ART EVERY DAY, WEEK 2

I no longer sell my work, and so I have the freedom to create anything that takes my fancy, silly or serious, doodling or experimenting, as you can see from the 'work' I do.  It's always fun that way.

I'm creating each day for NAEDM and combining the Saturday to Friday creations into a single post on Fridays to make life easier for myself.  Here is a run-down of some of the things that have kept me occupied this week.

SATURDAY

Garvey Greengrasse
The Green-fingered Gardener

Garvey is generally a grumpy guy

not garrulous or gregarious.

He won't grow anything 

unless it starts with G.

Garvey gardens in Greenwich

growing gigantic gourds, 

garlic, ginger and greengages, 

grapes and gooseberries.

His gardens are gorgeous 

garlanded with geraniums galore,

glorious geum, godetia and gentian,

gillyflowers, gazania, gardenia and gypsophelia

- all germinated in Garvey's greenhouse.

Go Garvey go, get going and get growing!

(but try to include some plants that start with P).

That's the total of what I created this morning and this afternoon we are off to the marriage 'Blessing Ceremony' of our youngest granddaughter Eleanor (Zoë's daughter).  The wedding has already taken place in the registry office, followed today with a blessing in the church and then the reception.  I'm hoping to be able to get a few informal snaps so I can include a couple of shots of the happy couple in tomorrow's section.

SUNDAY

A moment when Eleanor's happy, bright personality showed through as she turned just for me.

Eleanor and Andrew, such a happy young couple, together since they met at college at 16 and so in love.  I love the cheeky smile she has in this photo.

The photographer's assistant was arranging the train of her beautiful dress and it was a nice unposed moment.

MONDAY

Watercolour, text and frame added on Photoshop - Jez

As today is 11/11/11, Remembrance Day, I did my own remembering, in particular of family members who fought in WW1 or WW2, with this painting of poppies from one of my own photographs.

TUESDAY

Watercolour, with text added on Photoshop

I created this watercolour abstract for Try it on Tuesday's November challenge of COLOUR EXPLOSION.  The text was added with Photoshop, with a poem I wrote myself to match the challenge theme.

WEDNESDAY

Not a pretty sight, but this is how I am feeling this afternoon because of silly little mishap.

I went to a shelf behind my work table in the studio to select a folder I needed.  Everything dropped out of the folder and slid between the shelves and the box I keep my pens, pencils and other bits and pieces on beside my chair.  Sudden movement in annoyance - I bent down to pick them up from the narrow space and wham.  One of the mechanical pencils was point upwards, I missed the space, hit the pencil and the lead drove right into my flesh at the base of my thumb.  Very painful and deep.

Dev spent over half an hour of digging about with a needle and the help of a magnifying glass and managed to extract most of it.  By that time I agreed through gritted teeth that we just had to leave the little bit that was left and slap some Savlon and a plaster on it.

So this is a painting of how I feel now, not how I felt while he was doing it - that would not be a pretty sight.  I learnt this style of painting with acrylics on one of Kristin's 'Tutorial Tryouts on Tuesdays', very quick to do and enjoyably sloppy to do with all those drips.

THURSDAY

'The Winnower' - Bronze Sculpture
Sean Rice (1931-1997)
Pitt Artist's Pen

Dev and I went to draw in the newly re-furbished Atkinson Art Gallery in Southport today.  We had coffee and toast in a café before going in, drew for an hour or so, went out for lunch, and spent a final hour or so in the gallery again in the afternoon.

These three small sections of the sculpture took me an hour to draw!  I couldn't attempt to draw the whole thing.  It's a large sculpture mounted at eye height on a plinth, intricately convoluted and twisted, and though it is quite frightening I love it.  It certainly very demanding and tiring.  Fairly pleased with the results.

My morning piece was in pencil because it was in the picture exhibition area.  I need to draw over it with pen so that it will photograph clearly, and hopefully add a little colour to it.  So that will be a piece for next week.

FRIDAY

And here's Friday's 'Start the Day with a Warm-up' doodle.  Say hello to the Wooga Wooga Bird, who seems to be under the impression that she's in need of help.  I'd say she certainly needs help from a stylist - and a good photographer.

'THE WOOGA WOOGA BIRD'
Water Soluble Crayons on A3 'ordinary' paper

Linking with November Art Every Day Month, Paint Party Friday and Manon's Paper Saturdays.