Photography this week

Photos from a beautiful Garden I went to.  I love cherry tree blossoms. Just stunning.

Skechbook challenge: 7 days of drawing

The theme for October is view.  I spent a bit of time gong through the dictionary finding out definitions of this word.  I decided to focus on small minute views of the human body.  I have started with parts of the face.  I have drawn more than one a day so I won't date these pages I will just load them as a collection of drawings over a week.  I have challenged myself to do them from different angles and form different models.

Eyes

Quilting-Painting whole cloth quilts

It always amazes me how fast time disappears. I think that the 6 hours while the children are at school will go forever but it doesn't.  It seems like I have just started a project and it is time to pick up the kids from school again.  Life rolls along like a fast roller coaster ride.sometimes it seems as if I am in control of the twists and turns and other times I feel completely out of control.  I am feeling like that at the moment and it is my art that grounds me into some normalcy.  It is wonderful to pick up a pencil and let my mind be released from the days pressures that are all around me.  It is like my hand moves on its own accord to  create something magical and special.

My violin quilt piece of work has felt like that to me.  A magical process of creativity.  I know my god guides me to create and helps me to make my mind and body work freely together.  I am always grateful for his guidance in my life.  I felt his presence quite a bit as I worked on this painting.

Last week I showed you the design process on this piece of work. (found at the link below)

http://catherineparkinson.blogspot.com/2011/10/quilting-painting-whole-cloths.html

After I drew the design onto the fabric it was time for me to paint.  I find this step quite difficult as I get very nervous about committing paint to fabric.  It is hard to commit my ideas to cloth in case I make a mistake.  I know many artists find it hard to put pen to a blank page of a sketchbook but I don't mind that but the thought of painting a whole cloth I get very nervous. 

The first thing I paint is the face when I am doing a portrait.  I start bu painting the eyes, nose and then mouth.  I refer to the original photo and a photo that has had the colours reduced in it so I can see the shading changes in the face more clearly. 

The second part I paint is other parts of the painting with flesh colour.  I found painting the fingers very difficult but it was a good challenge for me.  It is always hard to get the fingers to look right and not like fat (or skinny sausages)

I next worked on the hair and the violin.  While I was working on the violin I noticed some problems in my original sketch.  By using pencil I can rub out any problems and paint over the area until it is right.

As I continued to add more around the face I added a little more shading to the flesh areas to define shadows more (this is a bit hard to see on a photo)  I added gold to the hair to add more dimension and a little 'sparkle'  My daughter loved the sparkle and wished she had real sparkles in her hair.

Photography this week

Some more photos from beautiful Palmerston north. 

Pictures of 2 beautiful churches I found. Enjoy :)

Sketchbook challenge

Today is my normal day for my sketchbook challenge entries.  I only have 4 today as I have had a few emergencies this week and I have not managed to draw for a few days.  Hopefully everything will sort its self out so I can start drawing again soon :)

Entry for September 28th

Unfurled: Leaf

Entry for Septemebr 29th

Unfurled: Suns

Entry for Septemeber 30th

Unfurled: Leaves

Entry for October 1st

Unfurled: Pointy suns



Quilting-painting whole cloths

I decided to start a new piece of work.  I have spent all year challenging my painting and drawing skills and I new I needed to put those new skills to the test on a new piece of work.  I wanted to do something that celebrated people.  I spent a lot of time sketching until I came up with the idea of celebrating the interactions we have with music.  My daughter Jennifer has just past her grade 8 violin exam (had lessons for 11 years to reach this goal)  she is an example to me of persistence and dedication to a goal.  I wanted to capture the 'relationship' she has with her violin and music.  She is passionate about music,  she loves to play and love watching others get enjoyment out of her playing.

I first took a photo of her playing her violin and reduced the colours on photoshop down to 6. This gave me an idea of shading and places to put different colours.

I traced around the parts I wanted to use and added other ideas.

Closeup of photo

I then translated this photo and the lines I traced with my own ides into my sketchbook.

With notes around the picture explaining the ideas I had on this piece of work.

I transferred this onto another sheet of paper with more details finalised and fine tuned.

I drew this onto a large piece of paper and sellotaped this to the window. Over this I place my pre washed white fabric and traced the design onto the fabric.  I have really big widows in my house and they are wonderful for doing this.

I love the design.  It makes me feel excited and for me this is usually a good sign that I am going in the right direction. 

Next week I will continue to blog my adventure with this quilt :)

Photography this week

Photos on a beautiful beach at Himitagi on the west coast of New Zealand

A pile of drift wood

The sand dunes

Looking out to the tussock grass in the dunes

A bleached log on the beach