The Painting Club

2008-12-17T21:10:00.001+09:00

WELL CARLY IT'S JUST YOU AND ME BY THE LOOKS OF THINGS. IS ANYBODY THERE?????????

2008-11-29T15:27:00.001+09:00

Sorry not quite sure why the writing went hay wire!!!

Alice

2008-11-29T15:00:00.005+09:00

At last I have finished. Sorry I have taken so long. Alice here and I have had a love hate relationship going but I am quite pleased with the result so she finally behaved herself. I used I suppose what you would call stippleing technique which I haven't done before and I really enjoyed it. I started off thinking of pointalizm and I suppose it could still be that but in quite a smudged form. The skin has layers of colour and as I added them they seems to blend but also add depth which I found really good. It remined me a bit like working with pastel as they are easy to blend on the paper and this worked in the same way. What I really did enjoy most of all was identifying certain likenesses that have been passed on by Alice, who by the way is my Nana.

I could see my Mum, sisters, daugthers, neices and grandaughter. It was amazing. I started to like doing portrate as I feel the spirit of the person and I am going to concentrate on doing more. The meduim I used was acrylic and this time I didn't find them dull, practice I suppose....

Facing Your Worst Fear

2008-11-29T10:46:00.002+09:00

What is your fear?
Look at it, face it and paint it in any medium.
(Child birth not included)

Enjoy!!!

From Wendy (She couldn't sort her blog thingy out)

Sweethearts

2008-11-06T20:42:00.007+09:00

I have painted my girls using the a pointillist/stippling technique.

There are a lot of layers! I think Cinty is finished but Maddi might need a bit more work yet.

Painting my childrens portraits in this way enabled me to use colour emotively, I added specks of a colour that I felt represented each of them; Cinty has a lot of purple in her portrait and Maddi has a lot of yellow.

Thanks for this project mum, I really enjoy this technique and I am going to try using it to paint Landscape.

Who is choosing the next topic????? is it Aunty Wendy???

Sketchbook on Identity

2008-10-14T09:54:00.003+08:00

Identity

2008-10-14T09:48:00.002+08:00

I've given my students the subject of identity to work with, particularly relating that to clothing. This is a sketchbook entry relating to my identity in a rather abstract way. I started with drawing and water soluable crayons. I added acrylic paint and stencils.

portraiture in art

2008-10-13T10:23:00.004+08:00

So, with yet another deadline looming I thought I'd take the time to lead you down a path of exploration and inspiration. After reading Megs's last post about wanting to incorporate different mediums I started thinking about artists who shy away from traditional ideas, concepts and processes. I was thinking of Abbey McCulloch and her famed portrait of Toni Collette, finalist in the 2007 Archibald Prize. What I really like about McCulloch's work is the 'drawn' quality. Her subjects are stripped back to bare basics. Looking at a collection of her work there are some I like and many I don't. This one, however, I think is brilliant.

You can view more of McCulloch's work here.

I came across the web page for the Achibald prize and was able to view the finalists from this years exhibition. I read a few reviews and agree with the assertion that too many artists rely too heavily on photography to produce their work. To me, the thing is what it is, meaning this: Why paint a photograph? If a painting is no longer recognised as a painting is it a good painting? Or merely an imposter? Personally, I like to feel the paint, to know that a brush has traversed the canvas. Sure I understand the skill and the patience required to master realism, but to adulterate a quote by Gertrude Stein: 'A painting is a painting is a painting'.

You can be your own judge and see how contemporary Australian artists are interpreting 'portraiture'. View the 2007 finalists and the 2008 finalists.

Trying some other mediums???

2008-09-18T14:18:00.002+08:00

Now i realise this is a 'painting' club but could we stretch ourselves a little bit further by exploring new mediums? i havent really gone out side of using paint and would really like to incorporate other mediums to the topics...what do you all think??

