Exhibition of Printmaking

Just 2 more days of our exhibition ‘Looking Beyond’ at the Castle Gallery, Bude, and it is followed by a diverse exhibition of printmaking, featuring the work of Faith Chevannes, Sophie Fordham, Gabrielle Goodchild, Karen House, Maddie Meaden, Helen Murgatroyd Hayley Wrigley and myself. Each artist employs printmaking in a completely different way into their work making for a great collection when grouped together. I am sure it will be worth making another visit to The Castle, Bude!

On the days where it’s easy to give up.

I am reminded today about the mystery of a seed. Although we don’t quite know how, when the seed is planted in the ground it grows and Produces a crop. The growth of the plant will happen. I am not responsible for how the plant grows, but I DO need to keep planting seeds.

Art exhibition photos

 

The exhibition continues at The Castle, Bude until the 10th November – open everyday.

The Castle Bude Exhibition

So, three glass frames got broken in the putting up of the exhibition, (and thankfully replaced,) but she is still smiling. Naomi’s photographs are a beautiful part of our exhibition. I hope you will get it in your diary if you haven’t done already to visit The Castle tomorrow between 2 & 4 pm

The Signature on a painting

This is not an identity crisis, but for some reason I can never decide how to sign my paintings. I know, this should not be a big decision, but well, me and decisions don’t go together too well. I mention this just because I am hoping lots of you will come to my exhibition at The Castle this Sunday 23rd October, 2-4pm, and you might spot paintings signed in various ways. My latest is Jacque and before that Harris.

In my past there was JMH and before that Jacqui Robinson, (changed for more obvious reasons.) Also Jakki R, Jakki, J M Robinson and Jacqueline Robinson. Does anyone else have this problem? Surely I should be able to settle on one!

This leaves me with a question. Do we really need the signature of the artist? Maybe I keep changing mine because actually I am not all that comfortable with having my name in the corner. Sometimes I feel it interrupts the flow of the painting. Some people I know don’t sign the front at all, but does the viewer perhaps not think the painting is authentic without a signature. I would be grateful for your thoughts, and if you can’t make this Sunday, the show continues until November 10th.

Thanks

Jacqui

New experiments in oil and cold wax

Open Studios is a great experience, which for me this year, has had lasting effects.

Up until recently I have dabbled in oils, but the fumes and the resulting headaches have always put me off….until now. I was advised by a fellow artist in one of those wonderful times of friendly chat back in June to try a citrus oil instead of the normal turps. This opened up a wave of new possibilities for me. Not only did I acquire ‘zest it’ dilutant and brush cleaner as well as the ‘zest it’ glazing medium and used them to good affect, I also discovered cold wax which I have started to combine with the oils.

Cold wax gives the oil paint a more matt look and it causes the oils to dry more quickly. Because they bulk the paint you can press textures into the paint or stick and embed collage into the layers with the wax.

 

I am still experimenting with all the ways that cold wax can be used in my process but what I am finding is that it is great for excavating into previous layers. It stays quite malleable for some time, so I am doing lots of scraping and scratching, as well as combining oil sticks and oil pastels into the mix!

 

If you would like to see more of what I have been up too recently, I will be showing my work at The Castle, Bude from 23rd October until 11th November. I will be there on Sunday 23rd from 2-4pm if you would like to join me there.

A Season For Everything

During  the last week I have had a time of enforced rest, – really unwelcomed and I became extremely grumpy because of it -I am perhaps not too good at it.

But amazing things have happened in this time of quiet. I have been filled with new creativity, imaginings, new ideas.

I wanted to share with you one of these ideas. Using bits of old paintings and drawing and collaging over the prints I have been working (whilst lying down) on some new ideas for cards. Here is one.

Whether you are having a busy or a quiet day, have a good day!

It’s worth the struggle.

At last I have finished a painting that seems like it has taken for ever! Last year it was a completely different painting. In fact there are several different paintings under this one, but each time the ideas didn’t work and I couldn’t bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.  I kept putting it aside until I almost thought it had beaten me, when a few days ago following another day of frustration with it I came back and  surprisingly it turned a corner.

Now I remind myself ….IT IS WORTH THE STRUGGLE.

All the layers underneath weren’t a waste of time after all. They add a richness that would be absent had I not gone through the struggle.

Detail of painting above.

I am reminded that life can be like a painting. The endurance, the perseverance brings character, brings richness, although sometimes the process can be painful.

Melissa Helser compares her life to bark on trees!

‘My layers of life keep living as I keep digging. They grow and are full of newness and then they die and become my strength and shield.’

The link of walking to creativity.

I find it hard to adopt any routine in life but one that is a must for me is going for a walk each day, so I Ask myself why?

Well, yes I have a dog so am forced to walk even when I don’t feel like it, but there are also other reasons that it seems essential.

Yesterday I spoke with a fellow artist that prompted this blog. You can see her beautiful work at http://www.beatrixcalow.com  She is looking at the pilgrimage of a particular walk as a meditative, spiritual journey and making work based around it in her MA studies. Many other artists likewise, have gone for walks as a necessary part of life and vision.

Charles Dickens wrote from 9-2 and then generally walked for about 20-30 miles. He also walked at night if he couldn’t sleep.

Beethoven worked until mid afternoon and then always went for a walk whatever the weather and carried with him pen and sheets of music paper with him in case of inspiration which he often had.

Pierre Bonnard took morning walks. To him conversing with nature became equivalent to conversing with paint. In it he cultivated a gift of observation. He talks about a familiar walk of the hills behind his house. ‘Each day I take in different elements, the sky, the objects, everything is constantly changing, one could end up drowning in it. But it enables us to live.’

For me, without my walk I can be quite uninspired. The act of walking clears my head in such a way that inspirational thought can arise. It might be something I see, or thoughts that come. (I am becoming better at taking a notebook to write these thoughts down) The solitude, away from the dishes,washing etc is probably important – having nothing around that strives to clutter the mind, and the slowing down. Like Bonnard, I also practise focused observation. I think this is what excites me most – that in nature and the spiritual journey that it stands alongside, there is always something new.

Today this was in the tattered appearance of this flower that the bees are loving.

I invite your thoughts on any routines that help your art practise or if you find also that walking is important in the process.

Last farewell to some friends

Sorting through my recent photos today, I felt a little bereft for some of my quite recent artworks that sold at open studios last month. Having not had very long to live with these myself I sent them packing to their new owners with joy at the time. It is now, after the dust has settled, that I feel their loss, the need to refer to some of them to move on. Therefore, I thought I would give them one last viewing here. If you didnt visit me in June I hope you enjoy them.

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