Lean On Me

Lean On Me

Start typing...just start typing...everything needs a beginning...

So, a big thank you to anyone reading this, I really do appreciate you.

I know that I have been away for a while, reasons.

I am back painting, my Muse has said that I should just get on with it.

She's right.

I should. 

So I decided to finish some of the 'UFO' projects which were abandoned.

So many...where do you begin?

I have lots to show but this post would get rather tiresome for you dear reader, so I will try to edit them down a little.

I painted this pair of mermaids a while ago but they needed lots of work done so, of course, they were abandoned for something else...sound familiar?

There seems to be a pattern here. (me)

Here they are are in the early stages on my little old easel.

 

As you can see...lots of work to do...

At first they were just sitting enjoying the view but as I painted them they seemed to be doing something else, there was more between them.

It seemed as though one was supporting the other.

By the end of the painting they had a new title.

Because we all need somebody to lean on.

Even Mermaids.

Hope you have your special shoulder...

The Water is Lovely, Dark and Deep...

 Oh my, it appears that I have been absent long enough, so I thought I would show some of my work in progress.

As you can see, I change my mind many times while I paint.

It will also show some of my horrendous mistakes! 

I had an idea for a mermaid/siren, floating (see what I did there) around in my head.

She started as a rough sketch as usual, like this

I'm not sure red is my colour...

Here she is as I start the painting.

The first layers of paint make her look a little creepy!

 

The water is lovely, dark and deep...

 

 

 I think she is a little too skinny for my idea...time to give her a little more flesh...

Also, something needs to be done about that hand!

 

After a few snacks  😀

That's better...she has some fingers and flesh.

Now the part where I leave the painting to fend for itself whilst I get on with other 'important' stuff. 

(Like looking on ebay :o) )...

 

Some time later...

After buying tacky items which Oscar Wilde would love...

(I'll show and tell one day, just so everyone can laugh at my taste).

 

She now has a little more colour...not too much as I want her to look fishy.

Just a dab here and there with the makeup, and maybe a new hair do.

Because she's worth it...

Almost done...now is the hardest part of painting.

Everything in the early stages is just blobs and changes and big brushes and daubs.

When you get near to completion it is so much harder.

Small brushes, tiny strokes, lots of mistakes to cover.

 

Then comes the time when you have to ask yourself if it will ever be finished...well, will it?

I do not think that I am ever truly happy with a painting.

They are just never as 'good' as the painting inside my head!

They never will be either.

But that's the thing which drives you on.

Never being quite good enough.

 

So here she is, along with her story...

 

'Sea Guardian'

 

'Guardian of the Seas'

The sea is so vast and so precious.
We need to protect it any way we can.
This is how I envisage the Spirit who guards and protects the waters of this beautiful planet.
She may be a Mermaid.
She may be a Siren.
She may be a Nereid or Naiad.
She goes by many names and in many guises.
She loves the waters and keeps them safe for us all to share :o)

(Painted in oils size 12 x 16 inches or A3)

Hope you enjoy your next visit to the beach ;o)

- Cee

Ivy

I saved this as a draft last year, then...reasons...
I'll write about them in the next post :o)

Ivy is a beautiful sacred plant.
Many Gods and Goddesses are honoured with it.
We have lots of old gnarled Ivy here.
Birds nest in the deep dark holes within.
Insects buzz around the fuzzy flowers.

The weird black berries disappear in the Autumn, I'm not sure who takes them all, but I know the thrushes love them.

I wanted to make a picture which shows the depths inside an old Ivy 'bush'.
It seems that the Fae wanted to join in too.
Who am I to say no?
So, here is the sketch.

Sketchbook Ivy

I liked her pose, she looked deep in thought but she wasn't quite right.
Anyway, the painting started, this is the fun bit, where you can make a mess...:o)

First, scruffy layers

Okay, I'm really not loving this, it just looks wrong.
Not how I picture the lovely old Ivy when I peer into it...or the little Fae.
I'll give her some more layers of skin.

And some leaves, and redder hair...
Mmmm...still not loving it.

Looking better, but still not right, damn...

So, now I think she would look better wearing a floaty little dress.

I really don't mind painting over her body, it is useful to have as a base.
(Yeah, right, I'm saying that because I'm annoyed with myself for not doing it sooner!)
So, after lots (& lots) more layers were added and some dew drops...taddaaa!

 'Ivy'

(Painted in Oils on canvas, size 12 x 16 inches)

Working with those Elementals...

'Dance of Fire and Water'

Well here she is, actually finished.
I have to say she's looking a lot smoother now and the fish are just how I pictured them when I began, not just blobs of orange!
Sometimes when you are creating art, there is this awful stage which you just have to push through. (The 'Wall' which everyone hits).
The voices in your head are telling you that this is dire, that you have messed everything up (again), that you are rubbish and should try digging graves instead ;o)
These are the times that you have to be the bravest.
Luckily, paint is very forgiving, you can cover most things up and no one will ever know just how bad it was before.
But...I wanted to show my early stages, for just those reasons.
So that those of us, struggling with our paintings can take heart in the fact that all paintings start off really really horrid.
They don't just appear on the canvas looking pretty and perfect.
They are all ugly ducklings. (I actually think ducklings are adorable).

This one is for the Elementals.
I wanted to paint two forces of nature playing together.
The mermaid represents Water, so is cool and blue.
The fishes represent Fire and are warm, red-orange.
I wanted them to dance the Eternal Elemental Dance within the water.

I have to say, that they were great fun to paint.
I now need to come up with an idea for the other Elemental beings...
After all, I wouldn't want them to feel left out :o)

See you again soon, maybe with some more awful beginnings...
(Painted in Oils, size A3)

Well it is still January

Happy New Year!
I know I'm late, I'm always late, what can I say?
Better late than never?
Anyway, to me it still feels all midwintery as we have left the decorations up, for a while more, it's too dark here in the mountains of Snowdonia, we need the lights of the faeries to keep our spirits up.
That's a good reason isn't it?
We do take them down eventually, usually around Imbolg, we like to celebrate with the seasons and this seems fitting for this area.

This year I'm concentrating more on my painting and my fabric art 'stuff'.
As the room in which I work a.k.a. the kitchen, is full to the gills with paints and canvas, fabric and trims, I really do need to get on with these ideas to stop them just roaming around in my head.

I also need to get more organised with scanning and cropping etc so that I can actually show others what I have been doing , I mean, it might just appear to everyone that I am a lazy artist who just has ideas and no content, can't have that now can we?...he he he.

So here's one I prepared earlier...
I have been lured by the Siren's song yet again...

The sketch

First daubs

I know, she looks awful.
These are the early stages of the painting, where I can throw paint at the canvas and not worry about it too much.
I have the idea of what the finished work will be, so I just 'place' things where they should be without much thought, then I'm not too concerned about covering them up when I find the right place for everything.
The 'fish' are just blobs of fishythingys and will be changed completely later, they just need to remind me where I wanted a fish in the picture.

So, that's a little peek at what I have been doing, how about you?
Hope you have a lovely, creative year ahead, doing something you love.
Now, I really must get back to 'work'...the Muses are pulling my clothes again...:o)