Category Archives: Uncategorized

Dance of the Ostrich

Here’s a new conundrum for me. Perhaps you can help. I worked this up as one piece, but in truth I was ambivalent from the start about where the boundaries of the artwork lay. so I meandered and let it happen as it seemed right.

I think it works okay as one piece, using the two pages. But perhaps it works better as two separate pieces. I’m probably going to mount some of these altered book pieces for sale, so I’ll have to decide whether to mount this as one piece or separate the two.

What do you think?

The Mating Dance of the Ostrich – spread

Left hand page

right hand page

Feedback appreciated :-)

Drybrush

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Oh the irony. I am sitting 1.5 metres from the bombing zone at the pool doing drybrush :-)

With quite a bit of wet.

There’s a drybrush guy from a James Bond film doing laps. I’m not showing him my drawing in case he feeds me to some sharks.

There are a couple of drybrush mums and a few drybrush kids.

Poolside Poodle doodles

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Live from poolside, more inky sketches, more doggy doodles.

Ran out of Noodlers ink (now I’m not even trying to rhyme) at the pool and switched to Chinese ink (thanks Bella) which is interacting in an interesting way with a wet background.

Featured beasts include Candice and Bronson from Rowville and an assortment of holidaying children from Mordialloc.

Twisted Whiskers… or the Spoodle Doodle

Exquisite Corpses and Found Blubber

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exquisite corpse 1 exquisite corpse 2

We played the Exquisite Corpse game for the first time with the kids in the car yesterday on our way to Healesville Sanctuary. It seemed to work, so the boys and I had another go at the beach today using Noodlers Ink, in-between rock-pooling and reading books. It was fun and easy. It would be interesting to see what would happen if we worked up the results with more detail and colour afterwards, but sometimes it’s good to just let something be simple and finished! (By the way, the first ‘corpse’ is not impaled with serrated blades… she has 2 sets of wings!)

The boys enjoyed drawing in old books so much they went spontaneously on to explore their own kind of ‘found poetry‘ by blocking out words to make new sentences. Arty (who was drawing in an old copy of Shakespeare’s King Richard II), then started drawing Richard the Boy, Richard the Dog and Richard the Elephant. I imagine he will put them on his own blog :-)

I continued doing weird drawings in my vintage nature book that turned out like this.

I think this is a dancing whale spirit…?

And this.

walrus

This is Emily

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The official photographic portrait of Emily Watson

You may have seen her portrait , painted by Arthur on the coop doors. If you did, I’m sure you asked yourself ‘Who is this Emily really? What is she like? Where is she going in life and does she have dreams like mine?’ Now is your chance to find out.

Breed
Pekin

Official Pekin colour
Wheaten

Nickname
Em

Answers when spoken to
Rarely

Comes when called
Always last to arrive

Look
Raddled / discombobulated

Favourite accessory
bustle

Colour analysis by Bella
Soft Autumn. This means that
• She would look cute in a vintage floral apron
• She looks great with browns and soft leafy green colours (This is pretty handy if you are a free range chicken.)
• She could look good in a leopard print bathing suit if she wanted to wear one. She hasn’t indicated that she wants to wear one.

soft autumn colour swatch book (I am lucky to have this. It also matches another chicken who may need to be accessorised, and more importantly my house!)

Favourite food
Smoked salmon (Okay, so she’s only tried it once, but she grabbed a large chunk and sprinted across the yard to get away from the others.)

Running style
She really can’t sprint. She’s adept at the hurried waddle (a pace yet to be recognised by an Olympic sporting event).

Likes
• complaining loudly if not let out to free range by 8am
• making a big fuss if somebody tries to catch her
• being stroked whilst sitting on somebody’s hand with her fluffy feet dangling
• going broody
• laying a small, peachy-white egg every few days

Pet person
Arthur

Pecking Order Ranking
Third from the top… via chance (she would make a terrible top hen!)

Unusual facts
• If smelling salts were still in vogue, Emily would carry them in a slightly ragged reticule with some of the beading falling off.
• If Emily became top hen, the whole flock would be carrying smelling salts and reticules.

I think this captures the startled expression better than the official portrait

‘What is going on? Why am I up here? What are you doing? Where are my smelling salts?’

Disclaimer

I know nothing of personal colour analysis. Please do not try to colour analyse your chicken at home if you are sending her to an important function. Employ a trained stylist to help you with her outfit. She will thank you for it one day…. maybe.

And seriously, getting your own colours done properly is a fun and worthwhile thing, even if you choose not to use the information. At least you will know what colours, fabrics and patterns do and don’t suit you so that you can make informed shopping decisions. (In my case, informed op-shopping decisions…)

Decorated Door Delight

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photo 3-2

I love a decorated door.

Inspired by gypsy caravans, Outsider or Detour Art and Charleston Farmhouse in equal measure I have been meaning to paint up our chicken coop doors since they were installed. Last weekend, while the man of the house was camping, it was the perfect opportunity for the boys and I to tackle this delectable task.

Day One

I had originally intended to paint these doors myself, and to do gypsy style scroll decorations around the chicken cameos. I was rather apprehensive of doing it justice. (Careful, decorative embellishments are not my strong point). But after seeing how well the kids’ work on the chicken gate turned out, I decided that the same pseudo-pointillist technique would look a lot better and that the boys would do a much better job than I could.

I roughed out a cameo shape, mixed up some paint for them to use, and let them go for it. They loved it.

blank canvas (almost) Boy power!

Notice the different styles, apparent even this early in the proceedings. Boy One is neat, precise and thoughtful about his work, taking after his father and paternal grandfather. Boy Two is a lot looser and messier, taking after his mother and maternal grandfather! (A natural Fauve perhaps?) Interesting stuff. I love it that they have differing styles.

Pointillism stage complete

The boys decided that one would do mostly warm colours on the door with cool colours on the border, and the other would do the reverse.

The boys then painted their favourite chickens in silhouette

For better or worse, I decided that a higher contrast was needed with the background, so I painted in the dark areas. This was the end of day 1.

For better or worse, I decided that a higher contrast was needed with the background, so I painted in the dark areas. This was the end of Day One.

Day Two

Final stages – I held the chicken while each boy painted its portrait! (Arty’s hair looking a bit feral here!)

After signatures were added, the boys wanted to put the chickens’ names on their portraits. Each chose a different style.

Hugo chose a flag emblem for Vita’s name, and used a fancy serif letter form. Vita looks like she is wearing a superhero mask…. or else a villain’s mask. Perhaps the latter. Hugo says definitely superhero!!