Pictify

A sight recommended on the Saatchi site for displaying your favorite art - yours or others.  People then comment, like, or follow you.

http://pictify.com/user/ShirleyG

New pics for my Hastings Arts Forum page

While at the Arts Forum yesterday I realised my membership had run out so I paid up and today have been updating pics on my page of work.  There is a problem with them displaying until my membership is updated so I have put them here - they are rough collages of as a means of showing more than the allowed 20 images on the page.

my page on the Forum (when it's fixed)  http://www.hastingsartsforum.co.uk/artists/artists-page/gallery/ShirleyG/

Day out at Hastings: Gary Hume at Jerwood, Victoria Kiff and Alistair Kendry at Hastings Arts Forum & Robert's Curios

What a day I had, beautiful weather, art and people.  Only the night before I realised I had left it to a bad time.  We have a week of sunshine and high twenties temperatures, I could have gone Monday or Tuesday but, I left it till Wednesday, the day all the Olympic lanes came into operation.  I check the BBC traffic cameras at 8.30 in the morning and the traffic looked not too bad but I still expected it to be worse.  In fact, the roads were almost empty - the warning have been very effective - everyone's left town.  It was only on the way back when I was only 5 minutes from home, near the Olympics, that I spent 1/2 an hour trying to get round the home traffic dealing with less lanes on the A12 near the grounds.

1. Gary Hume At the new Jerwood in Hastings
  Gary Hume is another YBA that I didn't know about.  Simple shapes, glossy paint in colours you just want to eat.   The first one, 'four feet in the garden', is like many of them, pretty big and when you first look at it you see it as a black abstract shape till you get closer and you start to see feet and the subtle details of indented outlines of toe nanils etc, and, it's very shiny - bling bling, I can't resist.  These are works you definitely need to see in a gallery to get the full effect.   Often I see paintings, especially the old masters in dimly lit galleries for their protection and I just can't wait to get back to google to see up close clear images of them.  The images below just don't capture it for Hume's work - it just looks illustrative here.  There was a great 1/2 video of the artist talking about his work and this was really inspiring - especially the bit about the temptation to add more which ruins your first pure simple idea.  I can really learn from this, especially in some of the very closeup portraits of parts of faces I want to do and in some of my very closeup flower paintings experiments I want to develop.

Click here for more about Hume.

Gary Hume - Feet in the Garden (on the left)

I had afternoon tea in the Jerwood Cafe - looked nice but took a long time to come and had some stale edges on the little morsels.

Afternoon tea at the Jerwood

And the building itself sits right on the seafront amongst the old black fishermens' sheds.

2. Victoria Kiff & Alistair Kendry at Hastings Arts Forum Gallery - The Sea and It's Creature/Gilt
I met the lovely Victoria and she showed me around her new studio overlooking the sea.  It's a very exciting time for her with lots of exhibitions coming up over the coming year.  Definitely one to watch and perhaps invest in now before the prices skyrocket and they're just so lovely and full of feeling.   Alistair had taught me some wonderful freeing art techniques in a few classes I did with him - a great teacher as well as artist.   His sumptuous gold leaf, new super greens, textures and free strokes were wonderful too.  His huge gold leaf picture at the other end of the gallery as you enter deserves a place in a very large open space.   At £800 surely someone will snap it up - oh if only I had the money and the space.

 I have bought a few of theirs works (there goes the holiday but I couldn't stop myself) and will post them when I pick them up - can't wait.

Victoria Kiff- Portrait

Alistair Kendry - Red boat storm 2

click here for their artist statements and details of the forum's other exhibitions:
 hastingsartsforum-alstair-kendry-and-victoria-kiff

Keep an eye on Victoria's site for her upcoming exhibitions:  www.victoriakiff.net

Jenny Saville Exhibition - Modern Art Oxford

 It was just as well I had combined the Saville exhibition with my trip to 'Art In Action' Fair in Oxford, as the latter's car park was washed out with all the rain we've been having till now and they were bussing people from a farmer's field which I declined and went home - I wasn't getting my wheelchair which I need for exhibitions, into an electric golf buggy train thing to the bus then the bus to the show - life's too short.   The trip was still worth it for the Saville exhibition.

Loved this exhibition - HUGE paintings of flesh.  I'd seen her work online before but when you stand in front of these 10-20' pictures of big women, intersexuals, cosmetic surgery operations (she watched operations) and cows hanging  in abatoirs (she lived near one), you are just overtaken by them.  And then there are her beautiful recent drawings of her pregnant and holding her first child, based on Davinci cartoon.   I can now see why Saatchi took her on and I am beginning to see why the YBAs took off - there was a lot of talent. (see also my Hastings review of Gary Hume, another YBA (young british artists - late 80s graduates which includes Damien Hirst.)

