COLOUR AND NUMBERS

My abstract watercolour painting is my offering for Try it on Tuesday's Challenge of 'Colour Explosion', the kind of sloshy, drippy, enjoyable art that it's great to indulge in now and then.  I added a little poem I wrote to match the challenge theme and added the words on Photoshop.

Next is another Try it on Tuesday piece.  I was lucky enough to win the September challenge of 'Dots', and the prize package that arrived in the post from The Stamp Man of Keighley contained two packets of stamps by Stampendous.

This is where I admit that I have tried and tried with stamping and could easily claim another prize as The Worst Stamper in the business.  I've always admired stampers and the lovely results they achieve.  My daughter, Carol, was an expert stamper, and she bought me materials and stamps to encourage me.  I've bought books, watched video tutorials and craft demonstrations, but still find success eludes me.  I think I am not patient enough.

I promised that I would post something I had created with the stamps this collage shows the final result of my efforts.  This is where expert stampers are welcome to chuckle, and I don't blame them.  I decided the best thing was to just try each stamp separately, and the pics above are the best of pages and pages of attempts.  I don't know where the blue background came from, though the day was rather cloudy when I took these photos.  

I love all the stamps - the chair is an amazingly lovely and detailed stamp, and the green twirls look particularly useful and delicate, and as for that lovely lady .... she's gorgeous.  So I have tried really hard, and will continue trying, and hopefully will include some stamping with them in future creations.  Thank you Try it on Tuesdays.

And now, for Artists in Blogland, the Scavenger Hunt for November is 'Numbers'.  I scavenged around for an interesting house number I could photograph, and found this one on a building in Southport.

I loved the rusty look with the paint cracking here and there.

Like many people I usually like to start my arty day by doodling for a few minutes.  I almost always have a sheet of A3 paper on the big easel and I pick up any medium I fancy to start drawing.  This was drawn a week or two ago, very quickly, with jumbo wax crayons.  I started with the orange shapes - no plan in mind, just letting my hand do what it wanted. This weird shape emerged and I was surprised to find myself putting numbers in the spaces.

I would normally have scrapped the page, but fortunately didn't get round to doing so and it has found its place in the Scavenger Hunt Numbers.

Linking with Try it on Tuesday and Artists in Blogland  

AIB WINDOWS AND DOORS

The challenge from Artists in Blogland is called a Scavenger Hunt, and the theme for October is Windows and Doors, both subjects I am always drawing and painting.

Time being short at the moment and not being able to get out for a few days, I decided on a real scavenger hunt at home and searched through past travel journals for a few relevant sketches.

This window, surrounded by foliage was sketched on a holiday at Bodelwyddan Castle in North Wales, a great spot for sketching, full of quirky little corners and lovely gardens.

Another view of Bodelwyddan Castle, a great arched doorway with one door just visible, open against the inner wall, and a tiny window up on the right.

Try as I will, I just cannot remember where or how I sketched this little group of colourful cottages.

I do remember a holiday at this hotel on a hill in the Lake District, looking over Windermere.

And this quick sketch is of a barn on a lane not far from home, which has now been turned into a house.  Although it may be sad to lose these old farm buildings, it is much better that they are turned into a home rather than falling into dilapidation because they no longer have a practical use.

These arched windows and doorways were created, or perhaps constructed is a better word, with various small stamp pieces from a children's 'Architectural' stamping set.  I bought this when my youngest grand-daughter was a child and we had some fun with it - this was one of my efforts.  Unfortunately the set vanished long ago, probably discarded during one of our home moves. 

And lastly - a photograph:

I had finished adding my sketches to this post when I remembered a photo of a fascinating window I took in Liverpool a little while ago.  I have kept meaning to use it in a piece of artwork but haven't done so yet, so it seemed just right for the Scavenger Hunt.

The photo is exactly as I took it, with the weird colouring of the brickwork - NO digital altering of the colours.

Well, I've enjoyed this Scavenger Hunt and the way it sent me back to leaf through my sketchbooks.  I hope you like one or two of the sketches too.

Linking with Artists in Blogland and Manon's Paper Saturdays