Cath Sheard Art

Tag: Crusades

  • Latest NZ Art Guild challenge

    I love the NZ Art Guild challenges and I really appreciate the time the guild puts into running them. Recently they have changed the way the challenges run, and this is the first one under the new guidelines. The quick version is; they provided a photo reference as a starting point and guild members are free to interpret it any way they choose.

    The original photo is of a huge city building, all glass, with amazing reflections. I was interested in how unwelcoming the main building appeared; the door seemed small compared with the building itself, and in the photo is almost out of view. It reminded me that, in much the same way, many of us protect our hearts…hence the doors, lock and single, incomplete, key.

    This is 23x30cm, mixed media. Digitally altered photo, collage, rubber stamping, ink.

    where is the key

    One of the reasons I tackled the challenge this way, instead of painting the building, is that I wanted to “make it my own”. Over at the Crusades, Michelle has been blogging about making our art our own. Michelle talks about taking something and adding your own twist – making the artist’s hand visible. I hope that is what I have achieved with this piece. Thanks, as always, for the challenge and the inspiration Michelle.

  • Anyone for half a pear?

    Michelle Ward’s GPP Street Team Crusade No 28 is about “portion control” – using part of an image to create interest and mystery. Last month we were challenged to really explore a shape, I chose the pear. You can see some of the images I created here, here and here. I have kept using last month’s PEAR shape, and have been making new images on watercolour postcards. This way, I get to do the Crusade, and keep up my stock of postcards for sending off quick notes to people. Win win! For these three I used acrylics, gesso and Stazon ink pads, acrylic stamps and handcut stencils and masks.

  • Pears for charity

    This pear painting, inspired by Michelle Wards Crusades, is now being exhibited in Auckland at the Bruce Mason Centre as part of the LIFE Exhibition and Shave for a Cure. A generous portion of all sales from the exhibition will go to the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation of NZ.

    Tomorrow night some donated paintings are being auctioned in a gala event. Some of the artists are even having their heads shaved for sponsorship money. How brave is that? I was especially keen to support this event because when my cousin Dean and I were 14, he died of leukaemia. The sale of my pear painting is one small way I can help stop that happening to someone else.pear-007

  • Crusade 27: Shape Up

    6a00d8341c6e6653ef010536ac0171970b-700wi1Michelle’s challenge for Jan 2009 is to explore just one shape – stencil it, mask it, stamp it, gesso it…   It didn’t take me long to decide on the PEAR for my shape. It’s a shape I was using in some figure paintings about 3 years ago and the idea of rediscovering it really appealed.

    I spent today in my art room and made stencils, masks and a stamp. I played with spray paint, gesso, acrylic paint and Indian ink. I am so excited my what I’ve done that I want to make an art quilt featuring a pear, and do a big painting using the pear shape as well.

    I like the ones where the pears are not so obvious; I think this is perhaps my favorite.

    pear-6-0011