soaking through, to seal my drawing board or failing that, putting a piece of fabric or paper underneath to absorb the watered inks.

September TIF (Lists and Colour Catchers)

The theme for Septembers Take it Further challenge is 'Lists' . There have been various posts from participants about their 'to do' lists - many people seem to get a huge sense of achievement from crossing things off but it doesn't work for me . Apart from shopping, the only lists I do are mental ones. I’m really quite an organised person but I was put off lists by a impossibly efficient and officious consultant on a time management course who insisted on them and I’ve been rebelling ever since. So what I had to work with was my shopping lists . The example I used was more legible than ususal as Ian was reading it and crossing items off as he found and ordered them on the Ocado website. Once you've placed a few orders, the site automatically pulls up previous orders and even prompts you ( as our first order was a Xmas one , these prompts tend to be of a beverage nature!) and the list can viewed as pictures of the items. I haven't used Photoshop to manipulate or alter text before - I was rather taken with the effect achieved with the filter 'palette knife' leaving just a hint of the writing.
I've been acumulating lots of used 'colour-catcher' sheets put in the washing machine to absorb loose dye from clothes. It's quite sobering quite how much dye comes out (the bright blue one on the far right was from a bathmat that had already been washed a few times) You sometimes get a nice random space dyed effect (especially from a 'darks' load) They seemed an appropriate material to use , being ephemeral.
To put them through the printer, I attached them to an A4 size sticky label ( which is what I use for organzas). Unfortunately they wouldn't come off the label afterwards so I had to incorporate them too (well I suppose that's the 3 layers of a quilt dealt with) , another time I'll use Freezer Paper
When I was wondering how to stitch it, it was Ian who suggested that I use black thread , to reintroduce the feeling of words
I'm rather excited by the ideas that this has generated: the manipulated text; the wonky lines;the large stitches; the crumpled texture of a material that is neither paper or fabric.
Oh look, I've created another list!!