Balancing Act

It is very cold and grey today and looks rather like my print February, above.  What has happened to Summer?

North Yorkshire Open Studios has passed by in a whir as usual.  Thank you to all the visitors who came for the last weekend; it was so interesting to hear your thoughts about my work and to observe you as you listened to mine.  Our conversations and contact is really appreciated and treasured.

I spent the week after Open Studios catching up in our newly developing garden as a winding down process.  The weekend just gone was lost unfortunately, due to a family emergency.  I am now back in the studio as a priority although my work for Frack Free Ryedale  frackfreeryedale.org, continues apace and all this is balanced with the garden and family of course.

I have several open submissions that I am interested in and the deadlines for these are looming, so the need to make some new work is urgent.  I was in the studio all day yesterday, preparing boards for something a little experimental, more of which later.  This morning I had some admin for FFR but in just a short while I shall be heading back out to the studio to continue prepping the boards.  

I like the preparation time before any actual painting commences; it seems to me a meditative period, sanding the boards, brushing them free of dust,  building up the layers of gesso, more sanding.  All of this time allows for freer thoughts about my intentions for the piece to emerge, as they did yesterday and I am feeling really optimistic about this next body of work.  I am becoming very interested in the way the layers of thoughts become part of the preparation time, become part of the work; the whole process is a layering of physical and mental exertion that I find completely enthralling and exhausting.

In the week between Open Studios, I took some time off to visit The Tetley and attend a talk about the current exhibition, Painting in Time.  http://thetetley.org/painting-in-time/  Three of the artists were present, one via Skype, along with three "interviewers".  The talk was interesting and inspiring; I relished listening to a conversation about art, its process and thinking behind it.   The whole thing was inspiring and I am hoping to be able to attend more in the future.  I wrote notes during the talk as I knew I'd forget what was said if I didn't and I will blog more fully about the talk in my An blog:  A Portrait of an Artist as a Very Late Starter,  as soon as I have time.

Right, off to the studio, more anon.  Thank you for reading this, please feel free to place comments below, I will always respond.

Study, Seasons/Time.

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Looking forward

I've been ill with a kidney infection, not nice but the antibiotics have sorted me out and the sun is streaming into the house today making me feel much better and giving me the energy to start tackling the tasks I have been unable to do.

There is a lot of work going on towards the Rally for a frack free Ryedale  on 25th April in Malton. I am very behind with making the banners and placards but think I'll manage to get them all done next week.  Plus cakes, always we have cake!

http://www.nyos.org.uk/

My entry can be found here: http://www.nyos.org.uk/Artists-Makers.aspx?&fR=64&nR=114

My studio has been very neglected so far this year; I have managed to reorganise and tidy it ready for when I have time to get out there and make work.  At least it is ready for North Yorkshire Open Studios.  I am really looking forward to it this year because Jenny Pepper http://www.jennypepper.com/ is opening her studio up as well, so it will make our venue really worth visiting with two artists on site and of course, cake!

I am feeling a bit desperate about studio work; missing the routine of it, especially as this was going to be the year where I concentrate on that as my major activity.  Unfortunately my work with Frack Free Ryedale and Frack Free Kirby Misperton has taken up lots of time, energy and head space, which leaves me in the wrong frame of mind for my own work.  Still, once the rally is over I hope to be able to concentrate again.

 From this:

Studio clear up, from the left over chaos of last year to a reorganised space ready for work and NYOS 15.

To this!

I have finally taken the plunge and having a series of works on paper reproduced using giclee printing.  As a rule, I don't like doing this but these twelve pieces make up one work and to sell one of the originals would destroy it.  Therefor I am very excited to say that thanks to Ian Mitchell's recommendation, http://www.ianmitchellart.com/, I am happy to be working with Norton Print and Frame, http://www.fineart.co.uk/directory/fruit-art-ltd_100032.aspx?DirectorySearchPageId=5, who are excellent.  I will be going to check the proofs on Tuesday and then will give the go ahead for a limited print run of each.  

The series, called Laminar Flow,  is one that was made as an experiment; I wanted to try and express what each season feels like and how they form a whole cycle and to do this, I made twelve pieces, acrylic on paper.  Each painting started out the same or as near the same as hand made paintings can be, and then each successive painting had one more layer added, equally as identical as I could make them. The twelfth painting is therefor much thicker and heavier than the last.  There is one painting for each month of the year; my concerns about the passing of time and memory reflected in each. These were made a few years ago, have been in a local pub for a year and generally forgotten about until I had them home again and realised that they were too good to be stuck on the storage rack.  I'd be happy to sell the piece as a whole but devastated to break them up, hence the giclees.

Here is April:

My plan is to have one or two complete set of prints for sale packaged in archive boxes and then the others available as individual prints.  I may even have packs of cards made, but not sure yet.

Please feel free to leave a comment, I hope you enjoy reading my blog.

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