Well.... I know I haven't been posting lately, but busy with colds, coughs etc, and also exploring some old art media friends. Art materials that is.... especially Gouache.
We joined the Bruton Art Society when we moved to Somerset - a very skilled group of painters and those interested in all aspects of fine art. They run workshops and I decided to get back to my own fine art roots and take a wonderful two days with Annette Burkitt exploring abstraction and colour in the landscape with Gaugin and Kandinsky. Our first challenge was an interpretation of one of Gaugin's paintings... the Talisman, done in gouache, a mediaum that I consistantly used years ago for illustration when I was working in advertising. What colour... for me wonderful to revisit. This is not exactly like the original but was great fun.
The next thing was to do some of our own inspiration and I used photos taken locally as my starting point. Again, looking at the colour, shape and vibrance of Gaugin's pallett.
A winding road near Ilminster in winter.
Rolling hills just north of Somerton.
I am so glad to get a brush in my hand again (apart from all the paper I paint for collage material in stitched textiles) Really great to just paint for 'me'.
I am taking some of this new exuberance into sketchbooks and small works that I hope to develop further. All of this may never appear as a stitched textile, but it is giving me a great deal of fun and satisfaction.
Watch this space for more 'art'.