Beachcombing in December

The last couple of days have been very windy and rainy and the wind direction churned the sea.  Even though I live about 5 minutes drive from the ocean, I could hear it pounding against the cliffs when I went outside.  Lying it bed I could feel it. It became a subtle but rhythmic thud, almost like a heart beat, vibrating through the land.

Early this morning I went to the sea, both in Flatrock and Torbay, to take some photos.  The ocean had calmed a lot since yesterday but was still pretty rough and the power of the waves hitting the land was still very evident.

The beach in Middle Cove was deserted.  I was probably the only one foolish enough to be out at that hour in the cold to gaze at the sea.  There were a few casualties of the storm:  a young seagull who misjudged waves and wind and a small sea star, ripped from its ocean bed and placed on the beach by the surf.  Of course the find of a sea star brought only one thing to mind - gyotaku printing!  I brought the little Christmas star home and am busily making lots of prints with it.  Some are on printing paper, some on tissue, some on cards and some on watercolour paper, ready for washes of colour to be added.

The little sea star will be washed, dried and popped into the freezer for another printing session after Christmas.  More images from the prints will be shared over on Watermarks tomorrow.

Sweet, rich and undecided

With shopping and cleaning and winding down a bit (read napping) I haven't spent a lot of time painting or drawing outside of some commissions, but have lots of ideas floating around in my head that I hope to put onto paper soon.

One of these is a drawing or painting of the image above.  This is a Cherry Blossom and they bring with it memories of my father and childhood.  My father was diabetic and would at times would go into insulin reactions and need something sweet quickly to counteract the effects.  There were always a handful of these chocolate cherries on top of the fridge and we knew as children they we were never allowed to touch them.  And we didn't.

While I was picking up something at the drugstore today, I saw a line of these along with many other kinds of chocolate bars by the checkout.  On impulse I picked one up and decided it would make an interesting drawing or painting.  I got it home and took it out of its little box and unwrapped it.  It seems smaller than I remember or perhaps as a child it just seemed larger then.

To reveal the cherry and gooey filling, it had to be bitten into.  The chocolate shell is thick and boy it sure is sweet.  Oh the things I do for art... however, I did break into it and did a quick watercolour sketch as well as taking some photos, so now I need to decide on a medium and move ahead.

And no, I didn't eat the rest of the Cherry Blossom.  Its still sitting in its sticky splendour, waiting for me to succumb, find a willing volunteer or dump it.

Glass

While in the midst of Christmas preparations, time for art becomes a bit scarcer, but I usually manage to fit something in most days, even if i don't get to blog about it - or even if its fit to blog about!

I was rummaging around in the cold room, sorting out what alcoholic delights were there and thought a little sketch of some of the bottles with the light shining through them would make an interesting compositions.  this is a tiny piece 2.5 x 3.5 and may well translate into a large painting, but that may have to wait a little longer.

The intricasies of painting glass intrigue me.  The subtle colour and value changes as well as hard and soft edges that give glass its unique appearance are all very acheiveable if you take your time and look at it like a puzzle.  Putting one piece in at a time and suddenly you have glass!

Myrhh

As some of the readers of this blog know, I have several facets to me besides that of an artist.  One of those facets is that I am a herbalist.  This means that I have trained in herbalism which provides me with knowledge of medicinal herbs, how to prepare them and their effect on the body and various disorders.

My herbal side has slipped a bit in recent years as art has taken over, but I still strongly believe in the power of herbs to treat illness and the holistic approach to traditional medicine that western medicine often lacks.  I also still grow and use medicinal herbs in preference to most over the counter medicines.

While looking for something entirely different today, I rearranged some shelves and found some myrhh, yes one of the classic Christmas gifts supposed brought to Jesus by the three wise men.

Myrhh is an important resin the herbal world. Myrhh is a resin which is produced by a small, spiny tree or shrub with knotted branches; a member of the same Burseraceae botanical plant family as Frankincense (Boswellia carteri), myrrh and frankincense essential oils have similar therapeutic properties in aromatherapy use.

The resin of myrrh is naturally found in the cracks of the tree, which sets in brown-red lumps. According to legend, goats used to rub against the trees and the shepherds who tended them collected the resin which had stuck to the goats' hair; today, the collection of the resin is from man made cuts in the tree or by cultivation of trees.

In Ancient Rome myrrh was priced at five times as much as frankincense Roman funerals to mask the smell emanating from charring corpses. It was said that the Roman Emperor Nero burned a year's worth of myrrh at the funeral of his wife, Poppaea. Pliny the Elder refers to myrrh as being one of the ingredients of perfumes, and specifically the "Royal Perfume" of the Parthians. He also says myrrh was used to fumigate wine jars before bottling. Archeologists have found at least two ostraca from Malkata (from New Kingdom Egypt, ca. 1390 to 1350 B.C.) that were lined with a shiny black or dark brown deposit that analysis showed to be chemically closest to myrrh. The Romans were known to use myrrh as a premier additive to wine, though the latter was far more popular.

