Here’s another in the moon series that is on its way to Auckland.
I’ve just signed up with a new gallery and want to send some small works down. So, I did a bit of shopping at the weekend from here and a box of wee canvases turn up on the courier today. Can’t wait to get into them this weekend 🙂
More mooning around – this is varnished,
signed etc and off to Auckland for an exhibition. Only got the packaging to go, and it will be on it’s way.
I’m one of those people who are really affected by the full moon. Perhaps it is the light through our bedroom curtains, perhaps it is some tidal pull – who knows? What I do know is, come the full moon, I am *wide awake*, and likely to be found painting or emailing at 3am 😉
One afternoon Mum and I drove down to the beach for a quick look round and, quite by accident, I got some amazing shots of the full moon in a bright deep-blue sky, seen through the long grass. I have used the images over and over and over; and will continue to do so. Here is the latest moon painting. This one is acrylic on 30×40″ gallery wrap canvas and is heading for exhibition in Auckland in September.
As I’ve said before, I paint mainly with paper towels and baby wipes and hardly use brushes. So how do I start a painting? I use old magazines as throw-away palettes; I choose a colour or three and squeeze some out onto a fresh magazine page. I squeeze a baby wipe in a paper towel, so the baby wipe is a bit drier, and the paper towel is damp. I pick up some colour/s with the baby wipe and start smearing them around, covering the canvas.
If I want to remove some colour, I use the damp paper towel. If I want thin, even colour, I scrunch the baby wipe up and rub hard. When I want to change colours and the current lot of paint is used up, I throw the page away and start on a fresh one. Quick ‘n easy clean up!
I this series of photos you can see the bare bones, done yesterday, and the almost-completed painting, which I have been working on this morning. So far, I have not picked up a brush. The middle shot shows the texture and variety of marks I get with the tools I use.
The other day I commented that I don’t use brushes often, and that’s certainly true. But it doesn’t mean I never use a brush, and it sure doesn’t mean I don’t own any. I own heaps in fact! I was lucky enough to buy a huge bundle of beautiful ones when an artists’ house was being cleared out. Here’s a bowl of them that sit on my desk.
I use brushes mainly for mark making towards the end of the painting process, now that I think about it. Most of the paint goes on with paper towels and baby wipes, and brush marks tend to come last, adding highlights here and there. I keep a small bucket of water beside me as I paint and the dirty brushes get dropped in the bucket as I go, so that clean up at the end of the day is quick and easy.
Cath Sheard Art 