I am a member of Artists For Conservation and they feature one member each day on their website. Today, 26th June, it is me. This link will take you to the Home Page of AFC where you can see me in the Featured Artist of The Day box and from there you can go to my profile home page.
http://www.natureartists.com/
After today there will be a different artist featured each day. So if you missed seeing this post on the 26th June 2015 and you wished to see my AFC profile please use the following link - it will take you to my Home Page on their website.
http://www.natureartists.com/artists/artist.asp?ArtistID=1609
Okavango Delta Aerial
Friday 26 June 2015
New work
So... how have I been doing on the paintings front? Well, I've been working on a couple of bigger pieces lately as having the studio has given me that opportunity. I couldn't work on such sized work at home... there just wasn't the space. I acquired, through the incredible generosity of a friend, about 18 unused canvasses, some of which were lovely big ones. Well.. big for me.
The biggest was a 50"x60" canvas. This would be ideal on which to do a piece that would be an attention grabber perhaps, a focal point for the show... something to hang opposite the entrance to entice people in to look around. So This is the result..
The biggest was a 50"x60" canvas. This would be ideal on which to do a piece that would be an attention grabber perhaps, a focal point for the show... something to hang opposite the entrance to entice people in to look around. So This is the result..
The elephant is a young female from the captive herd of Abu Camp who was around 9 years old at the time I saw her. She was born to one of the other females in the herd, Gikka, and her father was a wild bull that visited the herd during one of their daily trips to the bush. Her name is Naya and she was a lovely character. During my three days when I went out for the day into the bush with the Abu herd and their mahouts, she would wander around with the two young calves, Paseka and Lorato, taking care of them whilst the adults got on with the serious job of browsing.
The image I wanted was to be eye catching but not 'in your face' - more showing the quiet beauty and gentleness of elephants. The stick in her trunk was not planned initially, but as she appeared progressively on the canvas I thought it would be a touch to give her more of a story.
This painting is called 'Serenity' and it is based on the young bull known to the Elephants For Africa researchers as 'Ivor'. I really enjoy this loose cameo approach and have done several for the exhibition.
I am currently working on something a little bit different, which I hope to finish soon. I will post a photo of that hopefully in the not too distant future.
Apologies and grumble
I type this feeling very ashamed of myself for it has been too long since my last post. January!! That's outrageous. I confess that the inability to post to my blogs on my mobile phone and time being a more precious factor has meant that I have favored posting to my Facebook accounts instead; which is so easy and quick to do.
Posting images on this blog is not straight forward and involves one mobile phone download to pc, then transfer images via flash stick to Mac, adjust to size on Mac and transfer back to pc so that I can then upload to the blog. And until this year that was no problem but time, or rather lack of it, is now a huge factor as I struggle to keep on top of everything.
This, of course, is of no use to those of you without Fb accounts and prefer to visit here. I apologise for my lack of input and I will do my best to keep this blog up to date in the final run up to the exhibition; which is not far away now. Panic hasn't quite set in yet, but I am only too aware of the time slipping away when my jobs list seems to get no shorter.
I still have the rented studio space, which is proving invaluable in the run up to the exhibition not only for painting in, but being able to have several jobs on the go at once (something I could not do in the confines of our small house). So I can have something in process on the easel, a couple of canvasses or boards being primed ready, a painting or two laid out with varnish drying as well (as long as the framer isn't creating lots of fine dust with his saws etc) and a couple of pieces sat ready planned raring to go.
I do love it... the studio is great, but by no means perfect... As I do struggle a bit with noise levels in there, particularly recently. Working part-time I find my days are short and precious in the studio and it doesn't help concentration when there is a grinding machine, mechanical saw, someone hammering, etc etc. Aaah the joys of sharing a room divided into rented units. The other people are lovely and I know they have as much right to be there as me, but I do find it hard, after being used to peace and quiet when I used to work at home to have so much noise around at times. The two newest people to rent are the ones with potentially the most noise making equipment. A framing business and also a jewellery maker (she uses the grinder for sculpting amazing intricate pieces). Then on Sunday there's the church service - which should be 10 -12 but often goes on to 2pm, and on a couple of occasions until 4pm. I have no problem as such that it's a church.. just that they play their music (they have a live band) as loud as a rock concert. I really do feel the floor vibrating under my feet as they use the room below. So it seems the times where it is lovely and quiet to work in are now fewer and farther between. For most of the last year's rental I have had mostly quiet days when I work there often with no-one else in at all and I would time my work on Sundays to miss most of the church service. But the two newest folk might have changed that as they have also been working at the weekends. Ah well... can't have it all ways can you :)
Posting images on this blog is not straight forward and involves one mobile phone download to pc, then transfer images via flash stick to Mac, adjust to size on Mac and transfer back to pc so that I can then upload to the blog. And until this year that was no problem but time, or rather lack of it, is now a huge factor as I struggle to keep on top of everything.
This, of course, is of no use to those of you without Fb accounts and prefer to visit here. I apologise for my lack of input and I will do my best to keep this blog up to date in the final run up to the exhibition; which is not far away now. Panic hasn't quite set in yet, but I am only too aware of the time slipping away when my jobs list seems to get no shorter.
I still have the rented studio space, which is proving invaluable in the run up to the exhibition not only for painting in, but being able to have several jobs on the go at once (something I could not do in the confines of our small house). So I can have something in process on the easel, a couple of canvasses or boards being primed ready, a painting or two laid out with varnish drying as well (as long as the framer isn't creating lots of fine dust with his saws etc) and a couple of pieces sat ready planned raring to go.
I do love it... the studio is great, but by no means perfect... As I do struggle a bit with noise levels in there, particularly recently. Working part-time I find my days are short and precious in the studio and it doesn't help concentration when there is a grinding machine, mechanical saw, someone hammering, etc etc. Aaah the joys of sharing a room divided into rented units. The other people are lovely and I know they have as much right to be there as me, but I do find it hard, after being used to peace and quiet when I used to work at home to have so much noise around at times. The two newest people to rent are the ones with potentially the most noise making equipment. A framing business and also a jewellery maker (she uses the grinder for sculpting amazing intricate pieces). Then on Sunday there's the church service - which should be 10 -12 but often goes on to 2pm, and on a couple of occasions until 4pm. I have no problem as such that it's a church.. just that they play their music (they have a live band) as loud as a rock concert. I really do feel the floor vibrating under my feet as they use the room below. So it seems the times where it is lovely and quiet to work in are now fewer and farther between. For most of the last year's rental I have had mostly quiet days when I work there often with no-one else in at all and I would time my work on Sundays to miss most of the church service. But the two newest folk might have changed that as they have also been working at the weekends. Ah well... can't have it all ways can you :)
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