Myrrh essential oil is ant-inflammatory, a tonic, a stimulant, antiseptic, astringent, carminative, sedative and anti-microbial. It is used in skin care to treat Athlete's foot, eczema, wrinkles, cracked skin and wounds; myrrh oil is also used to help arthritis, asthma, bronchitis, gum infections, coughs and sore throats. It is also helpful in the treatment of diarrhea and colds.

Myrrh can also be found in mouthwashes and toothpaste and is used in dentistry. It is popular for use in perfumes, cosmetics and soaps and is found as a flavoring agent in drinks and food.

Adjustments

I'm sure everyone is becoming tired of seeing the updates on this portrait by now but its approaching completion and I have the bones of another piece in my head, and am anxious to put it on paper.

I'm continuing to build the background for this piece and am at the point where I wonder if I've screwed it up or its simply at the ugly stage and I need to push further ahead and let it come together more.  My initial need to make the background recede is apparent in this update as both it and the portrait are competingn for attention.  I need to address that with out losing the effect that I'm after or compromising the paper's surface.

I really should have thought out the background first on this one then worked it before adding the figure.  It would be the logical way to proceed but I'm not always logical.  The symbolic images are becoming part of the background but I need to fade the hare especially.  Animals or people tend to pull in my focus and I overwork the detail where I should not have. 

Luckily I am using 300lb paper which is pretty forgiving in terms of scrubbing back so I should be able to fade the background images and made them recede more.

One more day and I hope it will be complete.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Symbolism in portraiture

I've made a start on the background of the portrait.  It may well change the overall values of the face, but I'll see once its in place and tweak as I go along.

I like symbolism in portraiture.  It makes a piece personal and gives the viewer a talking point as they try to interpret the symbols.  I rarely explain the symbols to others for exactly those reasons and because they are personal to both the sitter and to me as the artist.  Symbolism has been used in portraiture for hundreds of years.  Some of the most famous portraits of Queen Elizabeth I contained many symbols to represent her view of herself and her power and virtues to the world.

So these are the initial layers for the background which outline the drawings that I have placed there.  I don't want them to be focal points, but almost shadow images that the viewer has to examine closely and to decide if they are really there or just imagination.

This portrait is of my brother in law by the way, who I hope I don't perturb too much during this process.

Sales - when to have one

Over at my Etsy shop, I'm having a Half Price Holiday Sale on select necklaces created with semiprecious stones, sterling silver and other natural materials.  The sale will last until December 24th  - or until they all sell, whichever comes first! 

Like most artists, I usually have an inventory of stock, in my case consisting of paintings, drawings and jewelry.  So when do I decide that its time to have a sale to encourage people to buy and to make room for me to produce more? 

Length of exposure is a strong factor.   If a piece has been around for awhile and hasn't generated a lot of interest it can go back into stock or can be reworked into a new piece.

Orphan work.  By this I mean something that isn't part of my general style of work or theme and as a result becomes a stand alone piece.  This can be good or bad depending on whether it catches someone's eye or not.  If not, then off it goes to tempt someone with  a sale price.

Lack of storage space.  When my studio shelves and storage areas are getting full, I know its time to make some things available at a reduced cost.

New projects looming.  When I have ideas for a series of pieces or want to experiment with new media or supports, I need a clean slate to help that happen.  Moving old stock out to make way for new is always a good reason for a sale.

Encourage new clients.  A sale is often the introduction of a new buyer to the purchase of original works and can be the making a long relationship between artist and buyer.

So go and browse.  Perhaps you'll find something there that tempts you or may be the temptation of someone else.

Meanwhile, this little pup is slowly coming together.  Time is against me in the lead up to Christmas, but as of tomorrow I'm off work for two weeks, then I can catch up again.

Portrait update

Time for a quick portrait update inbetween turkey sales.

I'm still building layers on this piece and its starting to get some depth now.  The pointillistic approach that I have taken for the last few portraits seems to give more life to the skin tones.  Except in the very young, there is rarely a smooth tone to the skin. Colour variances and shading show the bluish thinner layer of skin over bony areas, while areas with more flesh have pinker tones to them.

I'm still struggling with decisions over a background.  Inspiration isn't happening on this one.  I have ideas rolling around but nothing is gelling right now. Technically I should have completed the background first, as it will likely change the values in the portrait.  However, I'll deal with that when the time comes.