In the eye of the beholder …

Painting, or more specifically, what constitutes a ‘good painting’ is something that has no doubt been contested since the dawn of time when man first began daubing paint on cave walls.  You can almost discern, through the mists of time, the first critic carefully contemplating some abstract image of a hunting party bringing down a mammoth, I  wonder how long he paused before delivering his verdict with the business end of his wooden club … and creative types think the critics now can be harsh!!

Jolene and I spent the day yesterday wandering around the Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum, a long day with kids in tow but well worth it for the fantastic range of arts and crafts from across time from Egyptian artefacts, to Scottish pre-history through to reflections on modern society.  The Art Galleries have an extremely fine selection of paintings, not least of all one of Jolene’s favourites, Salvador Dali’s Christ of St John on the Cross, and my own personal favourite, Van Gogh’s, A Portrait of Alexander Reid, pictured below:

Jolene and I actually decided to buy a small framed reproduction of this painting from the museum shop, although we weren’t necessarily so keen to be hanging Jolene’s favourite Dali anywhere in the house!

Coming back from the galleries, and having enjoyed a quiet dinner down at the pub, we came home well fed and well motivated, if for no other reason than it can be difficult to wander around any gallery now without looking at some of the exhibits and wondering just how some of the items can be considered to be art, let alone of high enough calibre to be hung in a prestigious gallery.  Faced with paintings that you feel your three year old could produce given half the chance it’s difficult not to think, I could do that!

So we did!

Jolene started it when she began slapping red paint onto a canvas (7″ x 9.5″), and to be honest I thought that that would be that, I had already named it ‘red paint on canvas’ … a masterpiece to behold and clearly befitting of any up market gallery.  Alas there was no stopping her and she carried on initially by gluing on a foreground and then over-painting this with some actual subject matter, by this point she had already made some of the ‘modern art’ I’ve seen elsewhere look amateurish and so it was she ended up with the picture above.

Meanwhile, I wasn’t about to be outdone by Jolene and had made a grab for my own canvas (12″ x 12″) – typically for me it already had some unfinished rubbish on it – following Jolene’s lead though it wasn’t long until I too had daubed over the canvas with red, indeed I had already named this one too, ‘even more red paint on canvas’ … genius, eh?!

I was kind of perturbed when I saw that Jolene wasn’t going to be content with slapping some paint on the canvas and that I might actually have to put some thought in to what I was doing, I ruminated a some ideas many of which I had to discard as they were too involved, beyond my ability to execute or clearly plagiarised from somewhere else and instead I ended up with this (below).

It’s funny though how ones attitudes change to art as you get older, there was a time when I couldn’t understand how someone might stand and look at a painting for any more than a moment, yet when you actually see some of the true masterpieces in person there is so much to see beyond the bigger picture that it can be difficult not to look at them with a more discerning and focused eye, you don’t need to like everything you see, but you should be able to decide what you like and why.

Just from a general interest point-of-view I thought I would just upload a couple of the other paintings we have hanging around the house.

We were gifted the painting above by Jolene’s mother and father who brought it back from a trip of a lifetime to Nepal.  The one below was picked up during our Holiday last year in Wester Ross from a lady who ran a small shop out of a shed selling soap, her son was the artist and he had produced a few of these paintings featuring a central Celtic Knot design.

Kezeff ~ featured artist

I’ve really been taken by the work of Kezeff, another artist I found on DeviantArt.  I’ve only been following them for a short period, but even in that time I have been fairly impressed not only by the quality of their work but by the creativity behind it and the seemingly highly effective execution of that creativity.  Kezeff uses super-sculpey in creating their sculptures, a hugely popular material (and something I’ve been itching to try myself) and I believe paints them up with acrylics for the most part. You can find more of their work here.

Face Parts Study

Aspiring artists and sculptors would do well to take a leaf out of Kezeff’s book and do some studies of whatever their preferred subject matter is. I’m sure it’s something that I would benefit from, even where your intention is to twist it in some fashion understanding the basic anatomy of your subject can be hugely beneficial.

Much of Kezeff’s work appears to consist of busts either in a more realistic fashion as with this piece here:

Battle Chasers Knolan Bust

Or something a bit more corrupted like this fellow:

Zed

Kezeff has also worked to create some the more quirky pieces such as these wee characters here:

Snoogle

Pumpkin Carl

I really enjoy viewing the sculptures that Kezeff creates, but what keeps me coming back for more (aside from the cool subject matter) is the attention to detail that he puts into the sculptures. Look back over the images above and notice the wrinkles and creases in the skin, the underlying bone structure, the attention to making moist elements appear moist and the variation in skin tone and texture. It’s each of these elements that add up to make some rather great sculptures and I can’t recommend enough that you take a look at their DeviantArt account to see more of their work.

