Inspiration from the Masters.

O.K.  So, some friends and I went to an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria the other day.

(Link, http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/)

It was an exhibition of mostly the later work of Claude Monet.

Wonderful!  Breathtaking!  Unbearably beautiful!

(A small moment for name dropping.  It was put together by my friend, Dave Thompson.  I'll put a link up when I find one).

Now on with the story.

Claude Monet - Renoir.  wikipaintings

First there were a lot of pictures from throughout Monet's life, including a portrait done of Monet by Renoir.

Houses of parliament - Monet.  wikipaintings

A lot of his paintings were from his time in England.  Including one from his series of the Parliament buildings.  Definitely my favourite!

• Side note.  I so love this painting.  I don't know if you can see it here, but the shadows behind the building make it look like the building itself is almost ghosting away.  Very Dr Who.

Waterlilies - Monet.  wikipaintings

The last room was full of giant paintings, a lot of them roughs, of his garden, pond and the exquisite Japanese bridge.  Some of these paintings were bigger than a king sized bed!  One was even done on the bridge.  How he painted such sweeping strokes without falling in the pond, well, that's genius for you.

Wisteria - Monet.  wikipaintings

If these last two weren't in the actual exhibition, they are pretty close.

As an artist, (or attempting artist) this was wondrous for me.  I'm sure I annoyed some people by having to get up close to see his brushwork and how he layered color on color.  And I came very close to spouting some incomprehensible artist gabble at one stage when my friend commented that one of his paintings was "so pretty it's almost unbearable."  

Glad I didn't.

I will here, though, so if you don't like it you can scroll on.

I learnt somewhere that at the time the impressionists were exploring something new, there were new materials available to explore with.  Instead of having to work in a studio, wasting time mixing their own very expensive paints, paints could now be bought, more affordable, in tubes, easels could be folded up and carried under the arm and brushes were made, not only round, but flat, also cheaper, because they now were made with the metal 'feral' around the top holding the bristles.  So the artists could pack up their gear and hit what ever scene took their fancy.  Whether the materials inspired the art, or the art inspired the materials, I don't know.

You may not agree, but I find it fascinating!

See you on the B side.

Riding Wild Donkeys.

Yes, I'm learning to ride "Wild Donkeys."  Not literally, I'm afraid, as fun as that sounds.  I've recently read Leonie Dawson's blog about the creative technique of riding "wild donkeys," and it's just as much fun as the real thing.

You will find her "Wild Donkey" technique right here!

http://leoniedawson.com/5-ultimate-fun-productivity-hacks/

But basically, the Wild Donkey technique is a technique for getting your creative ideas from drawing board to finished production.

Instead of planning, thinking, considering, etc, waiting for inspiration, imagine your idea is a wild donkey who's come to the paddock in your head.  The thing to do is put on your cowboy/girl hat and ride that thing like the wind!  Get out what you need to do it and do it!  While the creative energy is flowing, harness that energy and

Create! 

Produce! 

Make!  

Until the end.  Then instead of having a very well thought out idea, you've got a finished work of art that can then be set free to bring joy to the world!  So it doesn't match your idea exactly.  So what!  It will have life and energy and dynamics that a 'well thought out' idea will lack.

And that's what I'm doing.  Riding the Wild Donkey.  And the current Donkey is coloured pencils.

I love coloured pencils!  Do you love coloured pencils?  I LOVE coloured pencils!

Maybe not as vigorously as this little chap.  Yes, I deleted the words. You know what they are.



Pencils!

I've got a lovely set of Prismacolor coloured pencils.   They are soft and creamy and bright, bright, bright!

Link!

http://www.prismacolor.com/home

I think they are lovelier than the well known derwent.  Derwent used to be the name drop to use.  But I find them a bit waxy and they don't blend as nicely as Prismacolor.  And their color is not as intence.  Some of their other products might be alright.  I haven't tried the Derwent pastel pencils yet.  I'll wait till that Donkey comes into my paddock first.

I've also tried the artist quality Faber castell and they are lovely too.  But Prismacolor is what I've got, so that's where I'll stay.

• Side note:  In my role as Nanny (I am many things), I'm often asked what are good color pencils for kids.  I'd say good old Faber Castell every time.  Not the artists quality, mostly because they are bloody expensive!  (You can tell I'm poor).  Your boring old variety store kind will do.  They are bright and soft and you can get nice fat ones for little fingers.  Then if your little one turns out to be a color pencil expert, you can graduate to artist quality.  

Paper!

I love my colour pencils.  Though I don't like the paper I've got right now.  I've been using good old cartridge, I've even found heavier cartridge than usual, and it's quite good.  But nothing so lovely as cold-pressed cotton paper.  Try Stonehenge.  It is beautiful for building your layers.  My red wine pic was done like that.  And here it is again.

See how the wine glows.  People think that's because I'm clever.  (Well, it is, let's face it).  It is because of the beautiful paper I used with my delicious prismacolor.  Stonehenge is so beautifully smooth, but still with enough tooth to take the color.  I find that cartridge is too rough,  I can't keep the pencil where I want it!  

This pic took three therapeutic hours of slowly building up the color and then burnishing it with a colourless burnishing pencil. 

Here's a close up.  Not that I want to give too much away, but you can sort of see how the color pencil has built up and blended.  I've seen better examples myself, but I currently don't have the equipment to get a better shot.  So this is the lovely stonehenge paper.  Though bloody expensive!  ($6 for an A1 sheet).  But worth it in the end.

• Side note:  "What's burnishing?"  I hear you say.  I'm glad you asked.  When you are building layers of color you'll be starting with color on top of the tooth of the paper.  The more layers you add, the further into the tooth you'll go and the less white will show.  When you've finished your layers you can "burnish" your color by putting a last layer that you press fairly hard on.  This will push your color completely into the tooth, covering up the white and making it lovely and glossy.  You can do it with a white pencil or a pale version of the color you're using, but I love my "burnishing pencil!"

• Side note:  "What's a burnishing pencil?"  I hear you say.  I'm glad you asked.  A burnishing pencil is just like an ordinary pencil only it is all base and no pigment.  You can burnish with a white pencil and what you'll get is lovely glossy pencil with the same amount of white showing as you had paper.  If you use a burnishing pencil you'll burnish just the colors you have and it will stay lovely and bright.  I sometimes use a pale color to burnish and get a lovely result too.

Soooooo much fun!  And now I can't stop!  The Donkey has run away with me!  Coffee splash next, I think. . .

On Art.

Coffee and wine.  People seem to love one or the other.  Here's one of each.  The wine is done in Color pencil.  The coffee is done in pastel.  (Must be french, no crema).

I soon hope to have these up on "etsy" for sale as prints.  They are A3 size, which is about 42cm x 30cm.  There will soon be a herbal tea, white wine and some rather colourful empty teacups.  And more.  Stay tuned!

Aunty Sharon Joy.

Aunts
"Whether nice or nasty, bossy, timid, disappointed or eccentric, an aunt offers her brood of nieces and nephews another angle on the world and another insight into it.  Of all our blood relations, she offers the most potential for uncomplicated friendship."

The complete book of aunts, Rupert Christiansen.