Life Book 2015: Week 18 - Here's looking at you kid with Kristin van Valkenburgh

Still feeling far from well but am prepared to have a go at this weeks lesson regardless. 

Kristin van Valkenburgh took us on a journey to explore our inner child by reminding ourselves how important it is to be present, let go and have fun.  Using a variety of media we created two pages - the first page would form the top layer with a door which opened up to reveal the second layer.    Inside the door flap we attached a letter from the perspective of our “little” selves. 

While the top layer was essentially black & white, with a third colour of our choosing, the second layer was a riot of colour painted from a childlike perspective. 

What more can I say, I did it, it's not my favourite piece, but I did it!

Life Book 2015: Week 17 - Feel the Moment with Jenny Wentworth

Not feeling too flash today, have been laid flat for the past few days with a major chest infection (well, so the doctor says - feels more like pneumonia to me).  Anyhow, after a week in bed I decided to tackle this weeks lesson from Jenny Wentworth. 

The challenge is to work intuitively to paint a face, no sketching it out beforehand, just lay down some gesso, a wash of colour and then move the paint around with your fingers to resemble a face.  Add charcoal to start defining features and then see what evolves from there.  Easy to let go today because my brain is a foggy haze anyway and doesn't want to do anything so it's just play, play, play and would you believe it I actually came up with a half decent face. 

I love how the background looks old and worn and I quite like how the face looks.  She's not perfect but then she's not meant to be.  Her eyes lack life - but that's exactly how I felt as I was creating her - if you look at my eyes at the moment they have lost their sparkle, they are tired, and heavy ... just wanting to sleep.

I will create again using this method - but when I am feeling better.  Then, and only then, might she come truly alive.  Funnily enough, I loved working in this manner.  Thanks Jenny for a fabulous lesson.

Life Book 2015: Week 15 - It's the little things with Tamara Laporte

Todays lesson with Tamara Laporte was focusing on colour and specifically about using black & white in your painting and how that can add real drama and contrast to a piece of art.  She also discussed contrast and about playing with contrasting shapes such as combining triangular shapes with more rounded shapes.   Tamara showed us how to proportion and lay out a 3/4 face.  This was a two page layout. 

I had been watching one of my favourite movies "Lost Horizon" prior to starting this lesson and it's influence is clearly evident in my painting today.  The movie tells the story of five people who are on the last plane out of Baskul (ahead of an invasion of armed revolutionaries) but are unaware that their plane has been hijacked.  It eventually runs out of fuel and crashes deep in the Himalayan Mountains, killing their abductor.  The group are rescued and taken to Shangri-La, an idyllic valley sheltered from the bitter cold. Initially anxious to return to civilization, most of the newcomers grow to love Shangri-La, and the story goes on to follow their lives, loves, joys and sorrows.

Life Book 2015: Week 16 - Be Here Now with Alena Hennessy

Todays Life Book lesson was more about painting in the now and with that Alena Hennessy challenged us to do three paintings - the first over a period of 15 minutes, the second over ten minutes, and the third just five minutes.  These were to be done with just what was on hand in front of us.

The painting to the left has lots of layers and was fun to create but I had difficulty in just letting go and painting freely. There was a lot of mark making but I found myself wanting to make it look like something. 

Mostly this was paint applied with my fingers, with paint markers in black and white to add accents.  I also used a little bit of bubble wrap to add texture.

This was the fifteen minute painting and it surprised me just how long fifteen minutes was when you were clock-watching.

I also struggled with letting go for the other two time limits.  The lion was playing with the circle/rectangle animals from a previous lesson - this was the ten minute painting; and then the flowers below which was a five minute painting.  

While some students added 'extra' items after the time frame was up I stuck rigidly to the allocated times.

I'm not altogether happy with the outcome but in hindsight I was coming down with a nasty infection and am sure this influenced how I approached this lesson.

I think the other thing is that I have had an issue in the past about rushing my art and have been working on slowing down the process over the past few years.  This lesson felt like I was taking a huge step backwards and it didn't connect with me at all.

Oh well, onwards and upwards - I love Alena's work but putting myself under time limits doesn't sit well with me I guess.

Life Book 2015: Week 14 - Field journaling with Alisa Burke

This weeks lesson with Alisa encouraged the students to go outdoors and draw things from nature.  Prior to going out I prepared a simple watercolour background ready for drawing on after my field trip.

As Anna and Michael were here with Ellie for the weekend it was a great time to go to the park.  Michael was busy with the Omaka Airshow so the rest of us went to Pollard Park in Blenheim.  After feeding the ducks, Anna, Ellie & Nana Jan went to the playground while I went off to sketch, photograph and collect my specimens.  

When I was almost finished the fantails starting flitting around me.  I love fantails and can usually only get photographs from behind so it was with some luck today that I managed to get some front on.  One cheeky little fantail, known here in NZ as Piwakawaka, was darting around my head and almost landed on my shoulder.  Naturally he had to be included in my drawing.  I found three leaves that I liked the shape of, photographed them, drew some quick sketches and I was done.

Back home I quickly drew up my subject material and painted with watercolours and acrylics.  The fantail proved a challenge but as it was the first time I had drawn a bird I was very happy with how he came out.

What do you think?

Life Book 2015: Week 12 - Bonus lesson with Tamara Laporte

This week was an artist interview with Jenny Doh - a very interesting interview and inspiring to say the least.  As an 'extra' Tam brought out a lesson from last years Life Book.  I fought with this lesson - several pieces of paper went in the rubbish bin as I just could not get her out onto paper.  'She' being my Inner Artist Guardian.

I left it for a few days and then one of the students posted a painting that she had done - not as part of a lesson but just for her own personal development.  She had done it on canvas - maybe I could try that.  

I used a similar technique and similar colours and I thank Carol Fielhaber for her inspiration and encouragement.  She came easily and I am in love ...

I still cannot believe she came from my hand, or more correctly, from my heart.  She did not want to be put into a book, she wanted to be on the wall.  

Inner Artist Guardian I adore you and thank you for showing yourself to me.

Life Book 2015: Week 13 - Happy Painting with Juliette Crane

Who would have guessed that a circle and a rectangle could create almost any animal you want.  I love this new found freedom in creating whimsical animals thanks to the lovely Juliette Crane. 

Juliette got us creating our own little menagerie of whimsical creatures which was just magic.  Here are just a few of my little creations.

Just very quick pencil sketches - one day I'll have a go at putting these into paintings using the techniques Juliette taught us as I think they'll be heaps of fun to do.  In case you don't recognise them they are - a rabbit, a cat, a cow and an elephant on the left hand side and then an owl, a sheep, a racoon and a pig on the right.

Anyway, the actual lesson for this week was to draw an owl.  Most of the painting was done with a palette knife and my fingers - right up my alley - getting mucky.  So here's my finished owl.  Rather well fed and contented me thinks.  I love how my background came out and I even included some gold leaf randomly placed to make it look crackled.  Very happy with this little cutie.

Watch this space for the rest of the paintings at some future date.  In the meantime, thanks for popping by to check out my artwork.

And thanks Juliette for a fabulous lesson and fun playing - just loved it.