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I set off into my art room this morning with a pile of photocopies of original photos from Italy, six full size sheets of Arches watercolour paper, four favorite Golden Fluid acrylics, some paper towels, rubber stamps and a bucket of water. Oh, and a very clear idea in my mind of what I wanted to achieve. Normally by the time I touch the materials I know exactly how it will all go together and actually making the work is fast; it’s the initial thinking that takes me the most time. But not today. I have not finished the first work but it is certainly not looking as I had expected and I am not sure that it’s going to by the time I do more to it either. I can’t even articulate clearly what the problem is, which means I can’t fix it. I’ve been flicking through some art magazines tonight, feeding my mind. I probably won’t sleep well, but hopefully my brain will have an “aha!” moment in the night. Hopefully…

In the meantime,  here’s a previous work and some of the photos that were meant to be inspiring today’s effort.

It’s been a hard couple of weeks, culminating in the death of my much-loved Aunt Julie. I’m so pleased she is at peace now though, with the horrors of dementia behind us. Through it all some of my best friends have supported me; my sister Ailsa, best mate Sandra, and husband Tony. This fortnight’s NZ Art Guikld challenge was to create a work about a best friend, so here it is. There is really nothing else I have the heart to say for now.

I have been doing some careful looking at old  scans of artworks, looking for interesting bits that I can reuse digitally. I’m particularly interested in making them really big, perhaps printed out on vinyl. Here’s a 2009 painting, cropped into 3 parts, with some bits left out. I like the strong colours but don’t think it would sit well as a group – it has lost too much of its ‘connecting tissue’ so it looks too random. But the idea has appeal and I can see I’ll be playing with this for a while yet…

I think it’s good to re-use old artworks, and to look at them in fresh ways. Doing some digital work is good for the planet too; no paint used, no solvents, no paper towels. That’s not to say I won’t be getting my hands dirty this week, I will be. I have 5 or 6 mixed media works to create on heavy watercolour paper ready for ‘Reflections of Italy’ in Wellington in May. I’m just waiting for the paper to arrive from Gordon Harris in Hamilton, and I have to say there were very helpful in helping me choose paper over the phone!

Yesterday I showed you some photos of the mess my desk and paperwork had gotten into. It felt out of control and was contributing to my stress level, especially as I deal with a sick Aunt. This weekend I have tidied, thrown away, sorted and filed. The house feels much more organised and my art / office area feels like a happy workspace once again. Thank goodness for that.

Now I can actually get on with making art…and boy oh boy, do I have some art to make. I have 3 exhibitions coming up in May so I need to get creating. Exciting times 🙂

My Aunt is doing better; she ate a tiny meal last night and is drinking again, which is probably the more important things really. I went up about 7pm and she was fast asleep, tucked up in her bed with the sides up so she can’t fall out. I thought she was looking much more her usual self.