Souping and gooping.

I've decided to not paint birds for a little while.

That's mainly because I was seeing them in my sleep

and all that fluttering and squawking was keeping me awake.

Now I have the dilemma of what to paint.

The water lily painting was okay and so

I'm embarking on a wet, dribbly, abstracty,

pondy sort of series.

Okay, I admit it was only cos I just couldn't think

 what else to paint.

I tried flowers but the old flower in a vase just isn't me.

I love the ones that other people do

 but I'm too much of a bull at a gate type of person

 to get that delicate look.

Then there was the landscape idea, it lasted two seconds.

Sorry, I just don't do landscapes.  

In fact I got a headache just sitting in front of the computer

trying to find something to paint.

So I thought stuff it....

I went into my painting room, picked up some old canvasses,

well one old one and one new one that just didn't work,

and just started to have some fun.

Hey, what does it matter if it doesn't work,

they were poopy paintings anyway.

All I had in my mind was loose lilies and dribbles,

well mind mind is pretty much all dribbles but now it's dribblier.

First I had to slop gesso over the  paintings, 

then the fun began.  

 

Remember this one, well it just wasn't doin' it for me,

so I went through my old bags of goop

and decided to use some up on the background.

Normally I'd be panicking and worried about getting everything just right

but this time I just let loose and had some fun.

There was goop going everywhere,

 I even got some on the canvas.

This is layer 692, if you count 

all the layers on the old painting.

Looks kind of yuk but I'm havin' fun and 

there's a long way to go.

Check out those delicious cracks that formed in the gesso.

Either the whole thing will fall off when I ink it or 

I could get some fabulous texture peeking through.

 

This is a hideous painting I did many years ago,

I know, what was I thinking.....

 

I slopped a little gesso on, mainly to stop her looking at me,

and then got out my old bags of gesso soup (secret recipe)

and had a ball.

 

Yep, that's quite a mess but oh the possibilities.

 

Now for the painful part, waiting for it to dry

sigh.........

 

Only 200 more layers to go and they're finished.

Simple!

 

 

 

And now for something completely different.....

This weekend I had some time

to myself, which is really not the norm

in my household.

Well the truth is, I decided it was too

hot for housework, so I went into

my art room and played.

I've been toying with the idea of doing a really loose

almost (but not quite) abstract painting, just to see if 

my tightwad brain will allow my hand to do it. 

Of course I didn't know where to start, so I picked up my 

"left overs" canvas.  

I'm sure you all have one somewhere around.

It's the little canvas that you put all your left over goop,

inks and bits of stuff that are left over

 but you don't want to waste.

Mine was looking like this

 

 Yep, I'm with you, eww, ick and poo, so I got out

 my nice bright goop and did this.

(It's brighter than the photo but you know my crappy photography skills)

Now I have to say that I'm really proud of my brain for

 allowing my hand to slop that stuff on so loosely and not try to make it all perfect and pretty.

Mind you I did have Queen playing super loud, much to my teenage daughter's (she has no taste) disgust. I always think the loud noise cancels out the brain noise. 

Then came the hard part (for me anyway), 

the chocking under the little canvas.

You'd think I'd could get it right as it's only about 45cm across but no, I had to go and stuff it up as usual.  Too many lumps under the canvas, in hindsight I only needed one chock in the middle but there you go.

The ink was looking good at first ....

starting to flow nicely, so I added the other colours and 

the chocking disaster showed through. 

 The ink was flowing away from the chocked bits and

 straight off the canvas. After some rather colourful language I

 added some side packing and lots more ink.

It's dried better than I thought it would

 

and I have the most delicious ripples and

 bumpy wumpy things happening.

I'll probably play with it to brighten it up a bit 

(much to my teacher's disgust I'm sure). 

 But, I'll keep it loose.

Now for the hard part.... I might try this on a big canvas.

Oh boy, this could get really interesting and super scary.

There could be an almighty battle going on between little blonde, super tight arse brain and little left hand. 

 I'm going to have to have the music pumping at extreme levels.....my apologies to the neighbours.  

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