Goop, slops and inks for WOYWW

Wow, I can't believe two months have gone

by since I last posted, time flies.

I've been painting and gooping up a storm

and I'm currently working on 

six canvasses. 

Here is one room full of desks,

 There are five on the go in here,

one is hiding, that's the portrait of my girls.

 and one in here.  This is zombie bird, until I paint in the face.

There are lots of pics on the desk, that's where I put

things together to make ideas for canvasses.

These guys have all gone to new homes

and have left me with no stocks, hence the mad

painting frenzy going on.

My teacher invented a new technique which is 

called gesso soup.  I'm currently trying to learn

how to do a good gesso soup but since I'm a hopeless

cook, my soup isn't doing too well.

This background is gesso soup and I'm going to goop the bird,

then ink.  I was having all sorts of problems gooping

the birdies bum today.  Well, I have to say, it's no fun

putting a palette knife up where the sun don't shine!!

 My latest jellies have gesso soup coral.

I think that worked quite well, I just can't get 

a good photo.  It's really bright colours, honestly.

I'll keep it short and sweet this week,

mainly cos little miss has an orthodontics appointment

and I have to go (darn kids).

Now you've seen mine, have a look at some

other desks around the world at

Julia's Stamping Ground,

Enjoy!

 

More sogginess for WOYWW

I had every intention of posting last week

but those rotten gremlins had other ideas.

I had a plumber in to replace the old taps

in the upstairs bathrooms

(you can guess where this is going already can't you)

and the gremlins thought it would be funny 

to make one of the taps leak.

Not just a little leak mind you but a leak of epic proportions!

When the plumber turned on the water it flowed full bore

under the vanity, down through the hole where the pipes go &

down into the floor cavity (as well as into the hallway upstairs

and yes it is carpet).

 Then right out of the closest hole downstairs, which just 

happens to be the chandelier in our dining room.

We had a magnificent waterfall pouring down,

 straight onto my daughter's business computer!!!

You could hear her scream for miles.

We grabbed a bucket and tipped the keyboard 

upside down to drain and would you believe it has

 all dried out and is working perfectly

as is the light, after an electrician played with it.

So thankfully, disaster averted, apart from 

the hours of mopping up.

To my desk....

 I had my secretary/foot model with me today.

He has sore feet (it's a long story) so I've got him with me

to keep an eye on him as well as use his tootsies

 for the painting.  He's also in my bad books cos I went out

 the other day and came home to a pile of black stuff 

all over the carpet.  Turns out he found my

thongs (flip flops to some) under the coffee table and

 chewed them up!

He thinks he's a dog!

I'm painting in the little room at the moment, so that I can 

have a big photo on the computer and keep it nice and clear

for painting the eye and feet.

I've started adding the eyes to my girls' portrait.

 

This is probably the last photo I'll post cos I don't 

like putting kids onto the web, but you can get the gist of it.

However, this is definitely the one

 and only portrait I'll ever do.

It's really doing my head in....the pressure to get it right

and the whinging from the peanut gallery that is

my girls'. 

I'm nearing the end of good photos of lorikeets now,

so if anyone has some fabulous ones and they

 don't mind sharing, I'd love to hear from you. 

I still love doing these bright crazy birds, 

just need good photos of them on Aussie native flowers

 and you all know how bad my photographic skills are!

That's me for this week, it's school pickup time (oh joy), 

 why not go to

 Julia's Stamping Ground

and see all the other desks from around the world.

Gremlins and scary painting for WOYWW

I thought I had missed a couple of weeks

with my blog and wow it's been over 

a month since I last annoyed you all.

Can't have that now can we.

(Warning, lots of catching up to do so WOYWWer's

are welcome to look at desk and run..while you can)

Actually it's me who's been annoyed.

Annoyed by the mess gremlins.

These are the tidier shots, you should see what's on

the floor in the corner.

Now I know what you're thinking...  she's just made the mess

all by herself.  Well I protest.... okay, so maybe some

of it is me but most is those pesky

messy gremlins.

Just look at the ground sheet all wavied up and

trippy overy squishy crumpled.  

There's no way I could have done all that.

I just walk carefully (cough, cough) around from table

to table.  Those gremlins come in at night when I'm not 

around and play twister - I'm sure of it.

And they go into my other room 

and throw paper around onto the floor. 

Those pesky beasts even got into my washing machine

the other day and it wouldn't stop filling.

Of course that happened while I was taking Little Miss

to school, so the floors and anything within a fifty mile radius

had a really thorough clean.

Not content to mess up my washing machine they then

attacked my kettle, which has started leaking water

all over the base plate.

I tell you, they are trying to get me.

I'll either drown while doing the washing,

get electrocuted while making a cuppa or

trip over and clunk my head while walking in my art room.