Monument

2008-09-18T14:04:00.002+08:00

Pics of the paintings in my latest exhibition can be viewed at: http://carlylecerf.blogspot.com/

Divisionalism and Circulism

2008-09-16T14:30:00.005+08:00

Circulism techniques and an amazing portrait by Chuck Close (Lucus)..AWESOME!!

2008-09-15T21:58:00.001+08:00

The next theme is 'Portrait '
A portrait a representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person.

But thats not all !!! You are to use a method of painting such as Pointellism, Cubism, Stippling or Circlism. I found lots of examples on the net but with my limited knowledge with 'bloggs' I have not been successful in down loading them. Take a look at Lucas (1986 - 1987), acrylic on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, great portraite using pointellism. And it's huge!CIRCULISM is an interesting techniques using toothpicks. artist SACHA (fineartamerica.com)has found away to mix the colors by making circles, scratching the surface of the canvas and bringing out the whiteness of the canvas with a simple toothpick. These circles of movement are brought out in a new technique which SACHA calls CIRCULISM. Up-close you can see and feel the texture of the tiny and large circles. You can also see how SACHA, with just one color can create shades by just applying more or less circles. With CIRCULISM, SACHA has been been able to use all types of paints and has used them on all types of surfaces like canvas, wood, cardboard, paper and glassAre you EXCITED!!!! Well I am anyway!!! Work to be on the the blogg by October 28th so get cracking

the spaces between: reflections

2008-09-15T11:24:00.003+08:00

I've been thinking alot about the spaces between: finding a place to fit; a pause, a breath, a moment.

Upon Refllection I, II, III. Oil on Linen 400x600

2008-09-14T19:08:00.004+08:00

These works form part of my current exhibition, 'Monument'. The reflections you can see are trees around a salt lake.

The work explores the fragility of the remaining landscape after massive clearing, and asks the viewer to 'reflect' on how we use our environment.

The linen was beautiful to work on and because of its weave, it suited the horizontals of the water ripples.

2008-09-14T15:04:00.004+08:00

I don't think I have ever spent so much time messing about painting as I have with this subject. I really enjoyed cropping photos and looking at some of the beautiful colours and effects. The painting above although it isn't a brilliant job I loved the colours. I painted it from a photo that I took somewhere at the top end of Australia. I have used acrylics on melamine board. I'm not sure if I like painting with acrylic, I find it a bit flat. Any suggestions?? The following are in watercolour also from photos from up north.

TRANQULITY

2008-09-03T17:53:00.004+08:00

My water painting. "TRANQUILITY" by Megan Taylor.

i used acrylic on canvas. with texture paste.
My pallete consists of White titanium, nimbus grey and smoked pearl.
I chose these colours to give a calm feeling. the background is created using texture paste then applying paint in a criss cross pattern. after that had dryed i did a white wash over the top.
Water to me is my relaxation weather i am in it, feeling it, or seeing it, i love it! i got this effect from pouring water into a pan and taking still shots of it...
i am going to do another painting simular to this to make a set. let me know what your thoughts are.

Water paintings by Becky Blair

2008-08-28T13:36:00.004+08:00

I absolutely love the work of UK artist Becky Blair. Many of her paintings are seascapes and often feature people. I love the broad layers of colour; it is at once so simple and so complex!

It's interesting though, that her oil paintings lack the luminosity of her acrylic paintings. In my experience oils are often richer and more vibrant, but hers however seem rather heavy and dull.

But these acrylics are simply divine! I wish I could paint like this...In the meantime I'll be begging for a rather expensive birthday gift!

edit: Just discovered she is exhibiting in December this year at the Gadfly Gallery. Oh Yayness!!

Some Tree Paintings

2008-08-28T10:53:00.004+08:00

Here are two different paintings relating to trees. One is a mixed media piece, a bit experimental with the angle. The other is an oil. I was interested in capturing the branch silhouettes and the lighting. I'm not really working on trees at the moment but I'd love any feedback.

