Digital Flower painting

Done from pic taken at Edyta's last week.

Two exhibtions - Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern & Mondrian/Nicholson at Cautauld inspired more digital drawing

Productive day - 2 inspiring exhibitions and some resultant drawings.  I nearly didn't go as I wasn't sure I would be interested - you never know where you'll find inspiration.

1. Kusama at Tate Modern - 83 yrs old 'best known living Japanese artist' - lives in mental institution with studio opposite - very interesting story, worth looking up - parents wouldn't let her do art when she was a child, she went to new york, became well known, burnt out and has lived in institution for years.    Lot of 'dots' work - you may know it, not exactly my thing but I did like some of her clothing sculpture.   But, one room wowed me - a small room, simple, completely dark with a walkway, walls and ceiling totally covered with mirror and with water on floor either side of shiny walkway - ie everything is reflected forever in everything, so that when hundred of dotty/little round  coloured lights hanging from ceiling at different heights come on, you feel like you are in space amongst the stars.  I am going back again and taking John to see just this room.

While in Tate, I did my usual of going to members rooms and drawing the view but this time I wanted to try out scibbly trace on a landsape so i took pic on phone and did quick trace drawing.  I also experimented more with brush and eraser on different opacities to start doing some clouds.

Photo of view of St Pauls from Tate Members Room

Clouds done with brush picking up colour from photo and eraser - both brush and eraser set on almost transparent.

2. Mondrian and Ben Nicholson at Cautauld - shows how inspired each other, both leading the development of geometric abstract.  Just about 10 works each and some letters etc but very interesting and clarifying for me.  They explored colour and shapes to get a simple balance, depth/flatness, simpleness - I am going to write a simple colour theory for John because this is the kind of work he would like to do and I think he would be a natural for it - I have  asked him for one he did, to hang in my lounge - it may have been beginners luck, we'll see.  He drew did 3 simple shapes on large grey painting.  I had done the background in the colours/paint we used to decorate his flat a few years ago and he did the rest.  It just works.   I will blog a pic of it at some point.

Leaflet from todays show at the Cautauld - Mondrian top and Ben Nicholson bottom

I wanted to do something on the phone inspired by these works and to try using the apps bucket colour fill to do it.

Mondrian inspired phone doodle

Nicholson inspired phone doodle

While I was in the cafe, I wanted to try drawing a crowd scene using the phone.  I don't know if my hand will learn to draw from the scibbly tracings.  I hope so, they are such an instant fix.  One day I hope to draw as quickly without the picture.  It's amazing how it helps get perspective - different size people - and how it helps get expressions quickly - the woman on the right eating.   Given more time and better photo, I could do even more.

Phone photo of Cautauld Cafe

A 5 minute scribbly trace on phone

John has just reset the phone so I have been able to buy and download a full version of Sketchbook so I am now off  to play.

I love doing scribbly trace drawings of pics on phone

Edyta and her daughter Sophia done yesterday during lunch with them.

John

It's interesting to see what you can get once you turn of the photo.  Want to see eventually how to get a likeness with the least possible lines.

Remodelling small pjs

I can only show part of the pjs as I was wearing them when J took pic without me knowing and the rest of it shouldn't be seen by the world.    I know it's not a clear pic and I will eventually take better pics of all the sewing I've been doing.  You can see the buttons down the side - this is part of the top of the pjs.

They were originally nice M&S smooth cotton size 12 men's PJs which i never got to wear as i didn't quite make it down to that size. I am size 18/20 on the bottom so by cutting the top into 6 parts - 2 fronts, back in 2 halves and the 2 sleeves, I was able to get enough lenght to add 5 inch inserts into the sides.  I usually add stiching on outside over seams to give a better finish so they look like they were always like that.

Side showing the button half of the top's front.  The other side has the button holes.

Pink knitted mobile phone holder 1st prototype

Hangs around neck - closed

Open

Needs some changes, besides it looking not great.    Want to add a stylus holder.  At least I won't scratch screen - but unless I make a couple of little sewing changes it will probably fall out.  Also need to add fastener.  Will knit another in thinner wool or other fabric/string.  Also going to make one out of old book/cover.

Windowsill herb growing experiment

Always had problems growing herbs.   Sick of supermarket ones going off.  This time the pack said water from below and this seems to helped.

Supermarket bought growing herbs: curly parsley, my fav sorrel and flat leaf Parsley.  The Sorrel has now been growing 2 weeks.  I am not sure whether it's losing some of its flavour though.

Another experiment: the tallest leaves are from a twig of greenery, I know not what, that came in a bunch of flowers which has grown in this little vase of regularly refreshed water only, for over a year.  So yesterday I took leftover bits from bunches of cut parsley and mint that was finished.  I think the brown leaves were already dead but i will take and see how long they last.

Drawing and painting on phone - me and Hockney

Am in heaven again - doing a blog on art discoveries while watching Two Hairy Bikers Mediterian cooking.

After playing with Autodesk's Sketchbook - free version (can't get paid version which gives more layers and brushes and features till i can get account of phone changed),  I have found it fantastic.  A few things have come up that I hadn't thought of but would equally apply to painting on canvas or on computer.   For example I had this book for getting portraiture colour right.