With luck I’ll have one of my own sculptures to share with you soon, I can’t promise it’ll be as refined as these but it will be in my own particular (shouldn’t that be peculiar?! – ed.) style!!

wire bird

I spent an hour or two this week ogling at Joel Henriques’ blog and artwork.  I was particularly struck by the simplicity and beauty of these wood and wire toys:

So inspired was I, that I had a go at making my own wire bird…I think it’s ok for a first attempt.  I’m pondering a range of wire owls…

I had to take it outside for a photo opp.  It’s still so dark and dreary here despite us being south facing.

Good news though…the daffs are pocking their heads out…spring will be with us soon enough.

Commissions – mobile phone cosy

As promised here are the two mobile phone cosies I made for a commission.

I’m not sure which was more challenging – embroidery on black fabric or getting a semi-decent photograph of it.

Hopefully, you can just about see the matryoshka doll embroidery on this one.  The fabric is red wool.

I just couldn’t get a good enough individual picture of the dragon on the black fabric.  Any photography tips would really be appreciated.

These phone cosies are not available for sale but I will be making a range of iPhone and Blackberry cases for the Christmas Craft Fairs we are attending…more on that later.

Scotty Dotee Doll

A while ago now onecrazywoman contacted me with the proposition to swap dotee dolls.  She is making me a dotee doll with a Texan theme and I am making her a dotee doll with a Scottish theme.  I’ve been making this doll on and off now for the past month and finally last night I finished.

This is Morag – she is a traditional highland Scot but a bit kooky at heart which is why she wears a traditional plaid outfit but it’s pink!  She her unruly hair – she never brushes it and the wild Scottish winds have whipped it into a bit of a bird’s nest!

She’ll be on her way to join onecrazywoman’s dotee collection in Texas next week.

~ You can also find onecrazywoman as lovetoquilt2 on SwapBot.

Traditional Scottish Macaroon

I’m going to shoe-horn this post in here by labelling it “culinary art” … although that may be tenuous at best.  In fairness it is ‘Stuff’ and it has been ‘made’!

For those that don’t know, macaroon is a traditional Scottish sweet incorporating those well known native scottish ingredients chocolate, coconut, sugar?!  It’s final ingredient is potato … don’t let this put you off though it’s super sweet and super tasty!

What you’ll need:

• c. 4 oz cooled mashed-up potato
• c. 16 oz icing sugar (have extra on hand)
• c. 8 oz plain chocolate (have extra on hand)
• c. 4 oz desiccated coconut. (have extra on hand)
• some grease proof paper
• a large baking tray
• a freezer

Optional and recommended additional ingredients:

• a pinch of patience
• an iron will
• a blase attitude to getting covered in chocolate and coconut
• little concern for exact measurements

What you’ll need to do:

1. boil your potatoes until they’re soft.
2. mash up your potatoes and leave to cool a bit in a large bowl.
3. start adding your icing sugar and mixing it in, it’ll all go a bit sloppy sticky and just a little bit icky.
4. continue adding the icing sugar until it forms a vaguely dough like substance that’s only a little sticky, or if you’re lucky, not sticky at all.
5. tear off a sheet of grease proof paper and line your tray with it.
6. roll some of your dough-ish tattie and icing sugar stuff into short fat sausages, placing these on your baking tray.  Try not to over work the dough, warmth with make it go icky and sticky again!
7. find some room in your freezer and stick the tray in there … you may need to shift your frozen veg/meat/highly indulgent ice cream that you’ve been hiding from th kids to another shelf.
8. leave in the freezer for 20-30 minutes … exercise some patience.  If you can’t exercise anymore patience eat the ice cream, that should take a wee while (and free up some valuable freezer space) ;)
9. meanwhile gently toast about a quarter of your coconut in the oven, a low temperature for about 5 mins should do … take care not to burn it.
10. mix all your coconut together, toasted and un-toasted.
11. just before removing ’sausages’ from the freezer melt your chocolate.
12. line up your ’sausages’, chocolate, coconut and another sheet of grease-proof paper on your worktop.
13. use one hand to coat your sausage in the chocolate, drop it in the coconut and use the other hand to cover it in coconut and place on grease proof paper … don’t do as I do and get your hand mixed up, it makes things unnecessarily difficult and messy!!
14. you’ll need to work fast as the warmth of the chocolate makes the ’sausages’ revert to their icky, sticky state.
15. now leave your macaroons to set, I generally stick them in the fridge while I clean up.
16. enjoy with friends … you deserve it!

recipe based on: Lees Macaroon recipe @ Recipe Zaar

Simple boat painted in acrylics

I think I’ve said before that painting is little more than a diversion for me and certainly not something I have any great talent for, although I would like to improve my skills at least a little in the coming years!  Bearing this in mind I decided to make use of an online challenge, challenges are set monthly and have a time limit

I think it”l be a useful learning tool and I’ve already learned something.  Thus far I have learned that I should read the instructions more carefully as this meets none of the key requirements set, deary me!

Still, I had fun doing it and I suppose that that counts for something!

