Monkeys and Men continued ..............

Yeah!

I finished the monkey quilt. I am so happy with the result; I think it looks great. (Click on the picture for a bigger view)

I chose colours for the patchwork blocks that match the colour scheme my son and DIL have chosen for the nursery; it is soft green with a Noah's Ark theme so the monkeys will fit right in. I also embroidered a lot of baby clothes with animals using the same colours as the Noah's ark quilt she has bought, they look great.

I also think the label on the back on the back of the quilt looks good.

Now that the quilt is finished I can a) get back to painting and, yes you guessed it b) get stuck into the christening robe (lol).

I put aside my eye/nose study from the previous post so I can look at it with fresh eyes in a week or so. I have been working on another face and am happy with how it is progressing.

I have a lot of work to do on the eyes and the area around them but overall he is coming along nicely. I have been surprised by my limited success with portraits. I have only ever tried two before (in my youth) and they were total failures. Maybe age has given me a little more talent or maybe it is patience, I don't know but I do know I am very happy with the three attempts I have made in the last month or so.

This is all thanks to B11 who spurred me on to try a portrait again. I have to admit that when I started the first one I was convinced it would be a total flop and I think I was dumbfounded when he turned out so well. B11 is smirking because he thinks it has all happened because of him and ssshhh pleased don't tell him - he is right!


Anyway, back to the latest painting - I have don't this on 300gm watercolour paper and I don't know if it is the brand or what but it really soaks in as soon as the brush touches the paper. I have now used a retardant in the water to control this a bit. I have done three washes so far and am starting to see the structure of the face come through. I plan to work on the eye area next - the man's eyes were piercing. He was looking through his brows and his expressions was a cross between threatening and superiority - it will be hard to catch, especially from someone who is only just getting into portraits.....lol.



Just done a bit of work around the eye area; still not completely happy but will continue to work.









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Of Men and Monkeys ........

I have been busy the last week or so; my DIL is due to have her baby in around 6 weeks and we are all sure (including her doctor) that she will go early. With this in mind I have been working hard on a UFO that I began a while ago. I had seen this quilt for a baby and loved it, now I am working on it in earnest now that the countdown has begun.

It is based around the little poem "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed......" and is full of cute mischievous monkeys with pillows and feathers. I have made it in the same tonings as the baby room that DIL and son have decorated.

I also finished another supper cloth that I started at least a year and a half ago .... rotfl ...... still have one more supper cloth to complete and I still have the christening gown to make although I have made a start on it.

At the same time as doing the embroidery I have been having fun with my new easel. B11 spurred me on to try and portrait and you have all seen the results (check here if you need a reminder), I was quite happy with it and have decided to try a couple more.

I have been trying to focus on just part of the head, in this case the nose and eyes and let the rest of the head be more suggestion than detail. I think there is still a great deal of room for improvement but by and large and reasonably happy with how it is progressing.

What I am trying to capture was/is the depth in the eyes. I remember when I first saw this man I was struck by the sadness and depth of emotion his eyes held. It was as if he carried the sorry of his nation burrowed deep within and a hint of it was escaping through his eyes. I doubt I will be able to capture that essence but I am pleased that I have tried.

I will probably put this one aside for a week or so then have another look at it - I do not want to overwork it and it is so easy and tempting to do this. If you have ever painted you will know exactly what I mean - you think it might be finished then decided to add a little more and often you spoil what you had. I have no got into the habit of putting a work aside for at least a week when I am thinking it may be completed so I don't fall into that trap.

I have been searching the internet for interesting faces and found some amazing ones of Indian Sadhu's and homeless men. Now it is just a matter of shifting through the countless pile I have saved to decide which one I will work on next......lol.

Look What I Got!!!!

Over the years I have used many easels for my art work and all, without exception, have been massed produced 'el cheapo's', because I have never been able to afford (or justify) the cost of a good studio easel. And over the years I have drooled and been green with envy at all those lovely easels , and other expensive art gear, in catalogues that I pour over and dream of buying when I win the lotto.

But - guess what!!!

Yes, excitement runs so high in this little (hem hem) girlie's household because a new easel has made it's way into my workroom!!

B11 bought me the most wonderful studio easel. We went out on Sat morning and he is still laughing at the way I am almost reverently stroking the wood. Now it is firmly entrenched in my workroom and waiting for my first new art work to begin. Never in my wildest dreams did I really think I would own something like this. I have even gone into my workroom about a dozen times just to make sure I am not dreaming; I can't stop smiling.

So whats the big deal about an easel you ask?

This one is hand made and especially designed by an artist so it works so well. It is adjustable in height and I can tilt from vertical to horizontal and anywhere in between. It will open to 1.5m so I can fit a large work on it, I will have to work somewhere else in the house if I use a big canvas (have an enormous family/dining/kitchen room I can move to if I do)
I can adjust the whole thing so I can sit at it or stand whichever I like whenever I like and it is made from beautiful wood and feels so special under my fingers.

