The Cold Storyteller - in progress

I've neglected my water pieces for awhile and really need to concentrate on them again.  It was one of my goals this year, to produce a body of work in water.  Since the beginning of the year I've produced probably half the pieces with water as a subject that I should have.  Not a body of work, so I need to buckle down and concentrate instead of getting sidetracked down rabbit holes.

Of course there will always be other subject matter, but to become really proficient, repetitive work has to take place until water almost forms itself without a lot of thought from me.

This is the first few layers of a new piece, 11" x 14" in oils.  The surface of water can be so rich in movement and colour and texture.  There is so much symbolism in a painting of just water, with no reference to land or person or plant.

My daily work deals with death and life and water is a strong element in both.  I know it intimately in many ways and see many things in a water surface.  Water is a cold storyteller, and holds a hundred thousand stories, not all of them pleasant.

Kewpie doll - complete

Kewpie dolls go back to 1909, based on a comic strip-like illustration by Rosie O'Neill which appeared in Ladies Home Journal.

Their name, often shortened to "Kewpies", is derived from "cupid", the Roman god of beauty and – as Eros is the Greek version of Cupid – erotic love. The early dolls, especially signed or bisque, are highly collectible and worth thousands of dollars. The time capsule at the 1939 New York World's Fair contained a Kewpie doll. The term "Kewpie doll" is sometimes mistakenly applied to the troll doll.

This particular style of doll was awarded as a carnival prize and often collected and this is where my memory of them lies.  They were a constant at the annual Regatta and I recall coming home with one attached to a stick from many of these events.

This is the completed painting in oils on 8" x 16" canvas panel.  The underpainting was started a few days ago and left to dry before adding the final layers of paint.

Clementine in progress

I always associate clementines with Christmas, as they are seasonally available.  I don't recall them from my childhood though.  We had big navel oranges at Christmas then and kumquats sometimes, but I don't remember these little clementines.

The appeal of easy opening and sweet tasting flesh makes them irresistible, and like potato chips, its hard to have just one.

I set up a partially peeled clementine and started this oil painting on an 8 x 8 canvas panel.  Light through the flesh almost glows and I'm getting there with that.  Now the peel to form and texture is the next challenge.

Wooden it be nice...

When time is short or inspiration lacking, its good to pick up other things and play.  This little disembodied head is wooden and I've stained it with watercolour.  I love how the grain of the wood shows through the transparent colour.

Off and on, I've experimented with whimsical wooden pieces.  These were cut out with a jigsaw then painted - more years ago than I remember.  I rediscovered them in the cold room (which is a veg/fruit room in the house that has vents to the outside) when looking for something else.

Kewpie doll

I've started and wiped several paintings this week.  I can't seem to concentrate or get enough time to concentrate, but I have some ideas that are coming together. 

This is the start of a piece in oils.  The background the result of a combination of colours from one of the wiped paintings.  It just happened to be the right shade of grey for what I wanted.  Of course, with oils, I need some time between layers to build, but the shape is there.  Whether it will do as I hope is another thing.

I recall these Kewpie dolls from my childhood and each year they would be the coveted prize at a stall at the annual Regatta.  The rounded features and shiny surface make an interesting object to paint.  With the grey undercoat, this looks like a ghost image so far.  More to come soon!