the fifth heatwave of the summer, and I find myself reading a novel set in the midst of winter snowstorms and ice fishing . So botanicals today have a cold edge and nod to winter. I also spend much of my time in the design world thinking of cups and plates, but rarely get the opportunity to explore some more artistic looks. the nine of cups is part of an on-going series of paintings and drawings of vessels.
SOFT FOCUS...............
after a lot of experimenting and playing with different medium, returning to watercolour and botanicals…..
UPCYCLED ELEMENTS.....................
I have folders of scraps, illustrations, discarded doodles and today, came across a box of discarded 3d elements. A perfect opportunity to combine them with some ink illustrations…. maybe for a future editorial idea?
ALWAYS LOOKING.............
cropping and close-ups are a great way to work on new layouts cropping and looking at sections of artwork with a view to new compositions… and compositions.
NEW MONTH FOR NEW IDEAS........................
as we rolling summer and everyone emerges from last year’s cocooning, there’s a feeling of hope and change.
A STUDY CONTINUES.............
I had posted the Julio triptych a while back. It was repro’ed as wall art for anthropologie last year. since then it has had a couple of revivals. I love seeing how the color and depth of the art changes from one substrate to another. the tamsin bent wood chair is one of their company classics and I love the sleekness of the surface and the juxtapose of the watercolor art. the junius rug offers a richness and sheen that is prevalent in many fibre arts. it offers a deeper complexity and a progression of the original piece that I love.
the Julio triptych, the art’s first iteration. all photos anthropologie
FROM PATTERN TO PRODUCT..................
I’ve been designing product for a long time now, but I still get a thrill of seeing my artwork on a finished item. I used to design a lot of stationery but not for a while, so it was nice to see these come to life. The artworks were pattern play studies that I’d pulled from one of my vast “ elemental” files where I keep all those little bit and pieces I don’t want to part with
THE BLUES...............
always a favourite color palette…..blues. playing here with acrylics for portrait
SIMPLE BOTANICALS……………
although today was a mix of experiments with a narrow colour palette, botanicals or simple foliage still seem to be the favourites
BEST WORK ON DAY'S OFF...........................
one of my favorite movies is alfred hitchcock’s ‘rear window’, jimmy stewart’s character, at one point states that as a photographer he took some of his best pictures on his day off…. I totally agree, the pressure is off, there is no deadline or specific agenda and you just let the work take you where it wants to go… that was the case with the art for the leighton vases pictured here….. my favorite is the orange poppies, here’s the original painting and the wonderful rendition on the product. the other paintings can be seen in the botanical section of this site…. product photo from anthropologie
WINTER'S END
a little abstract monotone pattern play for the end of February….
TOWARDS SPRING............
been thinking about spring, warmer weather and seeing new blooms……..
A SUNDAY PAINTER.................
highlighting some product design this week… these candles were a follow on project from the art basel event way back in December 2019… the product cycle being long, they have just launched… available at anthropologie.com… also check out their sisters, the Leighton vases ( see my product design page here) or pop over to anthropologie.com to purchase.
photo of product: anthropologie
COLOUR PLAY...................
working of some color combinations, starting with composition and leading to abstracts
CHASING DAYLIGHT..........
evenings are stretching out, or rather creeping, but definitely the days are getting longer……. some quick studies at sunset
2020 ENDS............
the end of a year like no other. a year of waiting, a year of wfh in everyones vocabulary. To 2021 with hope.
EXPERIMENTS.................
cleaning out the studio this weekend and coming across old supplies that I either use to use regularly or bought to experiment with. Always good to switch it up and leave the comfort zone: keep learning, keep growing…..
BOOK STUDIES..............
looking through some old reference material today and some vintage floral wood cuts. exploring drawing with paint from these simple line studies.
STILL IN THE COUNTRYSIDE............
painting this weekend is still taking a pastoral turn. Its been damp and cold in the city and the thought of seeing fields, trees and beyond the horizon, the dip down to the sea are the views and tomorrows I long for……
TREES FOREVER...............
like most people during lockdown, we find ourselves watching obscure shows on tv… a few of them have been Canadian with the most breathtaking scenery. we often look and say, “ that can’t be real” are we looking at things differently because we know we currently can’t go there? It’s like we are seeing nature for the first time. Thinking of trees in Nova Scotia again today…..
