Newbie in progress

But I'm putting her to one side as I've had a better idea for the Swoon show. Maybe I'll finish it after I've sent the Swoon pieces off and have some time to figure out what to do with it.

I do quite like that little tree stoat!

xxx kate

Decisions, decisions

I've got a week left (insert squeal of panic) before I send some work to LA for the Swoon show at Black Maria Gallery.

So it's decision time. I think I've figured out what I'm sending. I have one piece completed and ready to go, one almost finished and one sketch ready for colouring.

The piece that's almost finished is this one:


I spoke to Dave, my trusty art director, about it and he thought it needed another element at the top right - something that both the girl and sneaky owl could be looking at.

So I tried a second owl on tracing paper to see if it would work.



Now I've drawn and cut out my second owl and have to decide exactly where to place him in relation to the rest of the piece. I think I may wait until my frames are here so I can see how it will look in the space.



At the moment, the middle one is my preference.

xxx kate

Drip

Just finished my final ink class and managed to create a piece I'm pretty happy with in tonight's 3 hour session.

She's a bit messier than I'd like in parts (note to self - learn to not drop brush on work) but overall, I like her:



This is based on the piece I'm doing in pencil for the show at Black Maria (Swoon) in June - I'm starting to realise just how labour intensive pencil is compared to something like ink!

xxx scarlett

Besotted with Berens

I've just remembered how madly in love I am with Dutch painter, Chris Berens.


Riders Of The Storm (2008)

Years ago, a gallery owner explained to me that it's the emotional appeal that will draw someone to a piece of art in the first place, but the technical mastery behind the work that sells it.

Berens' works - and heartbreakingly gorgeous characters - are so full of emotion and beauty that I feel that little pang in my chest (the one that has nothing to do with heartburn) when I see them.


Passed (2008)


Various details

Take a look at The Kiss (below). Doesn't it just make you want to climb in and wrap you arms around that darling little polar bear? Also, for an extra *sigh*, take a look in the top right hand corner where the porpoise is completing 'the kiss'.


The Kiss (2008)

And as if that kind of talent isn't enough, Berens has developed a unique technique that defies belief.


In De Raadskelder (2006)

For starters - he uses inkjet paper. Yup....well, sort of.


Lady Of The Dawn (2007)

Next, it's not oil paint that he paints with...


Little Captain Sparrow (2008)

..it's ink.

Fuck me.

Ink?! That the wishy washy stuff that runs all over the place and looks watercolourly? Apparently not when Berens uses it.


The Whaler, The Ermine And The Bait (2008)

His technique also involves plenty of painstaking cutting, pasting and layering. And not an ounce of computer.

I know I won't do it justice, so for a full explanation of how he achieves this look watch the video of the interview he gave to Kirsten Anderson of Roq La Rue Gallery in Seattle.




Graceful Reign (2008)

I'm still gobsmacked.

Check out his site for more of his artwork. And take a look Erratic Phenomena for a superb blog post about his work.

xxx scarlett

PS. On the back of his works (and on his website) there are little surprises - you can find out how to find them in the Erratic Phenomena post. ;)

Some half baked ideas

Against my better judgement, I thought I'd share what I've been doing lately in my ink classes.

Now I'm warning you, it's all rather rough and loose. None of them are finished pieces. I'm essentially just exploring different techniques and trying new inky things. So don't expect anything great, OK?

OK.

In our first lesson we started playing with different techniques and I really love the textures you can create with ink. These could wind up being nice material textures in a finished piece.


And I tried a cartoon turtle at the end of the class, but then didn't have time to let him dry properly. Patience is certainly not my my greatest strength.


And my friend, Annella, gave me this fabulous apple with a leaf still attached. Never got around to eating it though :(



I tried the stoat that I posted a photo of a while ago - but suspect I'd be happier if he was red or blue ;) Naturally-coloured stoats just don't float my boat.


I loved painting this octopus, but then I got a bit too heavy handed with the black in his tentacles. Subtlety is also not one of my greatest strengths - but I'll have to learn as ink is rather unforgiving.


I was happier with the girls I did in my third class. I really like the textures I can get through their hair, but it's a very different look to the pieces I've been producing over the last few years.



And I keep dripping ink in inappropriate places. I had to clean up the green-dress girl up there because there was a blob of blue on her lip that made her look like a domestic violence victim. Which is coincidentally exactly how my 'winking' girl in the striped dress has ended up looking. Hmm, better watch those drips!

Anyway, that's what I've been up to, as well as a few pencil projects that are coming along slowly and my insanely busy day job (I broke my all-time record last week with an 'in a 5:45am, out at 10pm' day - utter killer).

I plan to post something a bit more finished next time. But as always, I think it's fun to see other people's work in the half-finished/learning stages. So if I'm going to expect you to show me yours, I figure I should show you mine!

xxx scarlett

Art obsessions

A while ago, I mentioned that I'm using twitter to post links to some of my favourite artists. Now I've also started a new tumblr to post pics of my favourite artworks.


Hush by Audrey Kawasaki


Grotto of the Old Mass by Mark Ryden


Brothers by Ana Bagayan


Three Ama Enveloped in a Crashing Wave by kozyndan

You may find some new favourites here (and some old favourites!) and maybe some inspiration.

I've also found a few painting demonstration videos from various artists and I popping them on this site too. Like this one from Ana Bagayan:



So pop over to artobsessions.tumblr.com and take a peek.

xxx scarlett

Slumber

A sleepy little piece for the 'We Love Ladies Too' show at 696 next Wednesday.



There's a fantastic line up of artists, including Andrea Innocent, whose work I've adored for years. Everyone's welcome to come along and I'd love to see you there if you're able to make it.



xxx scarlett
xxx kate

(Now I'm just hedging my bets on the name dilemma!)

Changing my name

I've been painting as 'Scarlett' for a few years now, but I think I'm about to go back to my real name - Kate Lightfoot.

I really just started using Scarlett, because it was easier when writing on the Etsy forums for people to call me by my shop name.

But if a potential customer googles 'Scarlett' they get this:



Now it would be nice if that were me (particularly nice for Bill) , but it isn't.

So to make it easier for people to track me down, to make it easier for me to explain who I am to galleries and for the sake of honesty, I'm pretty sure I'm going to be signing my art with a 'k' from now on and going by 'Kate Lightfoot'.

Comments? Suggestions?

I'd love some feedback on this as it's doing my head in and keeping me up at night.

xxx kate (I think)