Albany Art Trail

2008-08-27T14:06:00.003+08:00

So, I'm wasting time on the net, as you do, and I come across this:

Fri 19 Sep - Sun 12 Oct
ART EXHIBITION: Monument by Carly Le Cerf 11:00pm to 5:00am: Carly’s work is primarily about solitude within the landscape, a personal experience that she finds both wonderful and overwhelming. Currently using painting as a way of exploring and gaining knowledge of the history of the rural environment, Monument encompasses the idea of what once was and what now remains. An emerging artists living in the regional town of Cranbrook, Western Australia, Carly gained a Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) at Edith Cowan University in 2000. Monument is Carly’s 3rd solo exhibition. Opening 6pm Wed 18 Sep. All welcome.

Congrats to Carly...is this the third exhibition this year?
I really hope you give us a sneak peek of your work, especially for those of us who can't be there.
Good luck with getting it all finished in time, and remember to breathe!
Proud of you...again.

Living Water Paintings by Suzanne Cartwright.....

2008-08-20T16:50:00.002+08:00

Oh and these, just love the intense colours used.

Water Paintings by Coby Beck...

2008-08-20T16:44:00.002+08:00

I stumbled across these today while doing a bit of web surfing, thought they were very interesting and wanted to share them with you.

Fibre Vessel

2008-08-15T14:20:00.002+08:00

as promised, pics of the fibre version. Love to hear your thoughts :-)

Superfine Merino wool, hand felted, stitched.

Vessel - Self Painting by Nichole

2008-08-10T23:52:00.004+08:00

I don't know if I'm entirely happy with this one...my problem isn't the theme however, but the medium. I'm not a painter and so when I think about self expression I think in a tactile three dimensional sense. Given this same topic and cloth, I know exactly what I would produce however I don't think I've captured that same essence with this. But I think I will pursue it further in my textile works and see if I can then translate it into paint more successfully.

My painting is symbolistic.

Circle = the self, the unmanifest, wholeness.

The fact the this sphere is incomplete speaks to the act of 'becoming' (a topic which has been prevalent in my work) The incomplete sphere is then a vessel, or container, being open it allows a glimpse into the void, primordial and infinite space, which being empty, can contain everything.

The vessel also represents my femininity and motherhood, as this is the symbol of the womb and of the great mother, giver of all life.
I've filled pages in my journal with this one, trying to achieve the 'feeling' I want with paint is my biggest challenge, which I guess is the whole point.

Acrylic on Canvas, limited palette of pthalo blue, dioxazine purple and burnt sienna with white. I'm really enjoying all the colours I can create with these few and will probably continue to play with them further.

My water painting is also underway, a small glimpse of the work in progress...

Some ideas of water paintings!

2008-08-06T10:18:00.004+08:00

Here are some pictures i found of painting of water i think these are great examples of showing what water MEANS to you, the way it makes you FEEL. they are quite diverse and show that not all water has to be blue or not all water paintings have to only represent water it can represent how you felt while thinking about water or how water makes you feel or even a connection you have with it!!

Tree Blues

2008-08-06T10:09:00.003+08:00

This is my painting of a tree called "Tree Blues"
done in acrilics on canvas. To me the vibrant blues represent emotion and the curves and lines represent body.

WANT INSPIRATION?

2008-08-06T09:11:00.002+08:00

Check out Roger Beckwith's water paintings @:

http://www.btinternet.com/~roger.beckwith/Water/reflections.htm

(He works in Alkd.. does anyone know what that is?)

How to get the most out of the painting club

2008-08-06T07:49:00.002+08:00

Hi guys!
The Painting club has formed into an exciting base for us to communicate with each other about our work, I for one am really enjoying being part of it all!
Although I think there are some ways that we could increase the benifits we all get from this site:

lets share sketches and photos to help each other gather ideas for our paintings
take pics of paintings that are "not" working in order to get some advice from other painting club members
post links to amazing artist websites that could inspire us
Invite some more people on board
GET OUR WORK IN BY THE DEADLINE!!!!!! as this is supposed to inspire us to paint not give us someting else to stress about- we all need an excuse to CREATE! and what a shame to deny your passion.

