Pencil Play

Hola!

I've been a silly billy. I left my pastels over at my art teacher's house (Ms Kathy) and I've been feeling forlorn ever since.

Rather than sit and sulk (tempting) I decided to pull out my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, my Fabriano paper and some turps and set to work to soothe my artistic spirit.

I selected my favourite flower to feature in this artwork, the sunflower and layered colour over colour over colour, brushing over certain segments with the turps. (The turps melts the oil in the pigment, so it slightly blends and smooths the colour.)

Looking at it now, I can see there are a few little areas that could do with a little more layered colour or turps, but I still think it has worked relatively well overall for a little study.

Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to!

I'll see you around soon,

Kate
x

The "Don't Know if I can Bother Finishing It" Painting

Hi There

Ever have one of those days?  You know the ones - You start something, feeling full of energy and gusto, yet as you work, you can slowly just kinda feel the energy draining away until you reach a point of  thinking to yourself "Think I'll stop now and have a packet of crisps."  (Can you tell I'm trying to be on a diet? ;-)

The "For some strange reason, I think it probably looks better here than in real life painting"
AKA "The Kate got bored painting"

Is it because I have finally reached the point of having painted enough sunflowers to last me a life-time?  Is it because I am psychic and when you clicked open this post and thought to yourself "Stop Kate!  Enough with the $*&!@ Sunflower Paintings, already!" I actually "heard" you and that is why I put down my pastels?  Or is it just because I'm in one of "those" moods? Who knows. I can't be bothered trying to analyse it.

Whatever the reason may be I don't feel like finishing this painting, I just have to say that it this ability to stop any-time I want that is one of the things I really like about my experiments this past year or so with all things art.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to these last couple of days.

Kate
x
PS: I am pleased to announce that I did actually manage to finish eating the packet of crisps.  See, I can complete *some* tasks!

Dear Sharpie, Can We Still Be Friends?

Dearest Sharpie

I know I bought you in order to use you strictly for labelling CD's, lunch-boxes, hats, drink-bottles and other items that get easily lost by distracted children.

I know I swore to you (never at you) that I would not use you for my art doodles.

The problem is, Sharpie dearest, that you are just too darn enticing.  Is it because you are permanent, and I like the dangerous risk of never again being able to remove your marks from any surface you touch?  Or is it your smooth, fine black line that you let me draw with such ease?  I'm not sure.  All I know is the opportunity to permanently draw all over my latest sunflower watercolour was more than my self-control could handle.

I promise, Sharpie, that I only intended to draw one or two little highlights in order to add depth and then I was going to put you away.  But then, somehow, instead of stopping at those two highlights, I swear you made me keep outlining, dotting and dashing, until before I knew it, the entire sunflower had been completely covered by your black ink.

So you see, Sharpie, it really isn't my fault.

I really feel like it was you who made me do it.

Actually, when I think about it, Sharpie, I think really, it's you who should be apologising to me.

You know I'm right.

Sharpie, in advance, I just want you to know that I accept your apology and yes, I'd be delighted to use you again sometime.

Kate
x

Ain't No Sunshine

Hello

Ever feel like this?

Three kids.

35 degrees.

Hot.

Grumpy.

Late afternoon.

 Dinner isn't cooked.

And hubby needs to work back late.

  <Sigh!>  

Honestly, it's enough to send anyone to YouTube for a dose of early 1990's rock.  Funnily enough, it didn't work.  Deni -  You're Fired!  

Since YouTube didn't do the trick, to cheer myself up I thought I'd paint my favourite flower, the sunflower, using my  not-so trusty watercolours:

So... What do you think?

  

 I can't decide whether it is brilliant or rubbish.  Perhaps I'll refuse to make a firm judgement right now.


HANG ON........

Hubby just texted.

He's coming home!

HALLELUJAH!!!

Who said that writing a pitiful post on your blog won't cause wonderful things to happen?

Thanks for stopping  by.  I'm off to delegate to get one of my children to make dinner.

I hope to see you around again sometime soon!

