Learning by doing.

Taking risks and trying new ideas...

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

This picture has been in my studio for a few weeks.  

I was unsure how I wanted to proceed as there were 

strong marks and lines on the canvas.

At the time I was thinking about objects...

Cups and saucers, bowls and a jug.

Thick lines were scraped in the dark red paint 

revealing the yellow under painting.  

It was put aside to dry.

The strong reference to vessels may have

 prevented me from going further.

I was protecting them.

It was time to push forward and take risks which

might involve destroying the initial design.

Yesterday I began rolling some left-over oils on top.

I liked the way the green paint brushed over

the slightly raised initial marks. 

Later I added some creamy fawn with my brayer.

Scratching marks in the wet paint I revealed the green.

It was time to let it dry before the next step.

I know only way to move forward and grow is to try new ideas.

Today I had been working on another picture with orange red paint.

Using the left-over oils I decided to forget 

the vessels, turn the canvas round and make a new design.  

Here is the finished piece..

I was very surprised when this emerged.

I love the bright orange against the blue grey.  

I shall allow it to dry and think of a title.  

Oils and cold wax medium on 12 x 12 inch canvas.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

Visual scoring.

Painting health check.

Is it finished?

This picture is settling in my studio.

I am wondering if it needs more work

 or shall I call it finished? 

A health check can be useful when faced

with a painting on the easel.

Here are some ‘visual scorings’...

Another quote from online www.painterskeys.com

Curves and angles: There’s a reason why fruit and round bottoms keep making it into masterpieces. The eye will instinctively follow a curve.

In geometrics or architectural subjects, a pointed end or the connection to a new line is a visual pleasure point.

In abstraction, a horizon-like line can provide a tether to an otherwise cacophonous symphony of form.

Colour: The mother of all languages, colour is the first signal of where to look, where to linger and where to get lost.

Give the eye a place to rest and stay awhile...

A flat, or even a super-flat, offers a void-like space in which to get lost in the materiality of pigment. 

‘Carried away by a moonlight shadow’

Oils and cold wax medium on a 20 x 20 inch canvas.


Looking at this image there is a curve and some lines; 

a colour ‘pop’ and other subtle colours,

A ‘portal’ to give some intrigue 

and a flat area below to rest.

I am not suggesting this is a masterpiece 

but I shall leave it for now.

This next picture was painted at the same time.

Using the same principles I will check...

There are curves and angles,

connecting lines, possible geometric shapes,

and some ‘horizon’ lines.

Again, there is bright colour and some 

subdued colour for change and contrast.

I think the colour shapes add some interest 

and maybe suggest a building 

with the lines as tracks and trails.

The picture reminds me of narrow lanes 

and fields around my home.

I will call it finished.

‘Sunshine and blue skies’

Oils and cold wax medium on a 20 x 20 inch canvas.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

Anne Wood

Wild at Heart Studio 

www.wildartdesigns.com

Making changes.

Being true to myself.

 

“There was no one around to look at what I was doing, 

...no one interested, 

no one to say anything about it one way or another. 

I was alone and singularly free, 

no one to satisfy but myself”

Georgia O’Keefe

This picture has been hanging in my studio 

for several weeks.  Today I decided to 

make some significant changes.

Taking a bold approach I added a lot of dark paint.

Prussian blue, cobalt blue, manganese blue.

Some red...permanent rose, alizarin crimson.

Plus cold wax medium and some titanium white.

Layering and rollering, the colours blended together.

Scratching into the layers revealed dry paint beneath.

‘Song of the Earth’

Oils and cold wax medium 

100 x 100 cm canvas 

It was a risky business...but I am satisfied.

No one to please but myself.

Thank you Georgia O’Keefe

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

For more about my art journey

 visit my website...

www.wildartdesigns.com

Colour in my studio.

A fresh start...

After my studio clear-out I have enjoyed 

stocking up on new canvas and paint.

