Abstract watercolour and ink painting from a few weeks ago
On Thursday, I was thrilled to receive lovely feedback about my paintings and poetry. I was inspired to wax lyrical, below is the result.
Seasons shift
The southern freeze hasn’t arrived, yet, Stepping out into a chilly ten degrees Elicits a soft billowy cloud. Echoes abound in the pre-dawn inky silence, Like deep squeak footsteps in snow. A trail of taillights illuminate the Trip from home to train. Others whoosh past us on their daily paths. Clearing the trees, the ice white edifice stands resolute. It’s cold magnetism lures commuters into it’s depths. Thankful for a black, long sleeved layer, My thoughts link back to the dark decades, Of deliberate anonymity and self discovery; Uniformed in raglan and denim. Compromise tempered the giving into temptation. Onboard, the sleek serpentine capsule streaks, Illuminating the slumbering surrounds. The warmth of sms’ from home and online messages Soften and brighten the journey as the seasons shift.
This morning, I was feeling a mixture of trepidation and excitement. My new block of A3, three hundred gram, textured watercolour paper was delivered by Amazon on Wednesday.
Just before I went to sleep the other night, I thought of broad black seaweed like bands containing bright orange ovoids. Over the following days I doodled with chains of circles bounding the shapes.
I started with seven reduced to five, today, I decided to paint three. This is the first time I have conceptualised a painting with inked shapes being integral. To date I have added the rings after the watercolour has dried. Shapes evolved as I went along.
I wondered whether to follow my usual practice of not positioning the ovoids in pencil first. I decided to sketch the path the chains would follow.
During the voyage of discovery, I added four more ovoids.
When my husband ran an AirBnb from home the listing mentioned our pictures and artefacts having a tale to tell.
Before I emigrated to Australia my dear Australian friend P.M.S formerly P.M.M caught up with me in the UK. We visited one of my early boyfriend’s parents, Hazel and Bill in Solihull.
As a naive 20 year old from a working class family, north of the borough, Birmingham, I knew my place as their social inferior.
My trips to see them usually involved the upmost politeness and decorum. I felt common and clumsy in their presence. I would sit in the same place on the sculpted green draylon sofa, the same spot where I was shown to sit, the first time I met them. I was introduced as a ‘friend’ of their son.
I would not dream of wandering about the hallowed halls of their abode or handling the ornaments and family pictures on the mantle piece.
I vaguely recall P. and I dining with them. I vividly remember my anxiety levels stepping up from mildly uncomfortable to extremely stressed with each step P. took around the lounge room, picking up the objet d’arts for a closer inspection and quizzing the hosts on who the silver framed smiling faces were.
P. and I had many exciting adventures together including a few trips to Liberty of London.
It was love at first sight when I saw a dark polished timber, queen sized sleigh bed with octagonal cane infill panelled head and foot boards. We agreed it was truely a piece of furniture to aspire to.
In one of the sales, I bought two table lamps, one with a very 1980’s silhouette; wide shouldered and narrow bottom in an off-white glaze flecked with apricot and green. The other, a ginger jar shape with an orange peel texture in dark apricot. Both had lift off coolie shaped narrow pleated cream silk shades, tops and bottoms trimmed with velvet; trés glam!
We still have the latter of the two lamp bases pictured above. I refinished it with acrylic paint during my gilding phase in the early 2000s. Paired with a gold foil lined black shade it anchors the French Empire themed dining tableau.
We were sipping Aperol Spritzes around dusk in Sydney, Australia. One of our group spotted an orange and black headed shard of bark moving up the tree next to us. We were fascinated by how quickly it scaled the branch; often vertically.
A Google search revealed the interloper to be the caterpillar of a Saunders’ Moth (metura elongatus), found on the Eastern seaboard.
Playing with ArtStudio at the weekend reminded me of primary school; we were equipped with wooden lift topped desks although we didn’t use the inkwells. I remember having and using a personally assigned timber framed rectangular slate and white chalk. Compared to todays high tech world this period of change from nib and ink to ball point and felt tip pen was like upgrading operating systems.
theINFP 