Self Portrait - Mel Connell

2008-08-04T18:24:00.002+08:00

Ok, so I have finally finished my painting. I will say that not being a painter as such, I am pretty impressed with my outcome. Maybe I should have minored in Painting while at Uni instead of Printmaking??? Any hoo, I like it. I used a few acrylic washes, and then some water colour crayon action over the top. Also, placed down a mask along the bottom and sprayed a bit of metallic paint over the top of the blue section down the bottom. Let me know what you think?

WATER

2008-08-03T21:49:00.004+08:00

The theme for the next six weeks is WATER....
Without being too prescriptive I would like all the members of "The Painting Club" to be experimental and explorative and to use the theme to find out more about what water means to them individually....... DUE FOR POSTING Sunday 14th September.

BY MEGS....( will be back on line soon)

My Journey

2008-08-03T16:26:00.003+08:00

Throughout my life I have had been so fortunate to have had people who have shown me such love. As a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother and now a Nana. Without this love I wouldn't be the person I am now. My painting is about the true meaning of my life, I couldn't portray the feeling in a better way than how I feel when I look into the eyes of my granchildren. Although this isn't a painting I am pleased with as regards skill (after Colin saying I had given myself a nose job I just couldn't leave the dam thing alone. 7 hours on a nose is abit much hey! I was trying to make it smaller but it kept on growing. Bit like your boob Carly!) But I really did enjoy painting and thinking about my journey. When I first read the theme I shuddered but I would like to thank you Nicole because I truly enjoyed it. The painting was done in acrylics on mdf and my colours were chosen due to a trip to Broome and the colours of the ocean and pindan dirt really inspired me.

self- painting

2008-08-02T08:07:00.003+08:00

Hi all!

Here is my "self" painting. I really enjoyed making this artwork, although it did involve some very tricky photography techniques to get the image I wanted to paint..hehehe!

The work was created using a combination of compressed charcoal, acrylic and carving using a lino tool, the support is marine ply which I found beautiful to work with.

This activity has been great for my landscape work as I have obtained some great ideas on how I can use carving and layering to create landscapes with a touch of 'self in them. I am so looking forward to seeing all of your works!

Symbols for portraits

2008-07-04T17:31:00.002+08:00

If you were a flower what would it be?, If you were an animal what would it be?

You could use a symbolic image to represent your "self"! or you could create a design which encourperates a few. Thats one idea I had anyway.

Theme two - Identity and Self

2008-06-30T21:49:00.005+08:00

Sorry to keep you all waiting! It seems I have been struck down with this darned flu that's making its way around. I really am having a bad month!
But anyway, I couldn't go to bed and not present my theme :-)

My theme for this month is self.
But before you rush to the nearest mirror, I have a few things for you to consider:

Think about who you are and how you came to be this person. Think about all the roles you take on in your life, eg: daughter, sister, mother, artist, wife etc, and how you reconcile these different identities; and how they all contribute to your becoming.
Identity and place. Do you connect with your environment? What is your place on this earth?
Seeking the self. Who are you?
How do you see yourself? How do you think others see you?
Deconstruct the layers of your self and see what you find.

Now, this doesn't have to be a self portrait, although if that is the path you choose then please feel free; but I want you to look deeper and really try to acheive a sense of self in your work.

The due date for your work is: Sunday August 3rd.
Good lucks angels :-)

July 1st, edited to add:
Use Google Image and type 'Self Portrait' (in quotation marks) to see some works available online. Most are tradional self portraits but some are very interesting and this may be a good starting platform for you if you are struggling for ideas. Please share any links you think others might find useful too!

