fiveandtwo

Paintings and House Renovation

Some artwork from TAFE.

 

Photo a bit skewed. Set work - make a collage appropriating bits and pieces from other artist's work, photocopy it B&W, do colour studies, tonal drawing using charcoal and then a painting on canvas (which this is). A very interesting process which I'll return to in due course.

 

A portrait (next set work) of Linsey, Giles and Leah from a photo taken about eleven years ago. Hmm...it's quite a good likeness...doesn't capture anything of their personalities, except maybe Leah's cheekiness...paint handling is too heavy for a portrait of children...the colours are wrong...they look rather sinister. As you can tell I'm not happy with this one!

So, I tried another.

 

This one's of Leah. The poor girl is only fourteen, but in this painting she looks so  much older! I was using a technique that I used with good effect many years ago, borrowed from American painter Alice Neel. Sketch in the outline using thinned ultramarine blue paint. It's a very good likeness, however.

 

A lousy photo of the most recent set work - landscape. It's been something of a breakthrough for me, at long last. It's the change of palette, the colours I used. It's a view from the top of Mt Blowhard, near Omeo. I took loads of photos from there on the Sunday of Queen's Birthday weekend. We stayed in Omeo that weekend. Clare and Ally were mightily disappointed it started snowing the day after we came home.

You know, everyone should have immediate family with holiday houses. We stayed in my hubby's brother's house at Omeo.

Major works in progress on the house: recladding. Rotten weatherboards going. Insulation followed by corrugated iron happening.

 

 Back of house (south).

 

Western side.

 

 

Back and forth views of Eastern side of the house.

Not yet done: the Northern side, the front of the house. Architraves around the windows and doors are yet to happen. I think the husband is hoping I'll forget about this detail. Noo-oo-oo. Architraves are a "finishing off" thing. The difference between a shed and a house.

I must also add that insulating the walls has made a significant difference to household comfort. Really and truly. The cold, howling wind of the last few days, which once penetrated every crack and crevice of weatherboard walls, made minimal impact with an insulated wall. I think we could've clad with anything, it's the insulation that's made the difference.

If you're re-cladding, building an extension or building a new house - wall insulation is well worth it.

I'm Still Here...

Yes, still here, but completely out of the routine of blogging. For me, it does need to be slotted in, in some organised way. Spontaneous blogging is a rarity around here! I guess this is true for most people.

My routine has had a big shakeup (it happens every so often).

After a nearly twenty year hiatus I've returned to "formal" art study - Diploma of Visual Arts at East Gippsland TAFE. With a view to eventually gaining a degree in Fine Art, probably from Monash Churchill. The closest uni. to where I live but still a 2 hour drive away!

I've always wanted a tertiary qualification. I rejected a science degree at the beginning of 1982. I'm interested in many aspects of the sciences but Pure Applied Chemistry? What was I thinking.

Family consensus was "artists never make money", therefore studying art was a really bad option. Making lots of money is better than doing what you enjoy?

 

I'm only doing three subjects - painting, drawing and theory - which occupies two days, but it's anough to throw me out of whack!

Thank goodness paid work is usually only one day per week.

It's very motivating being at TAFE. I didn't realise how bored I was. Of course, I had plenty to do with household/kid/husband stuff, and loads of projects in the offing. I think it's been the exchange of ideas that's been missing. Talking with like-minded people, talking books, art, reasons, ideas. Talking about what you're working on, why you're doing it.

Discovering blogland filled part of the gap here. Nothing beats face-to-face interaction though. It sounds lame but I think that stumbling on blogland a couple of years ago prevented me from going completely barmy.

 

I've come into contact with wonderfully creative, articulate and interesting women. I've even met some of them in real life!

So, I've done no crafting except make a paint brush roll.

It's based on the tool roll in this book.

  

I'm a fan of Lotta Jansdotter's style, I have two other books of hers. The printing one, and a Japanese one. I see she has a making-things-for- babies book out.

 

Pics of paintings - TAFE stuff I've been working on.

So, I'm working on slotting the blog posts. You'll probably be subjected to WIPs of TAFE assignments rather than craft/garden/op-shoppy things. You have ben warned...