I had scanned colour chart into computer and used the colour numbers shown in Photoshop, looked up in wikepeadia to get colour name in mixed colours - the book gives you recipes to mix the colours from basic colour set for each type of skin colour.   Wasn't sure quite how I would use this.   Then when i got the phone, I took pic of chart with new phone, imported it as background layer in Sketchbook, made another background layer with head structure and used the 3rd layer to work on.

 Phone screen showing Sketchbook layers - background colour chart, 2nd layer head structure and 3rd layer to draw/paint on. 

I draw on top layer using head structure layer as guide.

Then i turn off head structure layer to start to draw more to get likeness - not done here.

I can then use the apps colour picker to pick the colours from colour chart layer.  This is easier than opening up the menu and selecting colour from colour menu and gives me exact colours.

By moving to different colour the colour pick changes colour and you continue drawing or paintings.

Building up the colours

Continue to build and change colours

You may see the problem here - once you start to build up colours you lose access to colour chart.  I will have to build a version of this chart in photoshop so that the colour are small squares down one side of picture.

I though it would be difficult drawing and painting on phone - the HTC Desire HD screen is just over an inch bigger than an iphone - but i have found the ease of zooming makes it easy enough to go in for detail and then come back to see how it looks in overall picture.

The free version menu gives you, opacity and size change for pencil, brush, wider brush, streaky brush, spray paint, and a paint filler and eraser as well as access to colour swatches (you can add your own colour swatches but in this version you lose the original ones until you reset - i may just simply add in colours from my chart) also RGB sliders/ colour mixer and layer menu where you can import pics, turn up to 3 layers off and on, merge layers export picture showing any layers turned on.  So, you can export versions of your picture then re import to add more layers. 

Once you can use more layers, you can add colours a bit at a time so you never mess up good beginnings.  Then you can merge when you're happy - or as Hockney does on his ipad, show it as a animated movie of building the picture.

Layer containing colour using the sprayer.

The previous 2 layers turned on and more added.

I will definitely get the paid version when i can and also 'Brushes' used by Hockney on ipad when i have one.

Also here are the drawing pens I bought and made for the phone.

The one on the right is a brush version I bought for £10.  The two on the left are ones I made using biro housings and cheap materials from Maplin: wire, conductive foam and  aluminum tape.  I have other material - conductive plastic i will try one day.  I made short one for ease of carrying and long one to give a freeer ark to mark making.

HOCKNEY
I loved Hockney's exhibition of landscapes mainly for their colour but really because of his amazing love of moving forwards.  I am reading a book of interviews with him going back to the 80s and he's always been like this.  I read his interesting study of use of camera's in art going back to Renaissance (use of camera lucida -lenses) - lots disagree with him, and his use of photos in 80s and 90s to explore cubism in his painting - this relates to how we see which the camera can't really replicate.   Now in his 70s he's using digital media, still getting up at 5am everyday to work, painting outdoors in Yorkshire weather.  The great thing he did in the Royal Academy exhibition was to show how using ipad allowed him to sketch the weather as it changed everyday before he did his large scale paintings - in the main hall you had one large oil painting made up of about 15 canvasses of a part of a wood in spring.  On the other 3 walls you had about 40(only part of 100s he did) large ipad printouts of his sketches done from Feb to June showing the wood going in and out of spring - his sketches he did to do the painting.  I love seeing artists sketchbooks.  It was great to see how he could see the same scene so differently each day.  He also showed how he has experimented with ipad drawing - because he knows he wants to print it out in huge printouts, he had to adjust his painting and setup on ipad accordingly.  It's the first time the Royal Academy has given it's room to an artist to do contemporary work not finished till the exhibition and to large scale digital printouts as part of painters work.   You can see Brian Sewell's critical review (i don't disagree with it all, I just love what he's doing to advance digital work) http://annecane.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/david-hockney-ra-a-bigger-picture-royal-academy-review-by-brian-sewell/


Some of his exhibition pics:

The exhibtions main work that appeared on catalogue.

One of the ipad printouts.

He says he'll probably go back to paintings portraits now.  I look forward to them.  But who knows what he'll get up to next.

Hockney at work on ipad

He sends new ipad flower pic to friends every morning before starting work.

But he's still a painter - here working outdoors in Yorkshire on RA exhibtion work.

Iconic photo collage work form 80s looking at how we see differently to camera - taking one picture would show flat screen whereas we see by focusing on different things with equal clarity because ours eyes can refocus at will as we flit around - so he took many pictures at different positions - eg he took pic of stop sign up a ladder near it.   This theory was especially significant for capturing huge landscapes like the grand canyon which the camera flattens so is less like the reality we experience in being there.

He applied this way of looking to portraits.

His mother.

So I wonder what he'll do with ipad portraits.

Pink thick knitted socks

Not pretty but warm and quick to knit

Just like the last pair, they don't match as I experiment on the first one and improve on the second.  This time I crocheted a top edging.   I will put up the really thick ones I knitted for John as soon as he takes a pic.  Other than perhaps knitting a round the neck cover for my phone and fingerless mits, that maybe it for knitting for now, though people say you get the bug and there are quite a few knitting evenings in coffee shops etc  in trendy hoxton and elsewhere which may tempt me - probably not.

