Rothko with a little touch of Friday

This photo was taken with less light.
Slight resemblance!(maybe)
My college On cardboard
A1 size, so that's pretty big. My experimenting turned into a Rothko
(I wish!)
Worth £10 not 10 million.;-)

Access to art 2006

This cordless drill was to me an iconic object, that suggest a male.
I became interested in Feminiseing objects such as this,
I filled it with my old jewlery, which ranged 30 years, from 1970 to 2000.
Ref: Clear Resin
Date: 10/10/07
Photographer: Sandra Crame

On my recent visit to England, I had the pleasure to meet up with four for dinner and then one random street pass meeting. All from my Access to Art course 2006.
The one and only art course I did, at the then Reading college
(Now Thames valley University)

Some History
2 completed HND then Degree now Reading Uni (Sandra/Tina)
1 left 1st year degree (Caroline)
1 never continued (life/ T)
I left 6 months in to HND (Sweden)
1 went to Oxford Brook's( Paula)

They all had web sites but the only one I could work was Sandra's so if you read my blog contact me? please;-)

This post is a tribute to Sandra, you can look at her work as her web site is up and running. I have posted one of her images, my favourite I just cant resist anything with pearls in it.

I hope she wont mind.

Melted plastic

This is not part of the afternoon tea phase(currently in) But taken from, my forever getting longer list of to-do's. So here is experiment 1. Pictures before and after.

I almost set alight to the flower. How?

Health and safety tip

You shouldn't walk away from melting plastic in your oven, especially when you are watching the extra disc that came with the new"Sex In The City "movie an interview with SJP, in a word dangerous!.

An Evening with Ralph

Coincidence or not?

In the same week I track down one of Ralphs early publishing's 1963, 10 years before I was born. I get invited to attend a Venisarge.

I will talk about the book 1st
Ralph I find just fascinating, he has so much history so many story's.
I cant keep up, I am actually Flabbergasted. Which of those of you know me, this never happens.
He is not very modest about him self he talks about the people he has met.

But If I had written as many books (47 I think) And had so many famous interviews, I think id carry a memoirs, this term I think mean "a list of it all".

I never asked if he has a biography, that shall be my next question?.

So on my last trip out with him, I had quizzed him on his works and he briefly touched on the children's books. These being some of his earliest work.
(Again ,not fact. Just what I think I remembered hearing)

Not so good with using the internet, it's funny when you don't want to know something the information flows freely!?, When you do, not a lot to be found.

And to honest I'm not a snooper, I didn't want to boarder on the lines of a stalker;-)

But as chance would have it,I found one. In a vintage book store in the USA, perfect condition even with it's original dust jacket. His writing and photography, a Double Wammy.

The Venisages at the Brandstom Stockholm
Strange place for a gallery......
The powers that are, decided to go with New York and London Flow, where major gallery's have moved.

Originally in Ostermalm Stockholm. New venue a little hard to find ,but the show space fabulous with great lighting.

One female Swedish artist who's name I can't remember, I really like her style of oil painting, blowing bubble colours with oils paints, almost iridescent and a fantastic use of mixed bright un-muddy colour. I think that the art was expensive but I don't know her history so it could be just a huge investment!
(i'll google this now, cant believe I forgot! hectic week)

In reflection to seeing her work, i have decided I need to go bigger!

2nd we where just to late the it had closed, but in true Ralph presence and he really has presence. They opened up for us to take a quick look.

John E Franzene! knock me down with a feather as they say!

I have seen his work at the Moderna Museet big wow factor.
If I had money to invest in art I think id have brought one 50% boy household cars and small model detail are strong. My hall wall in England would have just been the right place!

We can but dream.......
All in all a good night out in Stockholm

Pink Knit finishe's the oil/acrylic mix

You need to be really close up to see the knit imprint in the paint, it has a cracked almost vintage finish. I really like the juxtaposition of the oil/acrylic mix with the fine graffiti spray over the top. This experiment I can defiantly work with more in the future.

Blankie mania turns Tracey Emin

I first saw Tracey Emins work in 2005(I think) It was the tent where she had put pictures of all the people that she had ever slept with in side the wall of the tent. Tate Modern I think.

Also on display was her chair, patch work it appeared to be made from with hand embroidered lettering I could Google I guess for an image but I wont waste time as I know what Im talking about. I think being a good line here.

Blankie mania was a pattern on the huge forum/web knit thing Ravelry it took me hours to work it out and with the help of my knit cafe buddy.

And I'm not kidding about the hours.

I can make elaborate dresses, but I just cant follow patterns!
I frogged it(knit term)
(Ended/it sat ,did not want to do any more)
This is not me, I forgot to mention that I went completely wrong and this is not me I never go wrong with free form I make my own rule, thus always the right way.
But inspired by a memory I have turned it into ART and what Tracey Emin would be proud of ( I think)

A 70's doily, but in my true style no pot plants here (alive)
So My skull it now rests upon, I can also see a keen opportunity to knit some graffiti and add my own text.

What to write think maybe "Hate" would be a good descriptive word to use;-)

Baby pink

My knittings pink my arts pink, it's all gone pink!

