Tag: Lockdown

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An Old Acrylic Painting Repainted

Abstract composition in pink and Green, a woman staring out through her window. Atmosphere all dreamy and mysterious.
Woman at the Window- acrylic on paper

You might think that I created this acrylic abstract composition during Lockdown this year . I say that because it definitely would fit the theme of loneliness and isolation . In fact , I have painted a few with similar themes recently . Perhaps I’ll gather them together into a post one day soon . Anyway , I did this as part of a series last year on the problems of modern life as a woman ( but that’s another story ). And , what I really wanted to talk about was the way this came about . It is an old acrylic painting repainted !

Old Acrylic Painting – Pink and Green Abstract

An old acrylic painting . an abstract composition in pink and green
Pink and Green Abstract

This is how it began ! In fact , this old acrylic painting was my very first proper abstract ever – painted for an on-line group on Facebook. It did get quite a few likes , but I was not really very pleased with it . So I decided to try to create another painting out of it , using the same colour palette and some of the same shapes . Of course , I can achieve this much more easily with acrylic paint than with watercolour or mixed media . Because the paint has great covering capacity .

Halfway

This is the halfway stage – the composition is just beginning to emerge. Then I started thinking about the way some women today are not allowed to move around freely . And this image of someone staring wistfully outside definitely seemed to fit my theme .

A woman wistfully looking out of the window . Semi abstract style , repainted over an old acrylic painting .
Woman at the Window

I hope you enjoyed reading about how I used one canvas to create another by repurposing an old acrylic painting . It was an interesting experiment . If you did find it interesting , there is another post I wrote not too long ago, where I describe the same process . Just click on the link here . And you can see more pictures about Modern Woman in my Gallery-People here .

Story Pictures

Do you like looking at Story Pictures ? I love creating them . Some people like to have the explanation to think about , some prefer to make up their own idea of what the painting is about . What do you think ?

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Urban Sketching in Watercolour

Plein air watercolour sketching

Urban sketching - a view from the car park over the houses to the hill
From the Carpark

At last ! I managed to do some urban sketching in watercolour outside from life (well , from the car window). And the house really was painted green ! To be honest , I didn’t realise how much I would miss painting from life and going out with Urban Sketchers Yorkshire. Well , this took 20 minutes for the watercolour sketch and a little finish off at home with a fineliner . That’s because I like my plein air sketches to keep that freshness. And so I tend not to do too much ‘ editing ‘ afterwards .

A Harbour in Greenland

This is a great idea – Virtual Sketch on Facebook. Actually , you can do this in real time ( or afterwards) and go on a virtual trip . In fact , there are lots of locations in Greenland or other countries to choose from . Then you pause the sequence and sketch . Here is my quick watercolour sketch of Sisimut harbour. Honestly , I enjoyed sketching it ( 30 minutes ) and, for a moment or two I felt like I was really there ! If you check this out , there are lots of interesting places around the world to choose from .

Urban Sketching in Watercolour in a Brewery

At the Brewery – urban sketching in watercolour

You might remember that this was the last Urban Sketchers trip I went on , to a brewery in Saltaire. As you can see , I was really into my stride with this one back in February. But I feel quite out of practice now. So you might like to have a look at this post from February . Because it’s all about the Saltaire trip and my pen and wash sketch. See here

Saint Mary’s Church

Just to explain , I did this pen drawing through the art gallery window, looking down at the lovely church and churchyard right in the middle of town . And I drew this straight in with a marker pen which gives it a fresh and lively look but doesn’t leave much room for error .

Sketching in Pen on a Collage Background

Art in the Cafe

And , to finish off with , a pen and ink sketch done last year while drinking a cup of coffee in a shopping centre cafe . I think this is urban sketching at its best . Those were the days ! Perhaps this is something for us all to look forward to in these days of Social Distancing . Meanwhile , take care .

p.s – here is one I did this morning as part of a lovely walk around the park. Actually , it took me 20 minutes. And , I think I might use it as a basis for an acrylic painting, concentrating on the different layers of greens , yellows and browns. So you see , there’s no time to be bored when you’re an artist !

A beautiful old tree