Good progress on watercolour and ink pieces.

 

I like where the two versions of the mill wheels are going - see progress to date above. Quite a bit more ink work in these pieces as they require more detailed definition. Worked with Megan on the blueish reflection on parts of the face of the wheel. Liking the outcome.

Some progress-process images follow.

I have also tested the two versions of the Syre church and the two Lednagullin watercolours in the frame I will be using. Like the way the frame defines and bring the work and colours to like.

So all in all - good progress on 6 commission pieces.

Uplifting fragments from the week

 

The small and beautiful things that can catch the eye as one wanders about daily life and walks can be a joy, smile inducing and uplifting - a partial antidote to the darkness of these times. 

The detail of the Kangaroo Paw blossom (opening image) is quite astounding. 

Random bits of beauty follow.

May we pause to let the bits of beauty hold us. 

Birds, bowl and ampersand

 

As you can see from the opening photo I have finally finished the three comfort birds I started some weeks ago. They are so individual in terms of timber and shapes. Size and shape is often determined by the variation in the sawing, whittling sanding processes. For me the important thing is how they finally feel in the hand - and these three feel different but good. Some process photos follow. The birds are oiled with Lemon Myrtle eco oil.

A person wanted to purchase one of my larger (about 110mm in diameter) Starburst Bowls to hold some simple metal stamped daily words. Though the bowl could rest on its side and hold the words I thought a simple stand made out of a piece of 50mm in diameter copper tube would offer an alternate way of holding the words. The bowl and stand are shown in the photo below - I like the look. It is now packed and ready to be posted to its new home on Monday.

As part of our art studio garage sale I sold most of the silicone moulds I used for casting cement pieces. Of course one of the moulds we couldn't leave go was that used for casting ampersands. I decided to buy a small amount of two-pack resin and do a test cast of a resin ampersand. As you can see from the photo below it is looking good at this stage. It is slow curing resin so won't be dry for 24 hours.

There are days when doing a bit of this and that reminds one of the joy of unstructured creating.

Joy of printing

 

It felt good to be at Deckled Edge Press studio today - working with text, paper and playing with ink.

As you can see from the photo above and the couple below I had a lovely time mixing gold and black ink on the plate to create a black with a golden hue.

During the week I had spent a morning cutting paper remnants into cards for mini-posters and business card sized inspiration cards.

Today I got to print some weather grams on recycled cutlery envelopes (both brown and black paper) for International Day of Peace in September. Given the type was set and the paper was cut during the week I also printed some mini-posters as you can see below.

As I saud in the opening sentence - it just felt great to be in the studio printing; printing words that mean a lot to me;  and printing mini-posters I can give away.

Orchids and other blossoms

This blog post simply shares the beauty of G's orchids and other blossoms experienced during the week.

Starting with the orchids - opening photo and following.

Some of the other bits of beauty I have been uplifted by during the week

I think in these times of horror, brutality, savagery and destruction  perpetrated by so called leaders of some so called developed and sophisticated countries we need nature to offer us solace through its simple beauty. May the beauty of nature and universal peace prevail.

Progressing watercolours and thankfulness

 

Even though Fiona and I were preparing for the studio garage sale I still managed to attend my watercolour group morning with Megan. 

As you can see from the photo above and below I progressed the old barn and the abandoned house in Lednagullin.

I have also made a start on a couple of versions of a restored mill wheel in Sworldly.

On Saturday Fiona and I had a successful studio garage sale thanks to the support of many of our artist friends. It was grand to see and chat with many art friends. A big thanks to all who bought stuff - may it all contribute more creative pieces.