I do not know exactly how long since I last wrote on this blog, but I would guess more than a week. I have been writing elsewhere and meandering with a pen or a pencil.
At the moment, I am working on a pen and coloured pencil, large drawing. I expect it will take another week or so to finish. Then there is the studio stuff: a double 'portrait' base, a single 'portrait' base, a large drip abstract of discovery and a small abstract to relax on. I also have a very large abstract that I want to project a photo of the village onto but I have to take a photo that I like to do that. I have numerous photos that I took last winter and in the spring and some of them are ok but none of them work for the projection, so I'll have to go back out there with the camera. I just need to remember to take the camera with me next time I go out there. Sounds simple, and yet....
The drawing, because of its size, has a colour challenge. I like the drawings to be harmonious in colour because they are so busy in lines. At the same time, I do not want the final product to be boring or too monochrome. I want colour, but subtle colour - harmony. Also because I work on it in the evening, and not necessarily every evening, I have to be careful to stay in the same mindset throughout.
During the day, I paint, I might write and I am trying to muster up the energy/courage/notion to start on the sculpture. I have made several attempts at getting started. Attempt number one, I realised I did not have any cloth strips. Attempt number two, I struggled for ages trying to straighten the main support rod. Attempts number three, four, five and six, it was just too hot out there to do anything. And then finally, I have the container that the base will be fixed into but it turns out that it has a great big hole in the bottom. I will have to pour concrete in it - after I have painted it - in situ. Once the concrete is poured I will not be able to move the container. I cannot build the sculpture in the container because of the mess I will be making with the plaster. All in all, I am getting closer to getting started as most of the technical problems have been resolved and I am getting a clearer idea of what will be involved in making this sculpture. I plan on getting started on the next day when the temperature is below 25°C.
In the studio, the 'portraits' have to dry before I can continue. I have made certain areas of the face - around the eyes, the nose - realistic although monochrome and once the background idea is dry, I will be able to play with it and develop it. I think I might paint them upside down so as not to be distracted by the features to the point where they end up simply as portraits in non-typical facial colours, which would be annoying and has happened before. It is very hard to get back on track once that happens.
The large drip abstract is a a slow process. It involves a great deal of the right music, staring and searching to see what is there. Stuff appears sometimes when I am staring, sometimes when I am searching and often when I am working on something else and happen to look over at the drip abstract and there it is: something I had not seen before. It is very exciting but does take a long time. The small abstract is just to relax from the other four and just play with the colours on the canvas. It probably will go nowhere interesting but it is very relaxing and very agreeable.
And there it is, my current situation.
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