the sea and self promotion

i've been working with my collage bank... and here are some creations. i am quite happy with their direction. the colour palette is working well and the compositions are not too busy. i have been considering how the sewn work and the works on paper relate. it feels right to bring them together in this way with the photographic elements integrated in with them. i have been struggling to work out how to use the photographs of the sewn work that i have archived, but now i think they are really working in combination with the etchings etc. they become lovely textured backgrounds that you go to touch, but then realise that they aren't really real. a bit of trickery!

we went to fleet foxes last night and i was very impressed with the lighting. blake wizzed the camera around and it looked like stitches on black fabric. impressive.

i put in some pictures of my sewn book. it is a practice book for my big panel that i am making, where i try fabrics and ideas together. it is becoming a beautiful work of art on its own. funny how the off shoots become more interesting. also there is a picture of a quilt block laid out ready to piece together in a spare moment... not sure when that will be. at least it is ready to go.

taking the paper boat out

an illustration using lots of scanned elements. i like the combination of fabric, newspaper, and print. i like the limited palette too- it appeals to my aesthetic.

tuesday

the cup and coffee pot drawings are ideas that i want to turn into etchings. i liked the process of making these images. they are scans from my sketchbook collaged onto larger pieces of paper. i think they will work well as etchings, nice soft greys and multi-plates, umber, black, white, sanguine....

the other image is a piece for a show on childhood that i will be in. the show will be in east london in a few weeks. i like this piece for its silliness and all the colours. it feels quite bold for me! i alos like the book page collage, but i think it could be better. i will work on it.

i am working on some sewn things... a big panel and some smaller tins like the ones before... they will feature soon...

wednesday pictures

here is some wednesday playing. i have scanned in some etchings and have added some bits and pieces. it is a good way of looking at how i can realise an image in the end. i used to be quite a purist etcher, it all had to be etching, but now that i am discovering new ways of making images and different tools... tactile things are too exciting to ignore. anyway, i am not completely happy with these images but its a start...

souvenirs

the snow has kept me indoors this week and so i have been finishing things and starting others. i bought some tins from a second hand shop the other day and i am creating little worlds inside them. i like the little faces who look like they are on a bus with the rain flying horizontally past... at least that is what i was thinking about when i made it. neither of the tins are finished, but i thought i'd air them on the blog to see what you thought of them. i am envisaging some pop-up elements in them... maybe some collapsible waves and buildings, and boats. i want the narrative to flow across the collection of 'souvenirs'.

the other piece here is a book that i have been making of prints... so far it is working well... i just need to consider a cover and maybe some more detailing. i'm happy with the colour palette.

broccoli

the next image for the cookbook. i am pretty happy with this one. its a bit different to dim sum, but each one needs to be unique to the feeling of the dish. i'm learning how to create shadows. i like that the shadows are a bit wrong, it suits my style.