my art blog: gilbert and sullivan

Showing posts with label gilbert and sullivan. Show all posts

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

A Nice Dilemma

A nice dilemma we have here

That calls for all our wit, for all our wit . . .

- Gilbert & Sullivan, Trial by Jury

Sometimes it's good to take your watercolours and just experiment - particularly when you haven't used them for some time and need to loosen up. Last week I decided to re-interpret the two Venice paintings I made back in March, just going with the flow to see what happened. On two consecutive days, with Vivaldi's Gloria in the CD player (is there a more Venetian composer?) and the same Venetian glass colour palette as previously, I mixed up some thin washes.

the most exciting colours always end up in the brush water!
© Teresa Newham

I applied these to a block of Hahnemühle Andalucia paper with a wide brush . . .

Venice III initial washes
© Teresa Newham

. . . waited for them to dry and added stronger colours, holding the block upright now and again so they ran down the paper.

Venice IV after the second set of washes
© Teresa Newham

Finally I added a gondolier, a misty bridge in the distance, and some shadows at the top and outer edges:

Venice III & IV
original watercolours © Teresa Newham

So I now have four paintings of Venice - two sets of two each! I'd like to exhibit a couple of them at Open Studios in September, but my dilemma is - which ones?

Saturday, 10 August 2013

List and Learn . . .

in the wings: Contadine
© Teresa Newham 2013

"List and learn, ye dainty roses, Roses white and roses red,

Why we bind you into posies Ere your morning bloom has fled.

By a law of maiden's making, Accents of a heart that's aching,

Even though that heart be breaking, Should by maiden be unsaid:"

rough sketch and source photos
© Teresa Newham 2013

As regular readers of this blog will know, it can take some time for my projects to come to fruition. I've been a member of the Putteridge Bury Gilbert & Sullivan Society (PBGS for short) for more than twenty years - I must have taken part in at least fifty shows - and have tons of photos taken on and off stage. Recently I finally got round to looking at some shots of our 2010 production of The Gondoliers, with a view to doing some kind of painting.

first washes
© Teresa Newham 2013

I laid down some very wet washes for the background and held the board vertical so that they could run where they wanted: I could tidy them up later. Once they dried I started to lightly define some shapes which might or might not become suggestions of a ladder, some scenery stacks, and a wall. I then put in some flesh tones. The Contadine (peasant girls) started to resemble nothing more than four ladies sitting in a Turkish bath:

starting to take shape
© Teresa Newham 2013

I thought they might get a bit chilly, so I painted in some skirts, blouses and bodices. I limited my palette to just five colours, plus white: burnt umber, light red, raw sienna, turquoise, French ultramarine. The whole thing started to look a bit more lively:

adding some colour
© Teresa Newham 2013

I strengthened the white of the bodices with gouache and gave them an apron each, then I started on their wigs and make-up. I wanted to emphasise the incongruity of the scene, so the figure on the left is clutching a water bottle, and they are sitting on 21st-Century chairs (more likely 20th-Century, as backstage facilities are invariably shabby!).

almost finished
© Teresa Newham 2013

I like to think that these four are waiting for their next scene, thinking about their lines and moves (although experience suggests they're discussing the next production, or last night's curry). The painting isn't intended to be a portrait - but I hope it conveys an idea of not-so-glamorous life on the stage!

Saturday, 13 April 2013

Watching paint dry . . .

Spring arrived late in the UK this year; we had snow the week before Easter, and bitter winds. But finally the sun has come out and we've warmed up a little, just in time for the PBGS Gilbert & Sullivan Triple Bill, which we've been performing in Hitchin for the past few days. And that's meant time off work for me!

What with one thing and another I haven't managed to do any watercolour painting since last summer; two stretched pieces of virgin white paper have been sitting on a board in the studio since February, originally intended for a project which I've lost enthusiasm for. So I decided to do some playing.

I washed plenty of water over each piece of paper, let it start to dry and then added some watercolour washes in my favourite shades, adding drier paint to strengthen the depth of colour as I went. As the paper began to dry off, I splashed on more water, noticing the interesting textures and reflections which began to appear. So of course, I got the camera out . . .

The idea was to make a couple of paintings based on what the paint looked like once it had dried - 'cauliflowers' and all - and the outcome was quite surprising. But that's for another blog post. In the meantime I have a few ideas for these photos . . . !

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Jubi-lation

Jubilee souvenirs at the Garden Centre
© Teresa Newham 2012

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee crept up on me, rather. It's not that I didn't know about it - we were getting an extra day off work, after all - our neighbours were organising a street party and we were going to a bit of a "do" with friends where a beacon was going to be lit. And on a visit to the local garden centre we'd discovered an amazing display of Jubilee souvenirs for sale (I had to persuade my husband that we didn't need a "dress up Princess Kate" book or any other bit of tat). But it wasn't until I was walking along the banks of the Thames from Blackfriars to my office at Southwark Bridge last week that I realised it was really upon us. This part of Bankside has been under renovation for months, and suddenly the workmen had picked up the pace - but surely it wouldn't be ready for the Jubilee Weekend?

