Today I’m tired. I had a great day with a friend though so I’m in one of those tired but relaxed moods. The photo of the day is of the latest bangles I’ve produced for the Red Feather’s shop in Melville. Today I sanded and buffed these so they are ready to go. I think thats going to be the extent of the creativity for today, unless the berocca kicks in.
Close up to see the pattern.
So, after getting the paints out after a very long time I laid them all out today to have a good look at what I’ve got. Looks like I’ve got a decent amount until you look very closely.
I laid them out in their brand groupings to see what was there. I’m having trouble remembering what the really good quality brands are so I’ll have to look that up. I know for example that this lot are all cheap and nasty paints. Brands that are made for cheap selling and not for long lasting paintings:
Due to my lack of actual good paint, these will have to be used by mixing in with better paints for now, while I’m getting used to it again.
This lot of Windsor and Newton are pretty old, some have started to dry out, the same goes for this lot, the silver tube is the oldest I think:
and this one is so old that its rusting! Dare I keep it or should I just throw it away. Not sure.
These are Holbein brand paints and I’m pretty sure they are a good brand. I’m really going to have to do some research.
I know nothing about this brand, I don’t even remember buying them. Must have inherited them in a bulk buy or something.
Anyway, I haven’t really paid a whole lot of attention to my oil paints for around 4 or 5 years now so its high time I got reacquainted and figure out what to use. Time to get researching methinks!
I think I could easily title this photo ‘living life to the full’. That’s what Miss K does, she’s so expressive and a bit of a nut-case and I love her to bits. I must admit, I’m never bored with my girls around.
So, this afternoon I got the oil paints out (post coming about them after this) again and spent three hours on my peacock feather. Seems like a long time for a small painting but its taking a while for things to click back into place with oils. I am enjoying it though and I suppose thats the main thing. I put my ipod onto shuffle and got to work. Now, I’m not sure that this is really finished but its getting closer. I might leave it for a while and come back to it again after doing a second painting.
I have decided that peacock feathers are really hard to paint. They change colour when you move them and its very hard to get a true colour interpretation. Still, I think its recognisable!
I’m not sure if this would count as an Ikea hack but it works as a tent for little L. Miss K is a bit too big to fit under there but L fits just right. Talk about a simple way to create a bit of fun. As you can see I reinforced the corners with some string so she couldn’t collapse the whole thing onto herself.
This was taken in Fremantle and we are in fact all in this photo. K is just in front of Michael and thats me and L’s shadow. I love that time of the day, dusk, the sun makes everything golden and the tones of most things change. Gotta love Freo!
Well. I did it. What? (you may ask). I got out the ol’ oil paints (actually ol’ is literal) and painted something. These canvases are tiny, just 4″ x 4″ so not too confronting. I sat there for the first hour and a bit doing nothing more than squeezing out paint and pushing it around on the canvas. I would try something, scratch it away with my palette knife and then try something else. Then I realised that the peacock feather colours were starting to stare at me from the paint plate. This helped me to decide what I’m going to put on these little blank canvases. I plan to do a series of studies of the natural things I have collected from around my house. This will at least make it interesting for me and help me to focus.
I must admit (if my old uni self could hear me say this her jaw would drop)……I put on a latex glove so I wouldn’t have to clean the oil paint off my hand. Yes, this time I did. You see, I have to set up on the kitchen table and I always worry about going in to the girls with an oil paint covered hand if they wake up, figured this way I could rip the glove off if I needed to. The smell wasn’t too bad either which was my other concern.
So, here it is, this is NOT finished, this is layer one. I still need to add brighter colours and highlights but am letting it dry a little first. I haven’t used oil paints in a few years now and this was challenging. Feels nice to have the paints out again (which reminds me, some of them are beyond using!).
A few weeks ago I entered a give away over at The Design Files. It was for a pair of Nikki Gabriel Ebony (wood) knitting needles. I was so surprised when my name was drawn randomly and I won!
Here’s my new needles, I already tried them out:
After knitting socks on 2.5mm needles for the last 6 months, these felt very strange but only because of their size (15mm). They make a great ‘click clack’ noise as you knit too (even hubby noticed). Thanks Lucy and thanks Nikki!
To look at this collage made by Miss K (who is four) you wouldn’t think it was much. I suppose you could make out a house with a door and some trees and the sun, but there is more to it than that. Those sticks are not a door, its an elevator. She came home and proudly told me that this was our house and that was our elevator. Do you remember our elevator from last year? It seems to have attached itself to her imaginary play and I’m glad. Makes life much more interesting when you have an elevator in your house.
PS. Yesterday’s photo was a close up of the paint on a disabled car parking bay which was cracked with the sun.
Do you know what this is?