B11 says he is expecting some great new art works now and I just don't know where to start.....lol.

I also cannibalized my old easel - it worked out well. I now have all my watercolour paints in/on a stand alongside me. Has a drawer so I can put other bits and pieces in it and because it is basically an old easel I can adjust the height to suit if I am sitting or standing.


So here it is pushed into my workroom, it dwarfs my old easel ... lol... think I am going to move and rearrange the whole workroom. I have a 2.5 m work table in here, 4 large bookcases, a computer desk, plus a couple of cabinets - and yes I still have a big grin on my face!!

The Joker

It is easy to misunderstand something and to get the wrong message.

I decided to print out a couple of old family photos - bad move at the moment - spent half the time crying over the fact my Mum and Dad had passed; I miss them so much, even at 60! I was/am one of those lucky people who had great parents. They were my friends not just my parents. [Image]
Their wedding anniversary (74) is only a couple of weeks away the same day as Mum's birthday and I know I get sentimental and sad around now. Plus Christmas is coming and Mum passed away then.
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I learn to paint from my Dad, learn to weld, how to lay bricks, strip an engine, change a tyre. From Mum how to cook, from them both how to laugh and live. They raised three girls to be confident women, we were taught to reach for the sky and never accept that we weren't good enough. We were taught there is no such thing as sexual stereotypes and if we wanted to do something that boys do then just do it. When I grew older and my sisters had married Mum, Dad and I would take trips away together and when I eventually married (26) and moved away from home we would talk on the phone each day at least, once if not more, for hours.

I studied engineering for four years and Dad love it; he was an ex Trawler captain and a marine engineer/fitter. I worked in Bush Fire research and did voice over work on documentaries. They supported me each time I changed jobs and continued to support me through the troubles with No.1 son. When I started working again after having the my children and went into working with problem children in schools in Behavioural Integration they supported me again. [Image]

But even with them I was the comic, the clown - hiding things behind laughter my early wall building attempts - but I also had the knack of accepting things - if I could change something I would if I couldn't I wouldn't worry about it. To a point I still have that ability and live that way.

At times my Dad introduce me or referred to me as The Joker and it often made me upset to think he thought of me that way even though that was how I showed myself. He would refer to my elder sister as the Posh Loving One and my middle sister as The Quiet Caring One but me - I was The Joker.

When my Dad was in his final few months he lived at a nursing home - I would visit each day, sometimes reading to him, sometimes talking, sometimes sketching; one day a new nurse came into the ward and he called her over. She said she had met my elder sisters and Dad said this is my youngest daughter, S****** ,The Joker. As usual if felt a little upsetting.

We all talked for a little while and she went off to another room. Then Dad said to me "I wish I could have been like you, all your life you had pain and heartache and yet you laughed and smiled and never let anything get on top of you; you accepted what life threw at you and never let it get in the way. I am proud of you, I envied you that ability. I wish I had understood that sooner, learnt to do it; it is only now, at the end of my life, that I can finally do it."

So The Joker was not as I had thought, I wasn't the comic relief of the family - it was a term of respect and love; I was so glad that he told me before he passed - it meant so much to know his true feelings.

The moral of this tale is I should have asked sooner why he called me that and saved years of anguish. I do so miss them.

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Please leave a comment so I know you visited......you know how all bloggers love to read comments!!

And The Winner Is ............................

Had my grandson and my son's partner's little boy over for the weekend so the two boys did the draw for me on who should win the FQ's. I think more names on paper were thrown over the floor than kept into the bag I put them in, but the boys had lots of fun and I got a winner's name.

And the Winner is ................... tada..............

Tasha from Tashalou Creations.

Thanks to everyone who came and visited and left nice messages, it was so exciting to have so many people visit my blog.

I would love you to come back and visit again ..... I will have another giveaway to celebrate my 10000th visitor but as I am only up to 8476 it may be a little while yet ....lol.

Giveways

Three great giveaways I have found at the moment so check them out and see if you can manage to win one of the prizes up for grabs!

1. Di at Snippets and Scraps has a lovely pincushion and thread catcher plus a metre YES A METRE of beautiful chocolate coloured fabric on her blog.

2. Erica at Creative Dabbling has two cute selvedge pincushions on her blog giveaway.

and finally

3. Di is opening a great new website for sewers called Sewn and she has an amazing amount of wonderful goodies as prizes - things like jelly rolls and books and fat quarters and oh so many lovelies!

And if you look on her blog site there is a list to lots more giveaways.

SO to join in the fun I have decided to add a prize to my blog - add a comment and on June 8 I will draw a winner. The prize? How about 2 fat quarters of yummy fabric! Haven't decided what colours yet so add your favourite colour to the comment and that way you will win your favourite colour FQ! Don't forget to add your email so I can contact you if your the lucky winner.

Thursday's Pics