Yavanna, emerging

Some things take a while to come to fruition.  My latest project, a painting of Yavanna Kementári from JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion, took two years to come to the drawing board;  just how do you paint one of the Valar?  Tolkien gives us compelling descriptions of Yavanna:  in the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green*; some have seen her standing like a tree under heaven, crowned with the Sun*; elsewhere in The Sil he tells of how she sings into existence the Two Trees of Valinor, Telperion and Laurelin, who wax and wane in turn and give a lovely light: Thus in Valinor twice a day there came a gentle hour of softer light when both trees were faint and their gold and silver beams were mingled*. To paint such a vision was an ambitious plan, and for a long time I had no idea how to go about it.


Yavanna Kementári, pen and ink drawing
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010




 




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




Last summer it became clear that any kind of depiction would be better than none, so I started to sketch some basic layouts.  I wanted an Art Nouveau feel to the piece and decided to frame Yavanna with the Two Trees.  How to place her was the next question;  I decided against a pose, preferring to show her almost in passing, perhaps with a fern springing from the hem of her cloak as she walked.  By October I was able to put down a pencil sketch, and eventually, having modified it several times, I felt confident enough to ink it up, holding my breath as I did so.
 
Now came my next decision.  The outline sketch was extremely simple; if I simply filled in the colour it would look lifeless.   There was no way I could make it look realistic - who knows what a Valar looks like?  or the Two Trees?  and how on earth do you depict gold and silver light, mingling??  I had no idea what to do, and Christmas came and went. In the meantime I did some experimental paintings with bold washes and plenty of water, as described on this blog in January.  So I asked myself: what would happen if I used those on my painting of Yavanna?


Yavanna Kementári, first wet washes
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2011

  




















Action followed thought (not too much thought- counter-productive!). I wetted the paper and dropped in quantities of turquoise and indian yellow.  Then I added some ultramarine and quinacridone gold for good measure.  The whole thing was very, very wet.  For a while I sat there and literally watched the paint drying;  depending on where the pools of water had gathered, colour was marching across the paper, blending and marching back again.  I was pretty sure there were some wonderful greens growing in there, but I couldn't be certain how they would dry.  I made myself walk away until the morning.

Yavanna Kementári, first washes dried
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2011

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When I went back the next day, I was astounded with the result.  I almost didn't dare touch it any more; wouldn't it do perfectly well as it was?  Tempted as I was to leave it, I decided to carry on, to find out how Yavanna would present herself to me.  But that will have to wait until the next blog - partly because she isn't finished yet  . . . .!

* The Silmarillion, by JRR Tolkien, published by HarperCollins

colour and light

I've never got on with masking fluid.  No matter how careful I am, the surface of the paper always gets damaged, whether I'm using it neat or diluted.  Nonetheless, in a continued spurt of post-Christmas enthusiasm, I decided a couple of weekends ago to have another try with it, drawing the outline of a dove holding an olive branch.  To create a really vibrant background I dampened rather than wetted the paper, and dropped in large amounts of pure colour.  Then I spattered some water over the  whole thing, just to see what would happen.

dove of peace
watercolour & ink
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2011

The result was a fabulous range of colour, softened in places by some sublte runbacks.  But when I peeled off the masking fluid, a little of the surface paper came away with it.  The paper I use is extremely soft, which explains the problem (on the other hand, you can soak it several times without it complaining at all LOL)  I further defined the dove with a pen, but on the whole it's rather unsatisfactory. Still, the success of the background had made me keen to try again - but without the masking fluid next time!

Accordingly, last Sunday I carefully drew a pencil outline of a dove, then rubbed most of it out, dampened the area outside the outline and lobbed in even more pure colour than I had with the previous painting.  After it dried off a little I spattered some water to see what would happen.  Then I left it alone for several hours before painting in the dove with a backlit effect (I should 'fess up right here that I pinched the idea of the backlit dove from a Christmas card I got several years ago).

Spirit
watercolour
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2011

This produced a far better result - although the dove is a bit wonky, the backlighting gives a lively effect.  I'm really pleased with the intensity of colour. And, as last Sunday was the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, when according to the gospel of Matthew, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus like a dove, I've called it Spirit.

Finally, this week my latest order arrived from Great Art.  I've decided to liven up my colour palette and introduce some of my experimental techniques into other areas of my painting.  So - more paper, a new porcelain palette, several new tubes of watercolour paint in shades I haven't used before; oh yes, and I must get round to doing some more linocutting . . .

