This painting was on cartridge paper which is not as satisfying a using watercolour paper. Still it was good to test out the shapes, colour and composition.
Category Archives: Birds
A Day of Play #Falcon #Painting
Attempt number two for the day …more textures and layers on this Hobby, an aerialist falcon taking its prey on the wing.
A Day of Play #Peacock #Painting
Playing with paint sounds like fun but for me it usually ends with frustration, perhaps because I am not really concentrating or taking it seriously and I finish up with a number of sketchy paintings which I really do not like. I have taught myself to try to ignore this feeling as the act of being undisciplined and attempting to have fun leads to discovering new ways of doing things. So today I have been having some “fun” with textures.
#Rooks and Crooks
Having a bit of a silly sense of humour I like playing with words and especially in art form.
Playfulness in #Art – #Eagle Print
At times we get so focused on getting really good at an activity that time seems to run out for experimentation and playfulness.
I swim regularly and know that playing in the pool doing roly-polys or attempting handstands increases confidence and can stretch me out of my comfort zone. Yet on a day to day basis I only allow enough time to use the water to keep fit.
As an artist I like to create pictures that have a fair chance of being successful and that must mean following a well practiced strategy for getting a decent drawing transformed into a painting.
Playing with materials and ideas helps to break these predictable patterns and although there is a much greater chance of the exercise ending in an image that is far from perfect it is a route to discovering new techniques and allowing pursuit of different ideas.
The most difficult thing of course is allowing ourselves to have this time to be playful rather than pursuing a direct course to being predictably productive. The process of discovery through playfulness allows us to develop our practice further rather than stagnating and ultimately becoming bored with what we do.
Yesterday I allowed myself time to play; above is a print of my son’s drawing of an eagle which I transferred onto mdf board alongside is a print of my photo a well known local tree. I tried putting gold leaf on some buttons as a addition and sprayed around the board with gold laquer. Who knows where I will go with this, but my nominated play-day is over and now I must get back to work!
#Raven #Painting Original #Art
New Raven Original Painting
Here is my original painting which is now called The Gatekeeper in a nice chunky black A3 sized frame, it is a painting of a raven holding a key. Ravens are a common feature of ancient religion and mythologies from familiars of witches to the supernatural, from the carriers of souls and associations with good luck, to trickery and foreboding. According to legend, the Kingdom of England will fall if the ravens of the Tower of London are removed; care has been taken to ensure that they continue to inhabit the Tower as they have done now for centuries.
#Art for #Sale in #Totnes by Diane Young
Studio 71 @ Totnes – A display of my artwork for sale
So a hint of the Summer season is upon us, quite a bit of sunshine and the beginning of holiday bookings. Here is hoping that lots of people will descend upon Totnes in Devon (UK) very soon in the hope that some of my art will find a loving home.
Commission
This weekend my focus is on painting a commission. I am concentrating on this whilst dealing with an ear worm, an expression which does make me squirm somewhat. I have been listening to the line about not messing with Major Tom from Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes track for several days now. The painting is going well despite the interference! To my glee there is in fact a true story to this commission about a dog arriving at a castle one night at Christmas.
Below is cropped section of a painting which I did some years ago when I was putting together a children’s picture book idea. I dug it out of my folder as like my current commission it is a night time scene. This image was for a story about a jealous kingfisher who steals a peacock’s tail feathers whilst the peacock is sleeping.
I love storytelling whilst painting, whether it be a fully formed story or presenting narrative for possibilities that the imagination can cast from before or after the moment in the painting itself. Here is a visual excerpt from the Tiny Tale Of Kingfisher.
Ibis in Gold
To compliment my recent Elephant in Red and Gold here is the Ibis. The Nile was central to Ancient Egyptian life and religion. The Egyptians of old believed that souls of the dead were transported across the Nile to reach the afterlife in the presence of Thoth the god of knowledge, who was represented as the Ibis bird.
The Ibis is of ancient evolutionary origin, its fossil records going back some 60 million years. Carvings of the Ibis can be found on many Egyptian monuments; they were also mummified and buried in the temples with pharaohs.
Diane Young Artist 