Wednesday 26 June 2013

Silverpoint, my darling Silverpoint.

After hours of sanding and waxing tiny little frames, I must say I am very pleased with my efforts.
The Langridge Black Wax (refined beeswax, pigment and white spirits) was the perfect match for my little Tassie Oak frames -Thanks Omnus- the pigment sits in the grain and tints the wood a perfect hue to compliment my silverpoint drawings.

Sorry for the low quality image (above) I only had my phone handy to snap a picture.
Below is a photo that does the work a little more justice!


These little keys are Silverpoint drawings -quickly becoming my favourite medium to work in-
Silverpoint is the original pencil, da Vinci drew with a silverpoint stylus, just like a pencil, but with a silver nib. It's such a clean way to draw and you never need to sharpen the silver- which is great news to me, I usually have to sharpen my pencils with sand paper to get a fine enough point!

So, as the silver tip draws across the surface, traditionally a rabbit skin Gesso, although I am using Golden Silverpoint Ground, a little of the silver rubs off leaving behind a blue-ish grey mark, over time the marks turn a warmer brown tone as the silver oxidises. The silver tarnishes in response to moisture and oxygen and varies depending on the level of pollution in the air.
I have found my drawings oxidise quite quickly when using the Golden Ground and I assume this is due to the ammonia in the acrylic polymer. I am looking forward to making my own silverpoint grounds when I have the time to play around again.

But for now, I'm just happy my framing is working out
x




Monday 24 June 2013

Unlocked

Only a couple of weeks out from the show and I thought I would share some of the works on the blog. The two works below are little still life watercolours of some of my favourite things in my house, the little spaces I'm drawn to, that every time I look at I smile- because they make me feel at home.

Unlocked #1. 2013. Watercolour on wooden panel. 20 x 20cm

Unlocked #2. 2013. Watercolour on wooden panel. 20 x 20cm

Tuesday 18 June 2013

Just my imagination (running away with me)

Just my imagination (Running away with me). 2013. Embroidered Handkerchiefs.

I have an exhibition of new works at Stockroom in July, the invitations are fresh off the printers and although it may be unnecessary to do so, I thought I should probably provide a little backstory to the work pictured on the invite.

My show, Hard-on for Homewares is about yearning, desire and trying to find a sense of security and belonging. A lot of my work it about this, but this show will focus more on the nesting drive, and more specifically, my nesting drive. This is probably the most personal body of work I've produced to date, and the work pictured on the invitation is more candid that I ever anticipated my work being.

The work it titled Just My Imagination (running away with me), it's taken from one of my favourite Temptations songs about how you can be carried away with your daydreams- and those who know me understand the high percentage of time I spend daydreaming, namely the time I've spent daydreaming about my 'imaginary boyfriends': the angle faced man I've pined for since I was seventeen, the curly haired lad who's so handsome and talented it breaks my heart, and the wolf who was so fine in his borrowed wool.
 This work is like a little ode to them, well, to the image of them that has been with me when I've had no one with me. 
Really it's a homage to the time that I have poured in to my lovely little daydreams. 


Monday 3 June 2013

Seventeen Keys



Seventeen Keys to find my way Home. 2013. Watercolour on paper. 76cm x 56 cm.

I made gold, silver and brass watercolour paints for this work using Langridge superfine pigments and watercolour binder, the pigments behave beautifully, I'm so impressed with them!
Seventeen Keys... is part of a new suite of work for an upcoming exhibition.