Glistening

This is a currently unfinished picture that I started at the weekend. I wanted to use my pearly buttons-they are so pretty and just languish in a tin all day when really they should be out showing their pearly goodness. I suddenly had the idea that I could sew them to a canvas. So I found a model, sketched a face with a graphite pencil, painted over with watery gesso and then started to fill in her hair-or hat, with buttons. There is a slight problem I had not foreseen-the wood at the edge of the canvas-so her hair/hat will stop abruptly in a straight line. Whenever I make anything I always have a feeling of excitement to see how it will turn out, to see an idea realised, and sometimes I am disappointed and sometimes not. This time not. I love the way the pearl buttons glisten in low light, and the simple palette. I am undecided how to finish her though-whether to leave the background white or do it a deep, warm grey. I will try out the options in photoshop.
Last night I watched a documentary about the artist Grayson Perry, taking his teddy bear Alan Measles on a pilgrimage to Germany on a specially made motorbike. I can't begin to explain the many intricacies of GP's world but it was a fascinating and heartwarming insight into it, and well worth watching. It was related to this exhibition currently on at the British Museum called 'The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman' which I must go to see! Apologies if you can't watch bbc iplayer programmes in other countries-I don't know if you can or not!

Faces

I make up face after face, and they are all slightly the same, but I still want to make up more. I sometimes use a real face to model on but often not. I like eyes. This week I like watercolour graphite pencils, rough paper and a touch of paint.

This picture reminds me of the forties nurse I saw at the forties day. The colours are just like her. I prefer head covering to hair-I like the hijabs of the Somali women I know. I like nun's wimples. Great words-hijab and wimple!

I also like pom-pom type circles on the head. It reminds me of Princess Leia.

I am glad it is Friday. This week has been one long rush-with good moments but overall exhausting. I have a lot to do at the weekend but none of it is going to be work related!

Spheres

The full moon with a halo effect around it. It comes out so badly on my camera, but you can see the colours-the icy blue and an orangey tinge.

Just to the right of the boat is an orange buoy. The same orange as the ball below.

I used the ball as the sun in this photo shop collage. The skeleton is a photo hanging from one of my shelves, and the cat is from a Steinlen picture on a postcard from Anairam.

A painting from ages ago, played with the other night. Are heads spheres? What is an oval sphere called? Is it an ovoid? Yes I think it is! The process of talking to myself has worked again! Linda at work is always talking to herself, and when I answer her she says so. She says that she gets the answers she wants to hear from herself!

We are off on our little holiday tomorrow. I will be back with news of it on Tuesday!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Little Paintings and Links-PSE and Bamboo Pens!

I put away the computer today, for at least three hours! I have had these three little canvasses for a while now, planning to do some little faces on them.

I love getting the children in my class to make faces, showing the expressions of the characters in stories we are reading. It is of course educational, but also really funny. They look so sweet doing little grumpy faces, in fact one of them was doing it so well I was actually worried about her for a second! These three all look a bit grumpy too.

I have a cardboard tube on the table which has not yet been put into the recycling, or my growing bag of stuff for school. I put the lens into it to take these, and like the effect.

Bamboo Pen graphics tablet. You can get a pen and touch one, but it is more expensive and I am finding using the mouse pad on my laptop, in conjunction with the pen, fine. It is very easy to use and to set up.

Kim Klassen-the first course I did was by her, and was really good.

Digital Expressions by Susan Tuttle. It comes with a CD with a small but good selection of textures, photos and brushes and has lots of good ideas. I am not sure if I would have understood it without the Kim Klassen class, as that covers the basics of photoshop elements and once you have that then you can play! The book does explain things very well though.