I began mark-making on a 2 large 

canvases using bright colours.

The painting would go through several stages.

Here is the first part...

they are drying on the easel before the next move.

I will describe the journey of the one on the right.

Random marks give me a start.

Many layers will be applied and scraped back

revealing the colours beneath.

I call it Creation-Destruction-Creation.

Turning the canvas around I added more shapes

and colour taking the painting further.   

It still needed some work to tease out a

composition with a sense of purpose.

At present it is a jumble of colour.

Below is the finished painting.

‘Gathering blackberries up the lane’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas.

I added and subtracted until I reached a

point where I was happy with the design.

Being brave and taking risks is part of the process.

I feel the piece is calmer now

and although there are three distinct sections,

the scratchings add some differences.

The focus is really the central part...

A mini landscape.

Imagination plays a large part in my work.

There are no fixed rules and no photos.

My landscapes are purely fictional 

but the title suggests a day in the countryside.

Jackson Pollock 

put into words what I aim for...

When I am in a painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc, because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well.

Jackson Pollock

‘Ruffled Red’

Oils and cold wax medium on canvas 

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

For more about my painting journey

Visit my website...

wildartdesigns.com

See no evil.

‘Tread softly’

Oils on canvas 

This week I read this...

“Failed works of art and even disappointing passages, 

particularly recent ones, can haunt and disarm your current work

History, when we admit it, often holds the evidence of failure. 

You need to get rid of the evidence, both mental and physical, 

by putting prior failures to the wall or shredding them. 

“See no evil,” is the motto. 

Look only at what you consider your better stuff. 

Otherwise, the stealthy voice of inner doubt will get a hearing”.

(Taken from ‘The Painter’s Keys)

26 March 2019

www.painterskeys.com

Armed with this sensible advice,

I have had a studio cull...

It was a satisfying experience.

I have got rid of the ‘evidence’.

Tomorrow is a fresh start.

New canvases are on the easel.

Fortunately I have a few paintings left.

This is a favourite.

‘Turquoise trails of timeless flow’

Oils on canvas 

Subtle colours reminding me

of the East Coast Marshes.

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

To read more about my painting journey 

visit my website...

wildartdesigns.com

Freedom.

Setting myself free...

Here is a quote by Georgia O’Keefe

This is important...

Worrying about what other people think

about my art would be destructive.

Another way of looking at it is this quote from Jackson Pollock...

My studio is full of work in progress.

Many pieces will be worked and re-worked

until I am satisfied with them.

Here are two little studies completed this week.

‘Fresh Insights’

Oils and cold wax on 8 x 8 inch panel 




‘New Sensations’

Oils and cold wax on 8 x 8 inch panel 

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.

To read more about my painting journey,

visit my website...

www.wildartdesigns.com

Life

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

(From a poem by Mary Oliver).

Thought provoking words...

I shall give it serious thought.

‘Twilight fades the blue’

A picture of marks.

This painting has taken several months to make.

It began life as a landscape.

I set it aside for some time before I had the urge to 

take it in another direction.

For me, this is an exciting time.

I am destroying to make room for another.

Here is the first picture...

Gradually the painting changed as I worked.

Several weeks passed before I made the final mark.

The lower pale blue mark 

was applied today...quickly and firmly.

No time for dithering.

Confidence was essential.                               

Here is another picture which went on a similar journey,

beginning life as a simple light coloured landscape. 

‘Ice on Fire’

Two marks are the focus of this picture.

Dramatic red with a pool of pale blue.

In both paintings I have included the 

frame as part of the picture.

Returning to Mary Oliver’s question about life...

I want to be wild,

and not be too precious about 

making changes along the way.

Here are 12 little paintings.

They will be available to buy at the Craft Fair 

in Lincoln Assembly Rooms on 14 April.

A collage of 8 x 8 inch oil panels.

For more about my art journey, 

visit my website:

www.wildartdesigns.com

Until next time...

Thank you for visiting.