Untitled - tree in mist

2008-06-29T23:33:00.001+08:00

with just 27 minutes to spare! I always like to keep a tight deadline :-)

I've had a heck of a day which involved the death of a kangaroo! But I digress. Here is my painting. Acrylic, gesso and India Ink on board. Initially I was planning to use black and white to create a tonal grey scale painting, but upon discovering I had no black paint (at 10pm) I had to improvise. My colour palette consists of: Burnt Sienna, Phtalo blue, dioxazine purple and white. The India Ink is actually quite blue rather than the black you'd expect.

The second image is a preliminary sketch I did using Ecoline inks and acrylic (with textile medium) on calico. I'm planning to develop this one further with stitch.

It's been awesome seeing everyone's work! Stay tuned as I will be posting my theme sometime in the next 24 hours. Good work!!

create a profile - part two

2008-06-29T21:53:00.000+08:00

to further carly's post, you should be able to create your own profile without creating a blog in your own name. All you need is a google account. To create a google account go to google.com, at the top right of the page it should say sign in; click here and when the page appears click on the heading that says 'get one for free'. Follow the prompts to create your own google account, using your existing email and a password of your choice. Once you've done this your google page should now have 'my account' in the top right. Click on that and under the heading 'try something new' select 'more' (at the bottom). From there you select 'Blogger' and it will take you to the blogger homepage. You can now sign in using your own email and password, it will ask you to choose a screen name and then you should be able to create your profile and so forth. It gives you the option of creating your own blog, and of course this is completely up to you :-)
if you have any issues with this leave me a comment and I'll try and figure it out for you. It's pretty basic.

Wendy-for some reason you aren't listed as an author of this blog. Send me your email address and I'll list you, that way it will link to your profile on the right, and you will be able to log in to post as yourself instead of as carly.

cheers.

Create a profile

2008-06-28T22:55:00.000+08:00

You will all need to create a blog with your own user name (email) etc. Just click on create Blog and go from there. Don't sign in as me otherwise you will change my profile. This will make it easier for everyone to identify each other.
Oh and by the way we would really love some new members, so if you have any friends that are interested in seriously joining the club tell them to hop on board!

Tree..sa Green by Wendy Woo

2008-06-27T05:58:00.000+08:00

Got stung by nettles getting cutting off tree. Acrylic on 20x16" canvas. A mixture of airbrush using the cutting and good old fashioned sloshing it on with anything.

D DAY SUNDAY 21 June

2008-06-26T08:21:00.000+08:00

Well artists... hope you are all ready to post your pics! if not and you haven't started don't stress!
We will start with Nichole's subject as of monday and work from there. If you want to post your "trees" entry later- no probs. This is all getting pretty exciting so lets keep it going.

Morning Mist at Seatrees by Linda

2008-06-25T20:40:00.001+08:00

Tree Bark at Southern Cross

2008-06-25T20:13:00.000+08:00

Monument

2008-06-24T19:12:00.000+08:00

Monument

Here is my entry.

Painted acrylic on board.

A monument to all the trees that once grew in our rural landscape.

trees in the mist

2008-06-09T23:00:00.000+08:00

Not sure how I'm going to approach this one... but I'm thinking of working on board and putting down a textured gesso base. I'm thinking layers of paint that are rubbed and scratched to reveal under layers. I think I want a fairly muted final effect.

Some pics in the maybe pile...

painting idea

2008-05-26T21:47:00.000+08:00

look at this tree, its the start of my idea for my painting

Trees

2008-05-17T14:49:00.000+08:00

Our first Theme is "trees"! you all need to post a finished painting on this blog site by June 29th....no excuses!!!!! That gives everyone 6 weeks, then it will be Nicholes turn to give us a theme. ( then megan, linda, Wendy etc.... every 6 weeks).

You can post unfinished paintings in between this time if you want encouragement or advice from The Painting Club.