My first Soufflé

Beginner's luck.  I saw it on 2 Hairy Bikers Best of British TV show.  They said we shouldn't fear it.  It's easy.  So today I was going to have omelet for lunch and thought, well souffle is like an omelette so I just did it from memory.  I can't believed it worked without even remembering the exact ingredients - I made a roux of oil (had no butter/marg left)  and plain flour, milk and cheese.  Add 2 beaten egg yolks then folded in 2 beaten egg whites and cooked for 30 mins - suppose to be at 220 deg but i started off at 160 by mistake for first 10mins till i checked.  So it must be easy if i can do it.

I am adding to this post as a friend has been dying to try a souffle and just this morning the wonderful Eric Landlard on channel 4, who i just discovered in the last few months,  a fantastic French chef, maker of incredible fancy cooking especially deserts and has started a new series of Glamourous Puds.   Yes, get rid of the stubble.  The strong French features are enough.

This series is about the influence of Careme, starting off in Russia and today he made his mock non cook iced Soufflee which I must try.  See it here http://www.channel4.com/programmes/glamour-puds/episode-guide/series-2.    He makes things seem possible but they look amazing - eg: chocolate/chocolate mouse bejeweled Faberge eggs. I loved the film with Gerdard Depardieu playing the 17th century chef François Vatel and Careme introduced the Russian idea of eating food in courses so you got hot not cold food, to the rest of Europe.

Below is the recipe by the Two Hairy Bikers (which I will actually follow next time) and I will add Eric's when it comes up on the site - yes together in the same place.  I will post when I have tried both of these, then I will know if it was beginners luck.

Two Hairy Bikers  Goats' cheese and chive soufflé

·       300ml/10fl oz full-fat milk

·       1 onion, quartered

·       1 bay leaf

·       1 small bunch thyme

·       300g/10oz goats’ cheese

·       50g/2oz butter

·       50g/2oz plain flour

·       4 free-range eggs, separated

·       3 tbsp finely snipped chives

·       10g/¼oz finely grated Parmesan

·       sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

·        

·        

1.     Cut a 42cm/16in piece of baking parchment in half lengthways. Fold one half in half again and tie around a 13cm/5in soufflé dish using kitchen string. Lift the paper so it creates a collar that rises around 5cm higher than the dish. Butter the inside of the soufflé dish and the paper generously.

2.     Put the milk in a small non-stick pan and add the onion, bay and thyme. Bring to a gentle simmer then remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes.

3.     Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.

4.     Place a baking tray in the oven to heat. Strain the flavoured milk through a fine sieve into a jug. Cut the rind off the goats' cheese and cut the cheese into 2cm/¾in pieces. (You should end up with 200g/7oz cheese.)

5.     Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the flour, cook for a few seconds then gradually start adding the milk, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition. When the sauce is smooth and very thick, continue to cook for a further two minutes, stirring constantly then remove from the heat and stir in half the goats' cheese.

6.     Whisk the egg yolks lightly and stir into the milk mixture until smooth. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour into a large mixing bowl and cover the surface with a sheet of cling film to prevent a skin forming.

7.     Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. They are ready when you can turn the bowl upside down without them sliding out.

8.     Stir the chives into the cheese sauce. Fold in the remaining cheese. Fold in a large spoonful of the egg white until combined, then fold in the remainder.

Watch technique0:35 mins

9.     Pour the mixture slowly into the prepared soufflé dish. Sprinkle with the parmesan and freshly ground black pepper. (Keep the parmesan towards the centre of the soufflé so it doesn’t melt and hinder the rise by sticking to the paper.)

10.   Bake on the preheated baking tray in the oven for 23-25 minutes or until golden-brown and risen. Remove from the oven, remove the string and serve the soufflé immediately.

 

Aussie Lamingtons - Heaven

Haven't had these for over 20 years since Oz days.  Never made before.  Yummy.  Sponge 'laminated' in chocolate runny icing/sauce and dipped in coconut (that's not why they're called Lamingtons -see -   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamington   'Friday 21 July 2006 was designated as National Lamington Day in Australia' ) .    Since John doesn't like chocolate much I will experiment with my favourite 50% fruit jam made into a sauce instead of the chocolate - jamingtons?

Cheese sauce eggs on toast

Felt like eggs on toast with cheese sauce so tried 2 version.  1. to try out my egg slicer.  2. my version of egg cooked in ramikan i saw on My Litte Paris Kitchen.  Cheese sauce made with a roux, little milk and ball of mozzarella cheese and grated extra mature cheddar.  Both were delicious - much better than they look in my quickly taken pictures.

1. sliced boiled egg on toast with cheese sauce and rocket.

2. A slice of bread with crust removed to line a ramikin baked in oven with baking beads to hold shape, for 5 mins.  Then add cheese sauce and rocket, egg and cheese sauce again and rebake.

Just out of the oven

Egg side up

Bread side up

Cut open