Sharpening your knives

Possibly one of the most important aspects of whittling or carving with knives, aside from actually having a knife or two, is making sure that those knives are sharp.  Any fool can tell you that you’re more likely to have a nasty accident with a bluntknife  than you are with a sharp knife, how to get your knives sharp though and how to keep them that way is something that, for many, is shrouded in mystery.

Probably for about the first year of my carving I was one of those people who just didn’t get it, and my knives became duller and duller … the truth is you really don’t notice it a great deal until you do sharpen them, then you find yourself thinking “Wow!  This is so much easier now?!”.

A huge amount of the information online takes great joy going into the deepest detail about different sharpening stones to use, the different ‘grits’ available, the different types of steel, angles, techniques, approaches, yada yada yada … it’s all terribly dull (no pun intended!).

Here’s the key points:

1. Two main types of sharpening stone are generally used, a water stone and an oil stone.  The only real difference seems to be what you use them with … water or oil.  I opted for an oil stone that I picked up in my local iron mongers (hardware store) because that’s what was available, and I’d heard of it before.  They’re also known as whetstones.
2. The ‘grit’ of the stone refers to how rough or smooth it feels.  The rough one grind, the smooth one sharpens.  Most stones that you buy have a rough grit on one side and a smooth grit on the other … this will do for most people.
3. If you’re reading this then the type of steel doesn’t really matter, although there are those who will swear to you that stainless steel is evil.
4. Much time is given over to the angle of the blade.  The angle of the blade dictates the sharpness, the narrower the angle the sharper it’ll be, the angle also however dictates the strength of the edge and the more acute the angle weaker the edge will become.  I tend to go for somewhere between 17 and 22 degree (half of a 45 degree or quarter a right angle if you prefer).  Don’t get too hung up on this though as your own carving style will dictate whether or not you need a stronger edge or not, as will the age and types of wood you use.
5. There are loads of different techniques avaialble and everyone swears their technique is best, it might be best for them but that doesn’t mean it’s best for you (or me for that matter), find your own way.

The video below is probably the most straight-forward that I’ve found and dispenses with the jargon and angle obsession that makes many of the other ‘how to’ videos so very tiresome, except for knife geeks … obviously.

If you’re looking to hone your sharp knife, maintaining the edge in between sharpening sessions, but aren’t sure about the technique the video below give a fair indication of a few techniques you may wish to try.  Remember though, honing is not sharpening, it’s purely maintenance.

another abstract oil painting and some runic news

First of all just a wee note on the runic and ‘little dancer’ pendants, I’ve now uploaded these to the shop and they’ve been priced at $7.50 incl. postage … UK buyers wishing to purchase in £ sterling should drop me a note either via the shop or via the contact page here.

Now, on with the blog post proper! 

Continuing in the, “I can’t paint real things”, vein I’ve been messing about with oil paints again.  This is my second effort with them and whilst they do take an extraordinary period of time to dry and can be hellishly messy they are absolutely fantastic to work with and I’m pretty sure I’ve not even scratched the surface in terms of it’s versatility!

This painting only came about because I’m too tight to throw paint away and I had some left over after my earlier giraffe effort.

Aside from from daubing paint onto boards I’m also working on another carving which is a bit of a pain in the thumb, not least of all because I’ve not done it for a while, but also because I keep stabbing myself in the fingers with my new gouges!  The gouges are proving to be a fine investment though and I think they’ll allow me to add an extra dimension to my work, a new intricacy.

Hopefully I’ll also be picking up some of my incomplete papier mache sculpture and get on with these too, although I may need to deposit them somewhere in plain site so that I don’t forget about them!

our first craft fayre

It’s been a long weekend with our inaugural craft fayre taking place over a two day period which saw blazing sunshine on the first day, when we were indoors, and torrential rain and gale force winds on the second day when we were supposed to be out-of-doors, but ended up in … I guess this is what happens when the marquee intended to house the event ends up at two different ends of the village.

Sadly the ‘mini-gathering’ being held as part of Scotland’s year of Homecoming was something of a wash-out and as a result foot-fall was appallingly low, still I think we learned some sound lessons for any future fayre’s that we do.  Not least of all that we can at least fill a table and make some sales!

Despite the low turnout (it was really really bad!) we still managed to sell enough items to make it worthwhile including one ‘big-ticket’ item and a variety of bits and pieces including pendants, brooches, a few plant pokes, greetings cards, mounted art photo’s and a couple of framed photo’s.  All-in-all we made back pretty much what we out-laid on putting together our not insubstantial stock, which I think is fairly positive.

Anyway big thanks to those who turned out to support us, the other crafters and store holders who were tremendously complimentary of our work, giving us some very welcome feedback and tips, and also a big hand to Jolene who (practically) single-handedly looked after the stall while I looked after the kids.

Oh!  Now that the event’s out of the way we’ll be adding some of the surplus stock to our shop over the next few days so keep an eye out for that if you’re interested.