Art lounge makeover

It's sooo different not doing the Dailies. My studio days were based much more, of course, on the Act of making a Daily painting. So, it's difficult to change direction , but neccessary because it allows other ideas to come through and space really,which in my case means that I can cope with the building work and reorganising that I have to do in the studio and Art lounge.

This is how the Art lounge wall is now. I have taken out all the storage in the alcoves.These wall are to be re plastered so I can play about trying different displays and not worry about the nail marks in the walls.

Below is the other Art lounge wall. Does it diminish your paintings if you have fairy lights all over the paintings ?

So, because I don't have the Dailies to consider, I have made and primed a bigger board for the weekly painting and have to be patient for that to dry out. I therefore have almost acknowledged that the small ones that I make, that have been really a , '. By product,' of the Dailies, are turning into a body of work in their own right. Interesting ( well to me , anyway.) So this weeks plan is to concentrate on these small ones,   Count them ( or maybe not ) and look at different ways to display them to reflect the increased importance I am giving them.

Above. I have made a few trial frames and actually came accross an old hand bound book of small images of mine.

Above. These were a couple of small images mounted on card with writing on. I never did anything with I these, I am just revisit ing them to see if the idea has any validity. The idea with them was to display them on a ladder, just as a mount or sketch / sketchbook page/ instant ,  take away art to be displayed alongside the Dailies. Try again........

Same one below without the grey/ buff mount.

So, had a lovely paint . I tried to paint the small ones ( no real name yet ) looking at the big one but it was impossible. These small ones are done to free up, to explore ideas, to be more abstract, to have fun........ The very opposite of what I was trying to do today . Mmmmmmmm


I managed ( and it was very hard ) not to group them together and photograph them 9 at a time.
 Because I have done that for a while, I defo had been see ing them in terms of a collective, not as individuals. That is being addressed as we speak.

Plan this week.....
Make some frames for the small ones
Continue to look at different ways to frame / mount them
Prime the next big board
Move the plan chest
Revisit the storage of the Dailies
1001 other things

Second week of the big ones

So, this is number 2 of the big ones. It's this weeks work but I still am craving the 52 cm Daily paintings.I haven't painted on big rectangular boards for years, so was a little nervous. But he ho, what's to be nervous about, if I don't like it, I can paint over it.

So, I made a frame this week on the back of the hardboard ( it measures 4 foot by 2 foot ) they are the size of the boards in B and Q. I had gone for some 52 cm sq. boards cut but the big saw was broken. Anyway got 3 boards to try. I made a frame on the back of the hardboard and gave it 3 coats of brown acrylic as a primer. Love the smell of the paint on the hardboard.

So I have painted this over the last few days. I wantedt I be more abstract ( fail ) and the acrylic paint is sometimes hard to paint on big boards. Need to go into oils but studio still geared up for the 52 cm Dailies in acrylic and it will take a while to change direction.

When you paint a painting you are looking for a sense of, ' rightness,' especially when you are considering whether or not the painting is finished. This one has that rightness TODAY , but maybe I will change my mind tomorrow.

So, the decision on the paintings today is.....do a weekly big one, do 6 small 15 cm Dailies, do 1 52 cm re paint of the last years Dailies that don't cut it any more...........

Art lounge ( well back room )

This is how my Art lounge looked. The alcoves were shelved and held boxes for storage. I am having work done in the next few weeks so all the shelves have come down and I have no display. Just came across the displays of a Dion Salvador Lloyd, georgeous painter, georgeous displays. Inspirational.

Below is the work and the displays of Dion Salvador Lloyd. Wonderful.

So looking at the images of Dion Salvador Lloyd the words that come to mind are....Strength, masculine,texture,atmospheric,sea or landscapes, cool colours but also cool paintings, different sizes, different supports. Loved the displays.

Work on mine - well it will be weekend that I have a. Go at putting up a new , temporary display on my Art lounge wall. Think about the background colour......Mmmmmm

Tuesday after the first big one

This time last year, I can remember painting my cherry tree in blossom. It was the start of my Daily painting year ( started on 6/4/15 ) and I was very enthusiastic about the new project. I always like the start of a project when everything is fresh , new and exciting. One year on though I want it to be the start of a new project, just can't quite decide what that is.......Mmmmmm . And I do want to continue with the Dailies, just in a different form ! So, today just had a little paint of the cherry blossom in the garden in preparation for the Art group tomorrow.

