Thursday 27 November 2014

Dabbling

I've been dabbling with the paintbrushes again. I took another acrylics painting course with my art teacher, which I really enjoyed and felt I learned a lot, but sometimes there are so many things to remember when planning a painting that I get overwhelmed and all inspiration flies out of the window.

16"x20" This is the old Co-Operative grain elevator beside the railway tracks in town. It's been disused for at least 25 years, and I'm sure it will be demolished eventually, as it's considered a dangerous eyesore, but I think it's an important part of town history, reminding us of the days when the town's main business was farming. I'll be sad when it's torn down.

 12"x16" My instructor showed us a picture of a tangle of trunks, branches and twigs and said "Interpret this any way you want". This is tissue paper, acrylic and Sharpie. I think it needs more... maybe some smaller branches?

9"x12" A view of the little community of Selvage on the east coast of Newfoundland, although a Selvage resident may not recognise it! Those cone shapes are supposed to be piles of crab traps. This was a sketch done in preparation for the bigger painting below. As you can tell, I like bright colours.
16"x20" Definitely not finished yet, still a lot of work left to do. And the colours have not really photographed well. I keep doing a little bit, then stepping away and thinking about it. Still not sure if I like it, and not quite sure where this painting is going.

10 comments:

  1. Well done, these are really impressive. Are you sure you haven't been painting for a long time...because you handle shapes and colours brilliantly. Can't wait to see what else you do.

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  2. I like your touch of brush and color composition. If the co-operative grain elevator is a reminder of the town’s history, can’t it be remodeled into a small museum or a lovely cafĂ©? I know the maintenance could be difficult depending on the situation and its location, but anyway, it will last in someone’s photos and in your painting at least. My favorite is the tangled branches. In photography, I like to shoot bare branches with bokeh, blurred colored leaves far behind.

    Yoko

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  3. The grain elevator is my favourite.
    In the 1970s and 80s Liverpool pulled down an enormous number of disused buildings and has really lived to regret it. I wish there was more thought given to potential future uses and more effort made to joint fund such projects between the public and private sectors. Liverpool's worst crime was demolishing the Overhead Railway. I don't know if you know it at all. If so, think what an attraction that would now be.

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  4. I like your paintings a lot.

    On the last one, I like it as it is. Of course, I don't know exactly what your vision was, so I'm not the one to say, but I like it and find the colors (as they show here) delightful.

    The grain elevator is my favorite. It reminds me of something from my childhood in Dorchester (Massachusetts). We had a factory nearby, a chocolate factory, and there were these huge silos on the property for holding cocoa beans. This structure sat alongside railroad tracks that were used to transport the cocoa beans to the factory and the finished chocolate to other cities. I always wanted to paint that, but I'm not a painter at all.

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  5. I should add that the cocoa silos were torn down thirty years ago and I miss them, so I'm glad you're "saving" your structure.

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  6. You dabble beautifully, Shammie. I love your choice of colours and your way of preserving the dying past. The tissue art is quite lovely.

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  7. Love these! I wish I had painting talent...maybe one day I'll pick it up. I have major issues with scale. I love the tangled branches. Mixed media art always holds a special place in my creative heart.

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  8. I really like your style of painting.
    Love that it is the artist's choice for bright colors and your own interpetation of what you see.
    Some day I would love to paint too.

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  9. I recognized the grain elevator right away! I think your art classes look like a lot of fun but I'd be intimidated by your talent.

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  10. Beautiful paintings! I really like your style and you are very talented for sure!

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