The black is acrylic and I painted it thickly on to an MDF board that I had pre-prepared by painting white.

The ball of wool is what I used to get the effect of the spirals in the black/grey by just twisting the paint as it more pliable on wood this was an experiment.

And really I need to test it on canvas but I think maybe with oils would be better choice as acrylic soaks to fast into canvas.

Tunnel banna Art

This is what the usual poster holder looks like as you walk up the stair out of a train station, but instead of the regular poster below is what was in it's place.
I saw this at Oden plan (Stockholm)

It's the 1st time I have seen this done but again I think it's pretty cool.
Making my boring daily trips, just a little more interesting;-)

Part 2 With a Knitted Print.

My knitted sample, sitting loose. I used tissue paper to push down carefully and only on the yarn.
Then I lifted off the knit sample and the print remained in the oils. Two weeks to dry. Before the next step;-)
The photo is not so clear, I think that I was to close and it was actually bright sun that afternoon. I will re take the picture and publish the post again at a later date.

Oils and acyrlic mixed

Part one
Oil and acrylic paint randomly placed on a board of M,d,f that I painted white with base coat.
Part two
I use a cake spatula to get the lined effect.

Part three
This will be, to add a knitted sample. Why? because I want to experiment pressing the knitting onto the oil paint to make a print and an indentation.

Yet more Street sign Art

This sign had been graffiti-ed using hammer beads and not just a sticker, maybe this is also a form of sign post art something else to look out for;-)

Oil and paper

I added some tissue paper to the edge of my practice oil paint that was painted on wooden board.

Art

In another form that I have seen around Stockholm.
Sign post art
Or should I say on the back of street sign posts, have you ever noticed these.

Usually in the form of a black and white sticker- Not sure of the rules or even what they represent and it seemed on my walk home a hole lot of Deer stickers? Yup the furry kind.

The signs are high so I'm guessing a ladder or a quick host up is all that's involved?
Here are some of my photo's taken today, I love Stockholm it's a very inspirational place, always some thing to take a photo of.

Bollywood (Afternoon tea)

Long and deep the canvas size is 50 cm by 100 cm, created using mixed media.
Three of the same canvas I have just taking the photo's at different angles. Here is my new art Bollywood this is the 1st in the series of Afternoon tea.

The red in the painting seems really lost in these photos it appears almost brown when it's actually bright red. so I need to work on my photography.

Bollywood afternoon tea-Update

I have now completed this picture this was taken before the knitting was added, the puppy helping me in the back ground below.

I'm having fun with my new theme, of Afternoon teas.
I have not had a canvas for a while. But I'am so confident this time with my new art
(it's a little bit brighter than it was meant to be)

That I have even put my name to the front already.
(A first for me)
In the past I seem to have had an issue with signing my name, I'd sign the back?
And only because of some friends, they had joked it's worthless with out it being signed.

But for the exhibition Ralph recommended that I also initialled the front.
So that's my new way forward.
The crochet/knit sample I will spray with Hot pink and Turquoise blue.

Creative days

Dazed
Bollywood, afternoon tea inspiration.

Some times, there are just never enough hours in the day. And I get so frustrated when it gets so late that my eyes will not work, my paint will not mix and my needle will not knit any more.;-(

Whats my new Inspiration

I'm the one in the mirror
Paper and play, fruit tea stains and acrylic, below a collage of inspirational colours.

It's a tough one, new inspiration knowing when enough is enough of one project to move on to the next

Being a textile artist, thing flow as your naturally using lots of different materials all of the time, not just oils or acrylic say.

But like everything you have dry spells, or in my case I tend to work in a style of how I feel at that time. Sad, happy, crazy, mad and some times just completely out of my bubble!

My latest inspiration probably inspired by my trip on the Orient is Afternoon tea.

I shall call it the Afternoon tea phase, very British, one of my favourite things to do, posh, polite and a silver service. You just cant beat a Cup'o'tea poured from a tea pot.

And this is a spoiled thing to type, but if some one is pouring it for you! served with plate full of carefully cut crust removed sandwiches!, mmmm heaven.

Full Metal (But curtains) no knitting!

It's a kind of patch work but on a big scale instead of cm squares I used T-shirts!
This is a project that I have had planned for a while, but it was way down my priority list. Mainly as my son dose not need curtains here. They are for our return to England.

He is in to metal (This comes a huge collection of black t-shirts)

And over years the T-shirts piled up got small and old, but I had my reasons for keeping them.
One- cost a lot
Two- they are always for a reason/memory a reminder more like.

festivals we have been to or a gig with his dad or friends. So I cut then into almost square and have attached them randomly. I will back them with a set of the cheap Ikea curtains at a later date.

My oil paintings compleated

Here are my two paintings that I completed doing a 1 week course on welcome to oil painting.
It's two and a half weeks since they where painted and I was surprised that they where still slightly wet on collection around the edges.
It took some careful packaging (Black bags) an interesting trip home on public transport.
But I'm pretty impressed, now I need to find out how I go about getting them in mounted frames as I think that a white mount around each painting would really set them off.
No knitting involved here, very usual for my style of art but it's always fun to try something different. The fact that you can actually tell what I was trying to paint Shocked me ;-)