update

The kitchen bench was finished.

The writing remains on hold, physical problems writing/typing.

Some valuable life drawing, very meditative experience and pleased with these my first results, improving, wanting to work also on details and abstraction of light and shade after assuring myself of basic drawing skill. See below.

First, though, the kitchen bench with stove working well, bench constructed from ancient timber slab washed up by flood, also some paulownia slab, rot gaps filled with water-based putty coloured with red pigment, seven coats Estapol gloss varnish finish, some acrylic metallic colours added along the way. Painted (irises) bread maker behind.

Life drawing sketches, with conté on paper

26 May 2011

16 June 2011

9 June 2011

16 June 2011, trying especially to deal with strong shadows

bedroom mural: "Escape from Jervis Bay"

I wrote on 9 November that I had gone into a bedroom to consider what colour to paint the walls but had strangely carried with me not any colour samples or pots of colour but a piece of charcoal. I had duly reported to Helen abashedly saying here, I did this but I'll paint over it. To which she replied no you will not paint over it you will finish the job.

So I have finished Escape from Jervis Bay in charcoal and 'natural paint'. Taken some courage, actually. The theatre-screen-ish drapes are from a Lebanese home via eBay, the accompanying drop curtains have gone to charity shop. Interesting to find that the heavily-flower-patterned Moygashel Irish linen main curtains work very well with the strength of this painted wall. It's not just been a need for courage to put the figures so boldly onto the wall, but also the challenge of the strength of this paint job relative to the rest of the room. Interestingly with this strong treatment of two walls a large nude photo of Margaret from 1977 looks now very isolated on the opposite wall. Must add to that wall, photos not mural. (I have accumulated dozens of picture frames from charity shops and the A3 colour laser machine is producing lovely images.