If anyone knows how to make those devils leave

I'd like to hear from you.

I've finished a few paintings since I last posted,

there was the commission piece 

(which is the reason for my absence from the blogosphere)

The dull green is actually a lovely turquoise in real life, just can't get the camera to see it.

 Then I finished my bird painting

and I'm a bit further with my other bird painting

Lots of squidly didlyness there but still a long way to go.

You can see my hanging bird in the second picture up the top.

He's looking really scary cos his face is in it's underwear.

I've just started mapping it out and he's rather naked

and scary looking.

Speaking of scary, I'm currently doing the 

most scary thing ever.

A portrait of my girls ( cue Phycho shower scene violin music).

Now don't panic, I'm not going to plaster them all over the

 screen and turn you off in droves, you know the Oh no,

 not another mother putting up the kids photos, sort of thing.

I'm a bit funny about them being up for the world to

 look at so I don't put any photos of them up or paintings.

Not that I'm blowing my own horn and saying that

 it is a great likeness or anything...mainly cos it isn't

 and boy is it hard  to draw them.

I've waffled on a bit already so I'll tell you all about

the pain that is my portrait painting next week.

Of course that's assuming I haven't lost my temper

and put my foot through it.

Now you've heard my long winded tale,

why not hop over to

Julia's Stamping Ground

and see what the others have been up to 

on their desks.

I need a cuppa....just hope I don't get a free perm doing it!

Icicles for paintbrushes on WOYWW.

Every Wednesday people from all 

around the world show what's on their desk

press here to go to Julia's Stamping Ground

to see them. 

Here's my desk from the lovely tropical

 Brisbane, Australia.

Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration but there has

been snow right up to the Queensland border.

It went down to 4 degrees last night & it's 

only 17 in the house now

and I'm sure I saw a polar bear walk down the street!!! 

Okay, here's my desk but first let me wipe the 

icicles from my nose.

The picture might be a little blurry as my knees are knocking from the cold.

I'm painting birds in this room and

gooping and inking in this room tomorrow.

(If you look carefully you might catch a glimpse

 of that polar bear in the street).

I have a whole new respect for the people who live way up

the top of the northern hemisphere. 

 How do you stay warm???

There aren't enough clothes in the city to keep me warm.

Goodness, if this keeps up I'll have to buy a heater!!!

Winter school holidays have put a dent in my painting time

but I have managed to do some more to the birds.

 This is a step away from my usual bright paintings

and I've gotta say, it just isn't me. 

I like in your face bright colour and this is just

a tad too pookcack for me.

Personally I blame that darn "Polar Vortex"

(that's what the newspapers are calling it).

It's so cold that my brain had a white out moment

and created snow in the background.

When I get the feeling back into my frozen fingers

I'm going to brighten up the birds and the front flowers

and never do an over poocacked painting again!

To my friends up there in England,

yes you know who you are (LLJ).

You've had your fun, now give us back

our nice hot weather and take back your

rotten cold stuff before something

snaps off, like my nose!!

Gooping the soup for WOYWW

I'm playing in the big room today

cos it's freezing in the 

small one.

You can see all the bits n pieces 

I'm playing with

 

I've prepped a canvas on the long table,

in the front left is a half gooped canvas and the

finished canvas is on the easel.

I love being able to spread out. 

 I'm over at the desk by the window 

gooping a bird in poocack colours.

Yes you read that right, I'm doing

this poor bird in poocack.

You can't see much yet, it's the little bluey blobs

bottom left. Here are the mixed colours of goop

Some of you may say they are bright but

I see mud and dirty colours.

Even my mouth turns down when I put this stuff on.

It's my own fault that I have to make it poocack,

you see I got carried away with the 

gesso soup and the flowers are too big,

so I have to make the birdie move back

to stay in perspective.

I will paint the flying bird nice and bright.

I've started adding cockies tootsies.  He might be able to land soon.

A few posts ago

here if you missed it

I mentioned that I was getting

graduated (multifocal) glasses.

I picked them up and oh dear.

Follow my nose they said, 

that would have been fine if I could see my nose!

I couldn't see a thing, total blur out.

The only way I knew

 I'd missed the doorway and hit the wall

was if it hurt!!

I was really starting to think I was a true blonde but

it turns out the lady didn't fit the glasses to my eyes.

A trip back to the optometrist and a few bends

and melting of plastic and

I can see!!!

I feel drunk if I move my head too quickly

but I'm getting there.

Maybe I should have left them blurred

while I'm doing the poocack bird,

might have been easier on my nerves.

Well that's mine for this week.

Have a look at some other desks

around the world at

Julia's Stamping Ground

this Workdesk Wednesday

De's Gesso Soup for WOYWW

We had my kind of cookery lessons

in art class today.