Going with the Snow

Most Christmasses, I'm given a book about painting - usually from my wishlist.  This year's was How to Paint Colour and Light in Watercolour by Jean Haines, which I first spotted in an edition of Artists & Illustrators.   Frankly, I thought it might give me a shove - I haven't done any painting for a while - and bring me back to where I started out with watercolours several years ago - letting go and going with the flow.  I'd seen some snowy Cambridgeshire fields from the car on Boxing Day which had given me the idea for a subject.  Even a heavy cold couldn't deter me from making a start (though it did ensure I sat quietly and read the book through several times before attempting to put anything on paper).

Snowscape I
watercolour
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Now, I never like to follow a book slavishly, but, aware that I'd become stuck in a rut with my colours, I chose suitably snowscape-y ones similar to those which Jean recommends - violet, ultramarine, alizarin, indian yellow and turquoise and laid down a wet blended wash of several shades as instructed.  Then I mapped in some hedges with violet and ultramarine - remembering to let them blend on the paper rather than mixing them on the palette - and added a line of grass.  Deciding that something was needed in the foreground, I painted in some cautious twigs - far too carefully, but Jean came to the rescue with the idea of splattering some water on to soften them.  Even so, the first painting turned out a bit on the stilted side, and the washes dried extremely pale - but hey, I'd done a couple of hours painting and really enjoyed it!!

Snowscape II
watercolour & gouache
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

For my next attempt I tried to be a bit more dramatic with the washes, and used Jean's suggestion of tilting the paper to create a few runs which might suggest something for the composition.  That's how the tree (which I never envisaged in the first place) ended up top left; the way the washes dried also suggested where the hills should be (we're a long way from Cambridgeshire now.  Perhaps somewhere near Hereford?).  Instead of twigs I added a foreground of grasses over some large wet areas I'd slapped in with the Chinese brush  I bought last July and never used (thanks for the tip, Jean!).  It's a long time since I've done any spattering but it soon came back to me (including - too late - the bit about never wearing a white T-shirt when trying this technique) and I added some white gouache snow to the grasses for good measure.  The spattering does add life  to this picture - perhaps a little too much!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Snowscape III
watercolour & gouache
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010
 
For the third painting I was determined to strengthen those background washes still further.  Ironically, the fact that our snow has melted means that the days appear much darker, and lack of time decreed that I laid down the background relatively late one afternoon.  By the time I went to bed I had no idea how to proceed with the resulting effect - I couldn't see a picture there at all - but I woke this morning with the idea of a house spilling light onto the snow from its doors and windows.  I'm not that keen on the hedgerows in the first two paintings so I left them out completely and defined the hilltop with an ultramarine wash over the sky.  More grasses, a bit of spattering with colour and white gouache - it's no masterpiece but it's shown me the way forward LOL.
 
Happy New Year!!

total whiteout

Harpenden Common at sunrise
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

A gentle dusting of snow had me reaching for my mobile phone camera as I walked gingerly to the station along icy pavements soon after 8am yesterday morning.  I've had little or no time for anything vaguely creative recently beyond singing in some carol concerts, but my imagination was caught by the sun lighting up the still autumnal colours of the trees, set off by the snowy highlights.

Harpenden Common, 8.15 on a December morning
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Risking life and limb as I teetered along I managed to grab a variety of shots without falling over or suffering frostbite to my camera hand.  Gathering clouds filtered the sunlight - the whole effect was lovely and subtle.

It's all been a bit different today, however - snowing steadily (or should that be heavily?) from 11am to 4pm.  Here's a shot from my back bedroom window at lunchtime.  Compare it with the balmy scene depicted here and you'll notice the difference!

another view from my back bedroom window!

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

The unusual weather is making it difficult to get about - I still have no idea whether I'll make it to church tomorrow,  let alone work on Monday - and I've warned my Christmas guests to make sure they  have a suitable Christmas lunch to eat in their freezer at home just in case they don't make it over here.  But it's also an opportunity to take photos and look at things with an artist's eye.  Who knows, I might actually manage to do some painting or printmaking over the Christmas break! 

snow on a lavender bush
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Sleight of hand

There are many clichés about photography. "Every picture tells a story" is one.  "The camera never lies" is another.  But we all know that the camera can lie (especially if Photoshop is involved), and the story that the picture is telling may not be entirely accurate!  Some photos I took on my recent holiday in Ireland demonstrate this.

view along the Portmagee Channel towards Caherciveen
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

This pretty view was taken from the side of a road going over the mountains between Portmagee and St Finan's Bay in County Kerry.  The view does look like this - but only if you're prepared to get out of the car and do a bit of a balancing act on the grass at the edge of the road.  You wouldn't see this from the car! or only a glimpse, at least.

the Skelligs
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

This view of the Skellig Islands isn't one you'd normally see from the car either; not even if you got out for a look.  Standing upright, you can see over the  vegetation to the coastline below, a sight which (when we were there at least) was enhanced by an upside-down kitchen table which somebody had lobbed into the bushes.  So a certain amount of crouching went on here to ensure that it didn't get into shot!