Still on the linen textured paper ( well the back of it seems better ) , as always, 15 cm sq. studies.the first one trying to be accurate about it but bored. The second a little freer.

What I think today about the Dailies...

Continue with the Dailies, alternating the sizes between the 52 cm sq and the 15 cm sq.

Work the small ones from the big one and vice versa. Do one 52 cm sq per week and then 6 small 15 cm sq ones informed by that one. 

Try some bigger 33 inches square ones.

Try some  paintings of the children when they were young

Do 100 paintings of , for example, figures, faces, watercolours

Decide

Often this is how it is when you are trying to change projects or try something new, making decisions each day that essentially may not be carried through unless you feel inspired to do so.you go on a role and then everything makes sense ( she says ) I remember at the start of the Dailies, I did try them for lots of days before I committed.

Bank holiday in Grey paint.Yum.

Had a lovely walk and a lovely paint. First one was 52 cm sq.Loved this one, but it's one of those that look better in real life ! Lot and lots of layers on this one.not half an hour !

A lovely landscape day in grey paint.

Below then are the ones inspired by the 52 cm sq. one.

A tone too far.

The sky as a stripe.

Yellow ochre trees.

There was a need for a line element.

Trees and sky mixed up.

A little bit of darkness.

So, when I photographed the small ones in these mounts, they seem too traditional ! Need to take and frame the small ones in a more contemporary way . I was going to do the watercolour sketches today , mat try later.........

First big one finished, I think !

Right, so today I think that I will continue with the a Dailies in different sizes that will allow me to work on bigger ones at the same time. I also think. That I will paint over the Dailies that I don't like now. Even though that's not what I thought this time last week. Oh dear. My reasoning today is that I could almost distill the years Dailies into a good body of work.Mmmmmm.

Above, revisited the big one and just laid a few washes and glazes. Liked it.......today. I have thought that the 52 cm sq. Size doesn't lend itself easily to an abstract composition. They seem better with a figurative element, almost. Whereas the bigger boards definitely seem to lean more naturally to an abstraction......

Above and below, trying new paper for the Art group I run. It feels lovely. It's quite like a linen finish which makes the watercolour bleed horizontally, which looks cool.I was trying kind oF silouhettes using ochres, sienna and Prussian. Mmmmm, figures a little wooden but they do seem to have a little bit of something. Try again.

The four above were a continuation of the one minute figures. Why am I doing these ? Well why not ? My figure painting fingers are rusty !

Paintings after Dailies

Ok. So still unsure about what to do, what to paint, where to go etc. etc.Trying to break the hold of the Dailies ,52 cm sq,today's decision is to continue with a Dailies 15 cm sq.That said, I just managed to paint two 52 cm sq. Loved them but the photos don't quite do it. I only ever use the camera on my ipad because I haven't the patience to organise good photos.But I am aware that you are only as good as your photos. Mmmmmm.

Above 52 cm sq.

Above 52 cm sq.

All of theses, apart from the first two are the 15 cm sq ones that I have just cut a mount round. Some of them needed the buff coloured paper on them, not the white. Interesting.

I am aiming to follow the model of Hiroshi Matsumoto who does small Daily paintings and posts one each day on his Etsy shop. Something to think about there. If I do small Dailies, or alternate them between small and 52 cm sq.then that will allow me to do other things. I am going to have a try on a big board this afternoon !

Above..... Poor photo of the big Daily...It's about 3 foot by 4 . It went through many incarnations, darks, lights, darks, lights. It a MAY be finished , will return to it tomorrow.

What I liked about it.......neutral, layered, lost landscape feel ( or is that just me because I can still see the landscape painting it was an hour ago ! ) textures....mmmmm.

I didn't like the acrylics on a big scale ..... Go into oils.....acrylics are stiffer and harder to apply in big areas.....my studio is completely set up to paint the 52 cm Dailies, not bigger boards and I can' t fling the paint around as I would in a studio .... mmmmm.

What will tomorrow bring ?