Extra Large Please

Took 2 of the lovely sheets and glued them together, then the fun started. Hoping my socks were clean, I walked over the paper to make the marks. Found that the plastic underneath altered the way the ink lay on the paper and although I had expected the seam between the 2 sheets to show this was unexpected.

Studio floor taken from above

from above, again

left and right, 74 in x 80 in, ink on paper, 2014

Learning to Swirl

Actually the motion feels more like mopping the floor, that lovely back and forth movement with a swirl at each end. The tricky thing is to stay away from a calligraphic "look". I took some old drawings and practiced on them. Must say it is fun; reminds me of the ribbon candy my grandmother used to munch on.

swirl 1, 30 x 24, ink, oil on paper, 2014

swirl 2, 30 x 24, ink, oil on paper, 2014

swirl 3, 30 x 24, ink, oil on paper, 2014

Still In Love

I LOVE this paper, I LOVE this brush. I need more paper. Well that's about it.

back and forth, 72, x 40 in, ink, 2014

squares, 46, x 40 in, ink, 2014

In The Studio

Here is a shot of the big working wall in the studio, I need more wall space so time to roll these away. And below are a couple of composites or collages of some of the work.

studio wall with drawings, each 72 in x 40 in,  2014

fairly straight squared, 2014

fairly straight, squared with fringe, 2014

A New Brush

I found this wonderful brush last week; I hate the handles on brushes and this fits right into my hand, it was exciting to try it out on some sheets of Japanese paper that I had been saving. Well actually I've forgotten which project I had in mind when I bought the paper, but it was perfect for this. Now I'm thinking of cutting all my brushes down, and buying some more of this glorious paper. Laying down the ink the paper was so alive as it buckled and warped beneath each stroke.

4in brush

dusk falls, 40 in x 72 in, 2014

fairly straight down, 72 in x 40 in, 2014

Blue Space With Peach Variations 2

duo, 20 in x 20 in, 2014

empty the space 2, 20 in x 20 in, 2014

Vanessa & Virginia

Told from the point of view of the artist Vanessa Bell as a fragmented series of notes to her sister Virginia Woolf, this is a wonderfully imagined book by Susan Sellers; and a courageous one. There are all kinds of gems here, her portrait of sibling rivalry, the inner life of an artist, the profound effect of family and time, the struggle to become; all are drawn with great power and beauty of writing.

Virginia Woolf in a deck chair, 1912, by Vanessa Bell

Virginia Woolf, oil on board, 1912, by Vanessa Bell

A Rude Awakening

We woke up yesterday morning to -30 C. [-22F.] Not quite what I was hoping for but the patterns drawn on the windows were wonderful.

The 16

Listening to one of my favourite choral groups the other day as I was working, The Sixteen, link here, They are so good, I'll use that for the title.

the 16, grid, 2014

#5 [from the 16],  8 x 10 in, 2014

Making Pizza

A couple of weeks ago as we made pizza for dinner and I was cutting the red peppers, I put one of the rounds of pepper on the scanner, intending to come back later and scan it. Yesterday I needed to do some scans and found this very dried out, and very beautiful pepper on the scanner bed. So I scanned away and last night as we made pizza again for dinner [we make, well actually J., makes the BEST pizza in the world] the core of the pepper has these beautiful shapes and 2 little inner peppers shown at the top right of the 3rd photo.

after 2 weeks, transparent in places

detail of the above shot, love the structure

core with babies

Blue Space With Peach, Variations

blue space with peach, 2014

blue space with peach 3, 2014

blue space with peach 2, 2014

Bending and Stretching

bending planes, 2014

stretching pink, 2014