Skelligs with cloud formation
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

This spectacular shot was, believe it or not, taken from the car and is part of a series, many of which were completely out of focus.  And, while this is an accurate representation of what we could see, the original photo was at quite an angle and has  had to be straightened.

near sunset, St Finan's Bay
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

The same is true of my last example; it's not easy to keep the camera straight when you are taking a series of shots from an open car.  This one had the sea wall in the foreground with something horrid and plastic on it - so I cropped that out.

So there you have it.  Beautiful photos, telling most of the story.  But not quite all . . . !

Stewarding with Shortbread

Harpenden Arts Club Open Exhibition 2010
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

I spent last Saturday afternoon helping out with the stewarding at the Harpenden Arts Club annual Open Exhibition.  Life is so chaotic at the moment that I haven't managed to get to any club meetings yet this year;  and I suppose I could have stayed at home to work on some artistic projects of my own.  But I like to hear what the visitors have to say, and I wanted to see the exhibition anyway,  having not managed to get to the private view.  At the last minute I rememberd that stewards are allowed to have their own greetings cards available for sale during their stint, and hastily shoved some into a small basket, luckily realising as I did so that photographic cards would not be suitable!  Fortunately I've had cards made of some of my paintings, and these, along with my remaining mono leaf print cards, made a decent selection.

With two minutes to spare before the start of my shift I bagged the last parking space outside the Public Halls and ran indoors (then straight out again to fetch the cards which I'd left in the car by mistake).  The other stewards on duty were a charming retired couple; we spent a few minutes reading our instructions and then leafed through the sales book to see what had already sold.  Despite the recession the club had made some respectable sales already;  around a dozen framed items and almost as many mounted unframed had gone.  One of my companions had sold a couple of each!  We took turns to walk around the exhibition keeping  an eye on visitors and choosing our own favourites (all visitors were asked to vote for their top three).  As usual the standard was extremely high; exhibits ranged from large traditional landscapes in pastel to small acrylic abstracts, with etchings, collograph and monoprints also represented.  I showed Paula's Pansy and Elderly Couple on Rossbeigh Beach.

Elderly Couple on show alongside various other exhibits
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

We had a steady stream of visitors during our two hours; halfway through, my fellow stewards produced a flask of tea and a box of shortbread fingers which they kindly shared with me.  And to complete my afternoon, I sold a few cards!  By the time I took my leave at 4pm a beautiful sunset was lighting up the whole sky.  It had been a thoroughly civilized afternoon.

Taking Things Slowly

As October draws to a close I'm preparing for a trip to Ireland - a chance to rest, recharge my batteries and hopefully do a bit of sketching, painting and photo-taking (weather permitting).  A busy time at work, wedding preparations,  and -  this weekend - a nasty cold, have prevented me from doing much art recently: the underdrawing for my next painting is sitting in my studio waiting patiently for attention.  It might turn out to be a straight watercolour; or a pen & watercolour wash; or even an illustration in gouache;  I haven't quite decided yet. 

I first thought about tackling the subject (Yavanna from JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion) a couple of years ago, and it's taken me all this time to get anything usable down on paper.  This weekend I've had several good ideas about how to proceed, which need a little thought.  So I hope she won't feel too neglected if I make her wait a little longer!

Sketchy details

two hand reel
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

I was watching a TV programme about Raphael last night, when they showed some of his sketches - lovingly preserved and mounted to protect them down the centuries.  "Originally these would just have been scraps of paper lying around in Raphael's studio" said the presenter.  Much like my own sketches, then LOL.  I'm guiltily aware that I don't do enough drawing;  self-help books about art are stuffed with advice such as "a true artist draws something every day" and "always carry a sketchbook with you".  And I do carry one with me most days; it commutes to London with me, and home again, usually unopened.  It's not that I haven't tried; I could produce some lively impressions of the travelling public at City Thameslink if they (and I) could only stay still long enough for me to get something down on paper.  If I had the courage, I could easily get my book out on the train itself and cover page after page with images of commuters reading their books or listening to their i-Pods.  And if I could get out of the office at lunchtime I could happily sketch the tourists milling around the Tate and the Millenium Bridge (but I'd never get the chance to eat lunch, or check my private emails).