 

 

Claire Bassler Paris Exhibition - how i wish i could have seen it

My favourite nature painter.   I will go to her Paris gallery one day but this exhibition had so much of her work.   She has another exhibition on currently in Avalon France.  Am I adventurous enough to try and get there or perhaps I will see more in her Paris Gallery?  Investigation needed.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhxzlx_exposition-claire-basler_creation

 

http://www.clairebasler.com/photos_film_galerie.html 

Designers Block - I need to go buy more white paint

Whenever I see white interiors on Designers Block I mean to go buy more white paint and finish what I started.  It's taking me so long that I think I need to repaint old white painted surfaces as well.  Will it never end.  But oh I love it.  Not too minimalist with the right colour accents.  In fact white helps to de-clutter if you like your extra bits and pieces - if you have too many bits, paint some of them white and they will still be there for you to admire their shape but will fade into the background.  It also gives them a new life.  When I've done all this I will post it all - oh yeah of little faith - I will.

more:
http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/treat-for-eyes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/CGMt+%28designers+block%29

Wow Indeed - Desginers Block - Amazing Theatre Stages on Water

I want to go to Austria just to see them

 for more:
http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/stages-on-lake-constance-bregenz.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/CGMt+%28designers+block%29

Designer Block - Faces

Great idea.  Looks interesting.  Will try a version where part of face is done as drawing.

'I just love the mix of art and photography here. American make up artist Yadim has created these images inspired by the vintage illustrations for Dior by of Rene Gruau. Stroke of Genius. Found at Dazed Digital'

http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/just-love-mix-of-art-and-photography.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/CGMt+%28designers+block%29

Three Chinese Ink Exhbitions

It's in the air - 3 Chinese Ink exhibtions on at the same time - Saatchi Gallery & British Museum showing Contemporary and Modern work  and Somerset House - traditional with great video of artist working with big brush in very free flowing way.  I love working in ink, especially on wet paper and I must get back to it.  It allows for beautiful accidents. You have to work with and give into the accidents - let go.  This often leads to much freer work - sometimes just a big mess.

One artist Liu Dan does amazing work.  I managed to get few pics of two of his works before being told off - watercolour of a book and a huge ink painting of a poppy flower - both Saatchi and the British Museum had a version of this.  Unfortunately first picture is blurry.  (Did you know there are phone apps to help you take pictures secretly - screen looks black, no sounds, automatic taking of pic so you can look like you are listening on phone.)

Watercolour painting of a book.

Accompanying text.

Closeup of the painting of the book showing some of the blue cover and pages.

Closeup of the painting of the paper edges.

Closeup up of painting of text at an angle.

Poppy in ink by Liu Dan - about 5' x 3'

Wonderful uses for old sweaters

While trying to find the sweaters as chairs covers blog, I found this on another site.  Great uses for old jumpers or other knits.
http://www.crookedbrains.net/2011/08/how-to-reuse-old-sweaters.html

Linking to my Fav designer blog - Designers Block: cardboard frames and chicken footstools

I know I have this blog linked on my side bar but I've just been trying to find a particular blog about knitted chair covers in it and can't find it so I am going to blog each time I see something in her newsletter that I particularly like (well everything is wonderful but perhaps things that are relevant to what I am wanting to do).  I can then search it on my blog as she doesn't seem to have a search.

So I am starting with:

1. wonderful things made from cardboard:  http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012_06_01_archive.html

2. chicken footstools - because Kim and I were discussing shrunken jumpers and these looked like they are covered with felt or shrunken wool:  http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/put-your-feet-up-on-chicken.html

Painting bathroom furniture white

Bathroom chair and shopper that I use for laundry hamper.

I have a million things to paint white including the terrible aqua on that wall - the only colour left from the previous tennant.

Sofa covering

Didn't want black so covered leather sofa with old blanket and John's old blue cotton jumper.  Did as quickly as possible - yesterday and today.   Unlike John's when I took weeks and made proper covers with piping etc.  I had too many other things to do like painting etc.

Original black leather sofa which I had covered in white quilt.  It's my second sofa, other one is white.  I don't really have room for both, but until I can convince John he needs it, it's main use is for storing knitting basket and books.

Sofa recovered in cut up white cotton blanket and Johns old blue cotton jumper he had thrown out.  I had kept it because I loved the colour and the pattern on the edging.  I knew I would find a use for it.  The blue side cusions normally zip onto sofa but I forgot to leave gap and anyway I think it's better they are movable.

I had little fluffy cushions - see below - one black, one white which were really just dust gatherers so I used scraps to cover them.

I still think the white fluff looks cute but you just don't feel like resting your head on it cause you just don't know what might be in there.

Now you see the shoddiness - just sewn up corners and added ties.  I didn't have enough fabric and couldn't be bother sewing on other backing fabric and the above back cushion zips onto the sofa at the back so had to leave that open - Not zipping at the moment to see if really need to.

The base cushions underneath.

Now I need to find storage for all the blankets I use to store under the cushions and above them under the white quilt.

This poof might do - next project - if i can rip off bottom and find way of adding another closing bottom to hold in the blankets.

Starting a series of drawings in preparation for portrait

Took lots of very close up pics of John so I can make sketch studies in preparation for a painted portrait.  Not sure if end result will be one big picture or a series of small ones.  This first sketch is first of eye studies.  At the moment doing in PSD using the photo to start to 'see' the minute details and shapes before trying it freehand/eyeballing it.