Thursday, January 14, 2010

Going dotty....

My next work is to feature dots. I find the concentration of a single unit quite restrictive so aim to loosen things up a bit. Earlier this week, without much direction in mind, I worked with dots on paper. Sometimes just making a start, however vague, gets the ideas flowing. Some of the initial ideas may get abandoned and it is important not to regards these as a waste of time. Everything, whether eventually used or not, is of value, and should be regarded as part of the journey.

The outcome of my exercise, paper and felt pen.

I made a cartoon of the original dots to match the size of the silk screen I wished to use. The cartoon was placed under the screen which was supported on small blocks so that the screen and cartoon did not touch. I started painting in some of the areas with a dye and water mix (Procion MX).

A second and third colour have been added. These colours, at this stage dry on the screen, look very weak but I know they will be stronger when printed. The overlapping of the colours around the dots also made very nice halos which aren't visible in the photo.

The final colour added.

Now.... to be continued....

Monday, January 11, 2010

Home again, home again....

Here I am back home again. It was lovely to see so many of my family over four days. Such ventures certainly feed the soul and the weather was very summery but, alas, here at home it is again cold and raining!

I am keen to get started again on some new work. Driving long distances on one's own certainly gives time for thinking through ideas and approaches. Ideas seem to float in out and just as quickly move on as other thoughts take over. So everything is a bit of a jumble at the moment. Hopefully I can retrieve the ideas when I have pen and paper in hand.

By the way, I did manage two gallery visits while away, although one was closed due to renovations but peeping through the large windows did give me a good view of their new space.

No pics this time, but my next blog should have something. Keep looking....