lavender in a pot
© Teresa Kirkaptrick 2010

So in the main my sketchbooks tend to come into their own on holiday or at home.  I jotted Two Hand Reel down during a set dance workshop in Portmagee; together with a whole bunch of photos it may make a painting one day. But - another confession - I really don't much like drawing with pencil.  I spent the two Life Drawing courses I attended at Central St Martins trying to avoid it; preferring to use charcoal, messy though it is, or ink - which is permanent and doesn't allow for mistakes.  This summer I bought some small sketching pens which use waterproof ink, and I've been much happier with those (and therefore more inclined to get the sketchbook out).   Lavender in a Pot is my favourite part of a much larger sketch, much of which is out of perspective LOL.

beach huts, Wells-next-the-Sea
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

During our long weekend at Wells-next-the-Sea I not only managed to do some sketching but had time to add some watercolour washes in an attempt to bring the drawing to life.  I do sometimes try sketching direct with watercolour, without drawing first, but inevitably the result is a soggy mass of colour which only I can interpret.   Still, that's the point of a sketch; they are reminders of what the artist actually sees.  Sometimes I will sketch from a photograph before I paint a scene; that way there's a chance I will actually paint the scene itself rather than the photo.  And I can't be sure what will turn out to be of use in the end;  I might not "need" a drawing of a dressed-up stallholder at the Shire Festival but if I ever decide to paint Gandalf sitting down, he'll come in very handy!  and if I ever have an urge to depict a whole bunch of plants in flowerpots I can use the sketch I made sitting outside the Talbot Building at Lady Margaret Hall during Oxonmoot.  You never know . . .

flowerpots, Lady Margaret Hall
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Taking a View

View from my Back Bedroom Window
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

I've had paintings, prints and photos all over the place during September.  Most of my recent stuff is still at Artscape for Open Studios until the end of the month, while May Evening Harpenden Common has been on show at Wesley's Café at the Methodist Church in the High Street all month as part of the publicity for the event.  I took He Cast Him a Lappet, my most recent Tolkien painting (despite being a year old) to Oxonmoot (the annual Tolkien Society get-together) last weekend, while Red Tulips in a Blue Glass Vase and Flying Kites at Rossbeigh Beach are on their way to Letchworth tomorrow for the annual Open Exhibition.  I would have had two more paintings on show last weekend at the St Albans Summer Art Exhibition, but it was cancelled.  I was almost relieved . .  .

Amidst all this chaos I've managed to produce another painting. I did it over two Saturdays spent at Artscape as part of Open Studios, and the subject is the View from my Back Bedroom Window. Ironically Open Studios isn't the best place to paint; you are constantly interrupted by visitors (which is, after all, the whole point of Open Studios) and last year I found I couldn't concentrate at all.  So I was delighted when I got this little pen and wash piece home and realised that I rather liked it.  It's pretty accurate, and gives a nice insight into how my neighbours use their gardens.  The view is one I never tire of - it's quite an ordinary scene but constantly changing; birds fly in and out, you can often see horses at the farm over the back (although I didn't dare attempt to depict one!) and of course the seasons come and go.  This is the view at the height of summer, which is already over.   Such happy memories!

Open for Business

All set up - Judi Menges' glass art and a few drinks & nibbles to help the Open Evening go with a swing!
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

This year's Herts Open Studios is under way, and for those of us exhibiting under the Artscape Arts banner it's been a great start!  as usual we were convinced that nobody much would turn up to our Open Evening last Friday.  And once again our predictions proved groundless, with around seventy visitors during the hour and a half party.  All five of us had managed to find room to display what we wanted to - from wall hung art to cards and jewellery - and we had room for a table of drinks & snacks so we could offer the guests some refreshment.

Our display of cards etc in front of my paintings
© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

Our first guest was the Town Mayor, who brought along some of his family; closely followed by a printmaker friend of Helen's; and then I lost count.  J played his usual role of Artist's Assistant, handing out drinks and bonhomie;  the rest of us chatted to visitors and family members, and - yes - made some sales!  To my delight a variety of cards, a photo poster (Curiosity), a giclée print of Cardinal's Wharf and one of my very first monoprints all made it out the door clutched in the hands of what appeared to be extremely satisfied customers.   Sue was doing a roaring trade in cards &  prints, and best of all sold one of her originals - you can see her work here.   Helen's linocuts were proving popular and Judi and Hillary were also taking orders!

Some of Hillary's & Helen's exhibits and a thoughtfully provided chair

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010

We were thrilled by the success of the evening.  It was busy, but not too crowded;  everyone enjoyed themselves enough to linger rather than rush off; and we got excellent feedback.  People ate, drank, chatted, and admired the art.  Downstairs, Artscape's David even made some sales on the shop floor.  The hour and a half rushed by and we realised we hadn't had a chance to eat anything ourselves . . . but we'd all had so much fun!

The Town Mayor admiring Sue's paintings

© Teresa Kirkpatrick 2010