Kate
x 

There Was a Wee Lass Named Kate

Whose palette knife made her irate.


The harder she tried,


The more that she sighed,


So she flung the knife in the bin; stomped her foot really hard on the ground; threw a tantrum that was more impressive than all three of her children combined could ever hope to achieve; and decided that it would be quite some time before she used such a tortuous implement again.  She then ate half a chocolate cake in an attempt to assuage her battered artistic soul.*

*It wasn't quite that extreme in reality - I didn't eat the cake.  Mainly because it was getting late and I couldn't be bothered baking one.  I had to settle for a bowl full of stuffed olives instead.  They don't sound quite as impressive or soul-satisfying as cake though, do they?  Nevermind.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll see you 'round with a hopefully more successful artwork later this week. :-)

Kate
x

Sunflower Fun and my Pastel Fad

Dear All

Yes, as you can see, I haven't quite gotten over my current fad of drawing flowers with my new Art Spectrum pastels.

In some ways I must confess that my current pastel and flower obsession reminds me of when I was child all those years ago, where there used to be an "in" thing for all the kids in the playground to play with at lunch.

I don't know about you, but at my school, it was guaranteed that for precisely two weeks every year, elastics, marbles, yo-yo's, knuckle bones or hop-scotch would suddenly, without any formal announcement, be the coolest, most in-est thing *ever*!  I can recall vividly how if you didn't have a cats-eye marble in your possession for those fateful two weeks every year when playing marbles was "it", then you were just a plain, uncool loser - well, at least you were until the next fad rolled around!

I keep wondering if just like when I was a kid, suddenly one morning I'll wake up and say to myself "Pastels? Flowers?  Nah, sick of that, I think I'll paint an abstract!"  Only time will tell.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kate
x

More Sunflower Power

 "Every friend is to the other a sun, and a sunflower also.  He attracts and follows."

Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)

Following yesterday's post, I've managed to get hold of some cold and flu medication in order to continue working on my latest Sunflower painting.  Here, have a look at my progress:

Title: "Blue vase with yellow sunflowers"  Gosh I'm creative today.

I like it so far.  I may need to add a third, smaller sunflower - I'm just trying to build the resolve to paint it (anyone got some handy they can share?).  I'm also planning on adding a fabric tablecloth underneath the vase to ground the painting, as soon as I work out how to paint a fabric tablecloth, that is. Any fabric/colour suggestions?

Sadly I'm not well enough to go to art class tonight, so you'll have to wait until next week for my grand reveal of my Anything and Everything painting.  I promise that I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Kate x

PS: Be sure to come back and visit over the next couple of days so you can see my finished sunflower painting. Oh, and why not embrace my sunflower quote and follow me?  I get so excited every time I get a new follower - I'm just like a little kid on Christmas morning. ;-)

After The Storm....

Today's acrylic was my first adventure into the world of painting flowers.  The inspiration behind this painting was growing sunflowers in my garden after a very nasty storm which caused a lot of damage to my home.  (Put it this way, we were out of our home for nearly nine months in order to repair the damage.) 

Sadly, following this event, my young children were very scared of rain and storms. 

My husband and I decided that something positive must be done and that nature should be the answer.  Why?
Because nature caused us this heartache in the first place, so it seemed reasonable to us that nature could damn* well take some responsibility and fix the heartache as well!

As a result, we grew the sunflowers to teach the children that rain is a part of nature. To explain that without water, you can't grow beautiful flowers.  From the moment the seeds were planted in the ground, every time it rained we (my husband and I) would say "Oh look boys, it's raining! This will help the sunflowers grow!"  The children loved watching the seeds grow and climb into the sky until one day they burst into beautiful flower.

It was a magical day of accomplishment and celebration in my family I can tell you!

This experience was very therapeutic - not only for them, but for me as well.  I like how now, when I have a bad day and life is feeling pretty rough, I imagine the sunflowers - for they helped made me realise that sometimes in life you've gotta go through storms and rain in order to enjoy the beautiful flowers at the end.

*Apologies for the use of this word.  However, if you'd been through what we've been through, you would use it too!