Saturday 31 January 2015

In The Frame

I recently took my painting 'The Rashomon Effect' to Jonathan, to be framed. With his unerring eye for colour and tone, he picked a dark  brownish red colour for the frame, picking out one of the shades he saw in the picture. I back his judgement, because he is usually right. Hopefully, it will be ready for when I reopen the gallery for the new season in late April. (the painting has now moved to the CONTACT US page on my website)
I have just been asked by Radio FM to take part in a programme on retirement! They want to interview me about setting up Ted Coney's Family Portraits so I intend to get a plug in about my new virtual tour (should be up and running in the next two weeks) if I can.

Friday 23 January 2015

Ironic Badge

While Ted Coney's Family Portraits is shut for the winter, I usually take the Morris to be serviced and have any jobs done. As the car is a star attraction in the gallery I need to make sure it is back home by April at the latest so it can be displayed along side some of the paintings I have used it in.
I duly took the car to Ian's garage last week, with the instruction to attach a new badge I had been given, onto the badge bar. It seems my parents-in-law, who were keen campers, had the Camping Club badge on their car from the 1950s.It was discovered after they had died and has recently been given to me.
It does seem rather ironic that I should have it as I hate camping! However, it will fit very nicely on the car, so I have no qualms.
Unfortunately, I need other things doing to the Morris as well. apparently the steering and brakes are not good as it once were (although I had not noticed the difference), so will need urgent attention. 

Friday 16 January 2015

Liquid Gold

There is something rather beautiful about pure linseed oil. I've got a large bowl of it at the moment, in which I am dipping the different parts of the Laurel and Hardy shadow puppets.
This is to make them translucent, so the images can be seen from behind a shadow screen in colour. Having first cut out the shapes out of thick watercolour paper, I have painted them on both sides with coloured inks.
Having left the paper in Linseed Oil to soak, I am now taking them out to dry, so they can be joined together.
The linseed oil had done it's magic. When you hold the cutouts up to the light, you can see your finger very clearly through the watercolour paper.
When the puppets are complete, I shall begin making drawings from them, for my new painting ' Against the Light '.
 

Saturday 10 January 2015

New Broom

I didn't exactly do any cleaning, but I did sort out my studio a bit, ready to begin my new project.
I took down all the old source material from the pin boards and easel connected to
 'The Rashomon Effect' and carefully filed them away. (the painting itself will go to be framed in the near future)
I then started to pin up the shadow puppets from Java I shall be using in the painting, and also the black card puppets of Laurel and Hardy, I made during the summer.
I also got ready a small shadow screen to display the puppets on, while I draw and paint from them.
I am now in the process of painting a coloured, translucent version of Laurel and Hardy which I also want to experiment with, as shadows.
Why Laurel and Hardy? Well, I want them to represent my mother's cousins, Billy and Dickie in a painting I plan to do entitled 'Against The Light '.
 Hence the use of shadows.
 

Saturday 3 January 2015

Virtually A Tour

My virtual tour on the theme of ' Simultaneity ' is nearly finished. Although Colin (the filmmaker) is in America now, the film has been going backwards and forwards via Email, while we can agree on it's final form.
Max, who saw an earlier version , felt there was to much of me flying to Hollywood in my Morris Minor, so we've cut this down. The car also changes from full colour to sepia rather than the other way around, to give the impression that it is going back in time.
I felt the beginning should have more a feeling of looking through the keyhole and I think Colin has managed to capture this .
There is just the timing of some of the fades to change, so they are in step with the spoken word, but hopefully the tour will be available from my website by the end of January.
I'll let you know.