There wasn't an oven or a saucepan in sight.

My teacher has invented a new

technique and has called it

Gesso Soup.

It's probably the only cooking

I've ever enjoyed.

It involves gesso (well duh), water,

paint, bags, onions, noodles,

 and a whole lot of

slopping and glooping.

Yes, it looks a bit garish but it will lay almost flat

when it dries and this technique is guaranteed

to cure all sorts of ills, just like chicken soup.

There is already a textured layer of goop

under here and this will add to the texture

without texturing. 

Yes, it's texture without texture.

No I haven't gone stark raving mad

(well any more than usual).

It looks really textured but it is in fact

virtually flat and then it's easier to paint on

and I can add texture only where I want it.

See.... really clever huh.

 I've finished my bird and just sealed it

 It's all shiny from the sealer and hard to get a photo.

There's a ton of mica paint and it glows in the sunlight

just wish I could get the glow in a photo.

My boat is finished too.

Same shine problem.

They are both going into a show soon,

hope they sell.

I am picking up a new pair of glasses tomorrow

so I hope to get around to lots of WOYWWer's

but if I don't it's because of the glasses.

I explained the problem in my last post

here, if you're interested.

If you want to see other desks

around the world today,

go over to 

Julia's Stamping Ground

and have a visit.

I'm going to cook up some more soup,

mwa ha ha.

 

You lookin at me?

My post title can be used for two things

the first is the actual title

that I've given my bird painting

that I've finished at long last.

 Well, look at that face, doesn't

it just say "You lookin' at me?".

The second title is a little more scary

as I think that it'll be me saying that 

after thursday next week.

Why??

Well, I've finally done something that's 

either very dumb or rather clever,

that is to be determined

(keeping in mind that I'm blonde).

I've ordered a pair of graduated glasses

cos I'm fed up with wearing two pairs

and yes that is at once.

If I need to see something more than three feet away

 I need my long distance glasses

but to see anything close up I need my reading glasses

and many a time I have both pairs balanced precariously

upon my nose.

So it's graduated glasses for me.

Now I'm going to call them layered glasses

because I only went to grade 12 

(high school to non Aussie countries)

and I'm blowed if I'll put some stuck up glasses

onto my nose that think they are better than me

and "graduated" college.

So layered it is, just like my paintings

layer upon layer of goop

and ink

and paint

you get the picture.

When I went to order my glasses they kept on

saying, you'll adjust to them easily,

just follow your nose.

Now that is a scary thing in itself,

imagine following your nose everywhere.

If my nose is a bit bent at the end

I could find myself spinning around in endless circles

just like a dog with it's tail.

Or I could be permanently cross eyed

trying to focus on my nose and nothing else.

Argh, the mind boggles.

What have I done??

At least I was a little clever,

I've finished all of my paintings for

an upcoming show.

They just need sealing now

I should have at least three coats on the boat

before the dreaded layered eyes arrive

and I've drawn up and started another canvas.

Now I just have to hope that my nose

leads me into the studio

and not into the wall.

Mind you, that could knock some sense into me.

Linking up to PPF.

 

 

 

Back to painting and a win for WOYWW

I've been AFK (away from keyboard)

as my kids would say, for two weeks.

Yes, it was the dread of all parents,

school holidays.

I survived with just a little bit of art but now

I'm rearing to go.

One good thing I did on the holidays was

to get a huge skip bin, toss out heaps of

stuff and complete my evil plan

to take over the lounge (mwa ha ha).

It's mine, all mine, ha ha ha ha ha.    

See that big space in the middle, 

I'm going to get a huge piece of heavy plastic

 and use my long fold up table to do lots of sloppy

prep coats on lots of canvasses at once. 

 That way I can keep on working in my studio.

It'll be like a big production line of canvasses

all at different stages.  

You may notice that I have a lot more inks on my Ikea

trolley and in the pot on the floor.  I came into some

unexpected money!!!

Remember this painting that I took to a show?

It sold and I won the Peoples' Choice Prize!!

I couldn't believe it. The prize was cash so I 

bought a heap of inks to play with.

Which brings me to the scary part.

I am going to attempt to ink this canvas

 

at home, all by myself with no De Gillett,

my lovely teacher, to help stop me screwing it up.

 So, if you feel the earth rumbling and shaking tomorrow,

don't panic, it's just my knees knocking together in fear

 as I squirt copious amounts of ink all over my canvas.

I have a paper bag handy just in case of hyperventilation,

hmm, might need it now just thinking of what I'm doing

tomorrow.... ARGH....

While I go suck on a paper bag,

may I suggest you go over to

Julia's Stamping Ground

and see what's on the other desks around the world.

Breath in, breath out,

yep that feels a bit better,

just hope I can keep it together tomorrow...