finishing touches, Bankside
© Teresa Newham 2012

Day by day I watched as things progressed. New bench seats arrived and were installed. Trees appeared. Tarmac was laid and railings painted. The steps to the Millennium Bridge sprouted new balustrades. A massive flower bed was filled with compost and planted up. It was like a soap opera: will they won't they finish in time? One morning I found myself thinking what a shame it was that the Blackfriars railway bridge (not due for completion until July) was still covered in scaffolding - by the evening much of that scaffolding had disappeared. Clearly this Jubilee was going to be a Big Deal. Some photo reportage was called for!

red, white and blue at the Founders Arms, Bankside
(Blackfriars rail bridge in the background)
© Teresa Newham 2012

By now bunting and flags were in evidence everywhere. Red, white and blue was the order of the day - and not just in shop windows and floral displays, either. My colleagues had already suggested that we wear red, white and blue to work on the Friday prior to the Jubilee Weekend; the local primary school had the same idea. I felt a bit self-conscious on the train until I saw a chap in navy blue trousers and navy blue and white checked shirt casually carrying a red sweater. And a man in a navy blue suit, white shirt and navy tie wearing red socks . . . decorations went up in the office and a whole raft of portaloos appeared outside as crowd barriers were assembled on Southwark Bridge. Something about a River Pageant, apparently . . . which was going to be HUGE!

flags pretty much everywhere!
© Teresa Newham 2012

We found out almost by accident that there was going to be a fair on Harpenden Common on the Saturday. Sure enough, despite the cold wind loads of people had turned up and many of these were wearing red, white and blue . . .

red, white and blue on Harpenden Common
© Teresa Newham 2012

The Local History Society exhibition in a nearby hall was also pulling in a crowd. It showed how Harpenden had celebrated various Jubilees during the 20th century; and the Queen's Coronation. Fancy dress parades with a fairy theme figured extensively - including some extracts from Gilbert and Sullivan (Iolanthe, presumably!). The white ensign from HMS Harpenden was on show - she was mainly active during the First World War and decommissioned in the 1920s.

There was a massive amount of local memorabilia, including one of the original street decorations from the Jubilee in 1937 - glass jars painted red, white and blue on a wire frame. The local Scouts had to light them all one by one!

The Society chairman had dug out the breeches and shoes he wore as a choirboy at the Coronation, along with a photo of his fifteen-year-old self running (late) to a rehearsal. And then it struck me. This wasn't just any old royal event. We were witnessing history. That was why so many people were here at the exhibition with their kids. Few amongst us (apart from the very young, maybe) would see a Diamond Jubilee again. Suddenly the idea of a souvenir didn't seem so tacky. So it was straight round to the shops for a decorated tin of shortbread (me) and a book of photos of the Queen's life (my husband can't resist a book!). We're not ardent royalists or anything. We weren't going to spend our weekend in front of the TV, oh no!! But we could recognise history in the making.

Of course, in the end we watched pretty much all of it. The stunning Thames pageant had us glued to our seats most of Sunday afternoon - incredible, despite the rain (now I understood why they'd spent two years painting Southwark Bridge). Monday however was for socialising; that street party (under gazebos, in the rain) gave us the chance to finally meet most of our neighbours; and was such a success that we might do it again next year. It was intended to finish around 3.30pm, but in fact only a final downpour at 5pm drove us indoors, and then just to get changed and go out again for the evening.

Red, white and blue was the theme again as we danced to our friends' vocal harmony group at their local village "do" - the village had been partying all day. We were grateful for the hot meal on a chilly night, which warmed us enough to go outside to see the beacon lit at 10.26pm precisely - more dancing, then back at our friends' house we started to watch a recording of the Jubilee concert. Which is why the two of us were creeping into our house at 3am the next morning, still clutching our Union Jacks from the party!

So we spent Jubilee Day itself very quietly, watching the service from St Paul's Cathedral on TV; the procession; the balcony appearance and the fly-past by the Red Arrows. Frankly, we were exhausted. And unexpectedly rather proud of our Queen, who's life really sums up the meaning of the word vocation. And now we have those Union Jacks hanging in the window, they might as well stay there for the duration of the European football. And the Olympics. It's going to be quite a summer!

Saturday, 12 May 2012

Painting the Boat

The last time I managed to get to the Set Dance weekend in Portmagee, Co Kerry, was almost exactly two years ago. The fine weather had prompted some of the locals to prepare their boat for the summer - in full view of my hotel bedroom window. So of course, I'd got snapping - intending to do a painting based on the photos one day. I took advantage of a recent week off work to do exactly that - I stretched some cream watercolour paper from my tinted stock, tried out some colours and made a basic sketch from one of the photos, which I then attempted to transfer to the stretched paper.

The first draft (above) was reasonable - somewhere along the line the chap on the right had moved forward and was now holding a brush in his right hand - but it required tweaking: the crate on the right had to go, the boat needed to be bigger, and my idea of putting the paint tins front left was clearly not working. Eventually I found a suitable arrangement - which ironically was closer to the original photo - and started laying down some washes.

Within two days the painting was complete - not bad, considering I spent quite a lot of time doing other things including performing in an amateur production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Patience, and rather more mundane stuff such as shopping and cooking. At least it gave those washes a chance to dry properly . . .

Here's the result. As with my last painting, close cropping seems to suit this subject, and it was definitely worth making a sketch from the photo as the basis for the painting, rather than using the photo itself. I wonder what colour that boat's painted now? I'll have to go back to Portmagee to find out!

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