Monkey update

Portrait of a monkey
coloured pencil 9 x 2

Between drugs and snoozing on the sofa, I did a little more work on the monkey today to build up more layers. The little face reminds me of a friend's monkey from years ago. He had a spider monkey called Judy and a little dog named Romeo. They were a pair indeed, always causing chaos wherever they went.

I wandered around the property for some air today and to look for inspiration. There's not a lot growing yet as the snow has just gone, along with the ice from the pond. However, even with the starkness there is still beauty. This pond is on my property and is where the ducks love to swim. At this time of year, the water is so clear you can see to the bottom and occasionally little trout will dart back and forth from the brush at the sides. I liked the sharp shadows that I and the fence made against the water. Shadows, both their shapes and the negative spaces around them are very interesting.

Portrait of a monkey

Portrait of a monkey
coloured pencil, 9 x 12

.

For some reason, my body saves up illnesses for when I don't have to work. Today was a holiday for me and sure enough I woke up feeling blah - sore throat, temperature, aches and pains - a cold. My first all winter.

Its probably a combination of being tired and travelling through busy places with lots of people that did it and hopefully it will be shortlived.

I've been searching for inspiration all week without much luck and looking forward to this long weekend to get some drawing and painting done. I fully intended looking around my property to see what I could work with, but weather and how I felt stopped that. Instead I wandered through some images online and this little face appealed to me - a portrait by Samantha.

Humans always seem to find primates fascinating, perhaps because they so closely mimic looks and expressions of humans that we see some of ourselves in them.

Fatigue and drawing

I'm completely uninspired this week and haven't done much drawing or painting. Its likely fatigue that's my undoing and an four day weekend should help that as well as give me some extra time to get back on track again.

Meanwhile, I'll share another of the letters that I have elaborated on. This is out of the 'bedtime' sketchbook. This sketchbook lives on the table beside my bed and some nights before I fall asleep I draw in it. Sometimes things out of my imagination, sometimes things from magazines. Its a repository for the strange and wonderful as well as the strange and ugly. But it is all practice and ensures that something goes on paper most days, even if I don't have time and energy to do so otherwise.

Inspiration Tuesday

Pulsatilla vulgaris

Click the image to see it full size

I have no idea why this image won't post straight. I'll keep trying, but for some odd reason it won't.

This is an image that is available under the Creative Commons license from my own collection of photographs. You may use the image as you wish, provided that you attribute it to me and link to this blog.

The flowers here are Pulsatilla vulgaris, commonly known as the Pasque Flower. It is one of the first flowers to open after winter and depending on where in the world you are, that may be around Easter.

Art awards

There are thousands of art awards produced, artists nominated and presentations given in public amid fanfare and publicity. Awards are coveted for excellence in handling a medium, exploring a subject or being controversial. All have merit and some come with more glory and prestige than others.

The ones that mean the most are the ones given by friends, some of who we know more than others. The visual art community is a body of caring individuals who, through sharing information and keeping contact, provide a much more tangible connection. I have been given this award by several people, and have been slow in putting it on my site. That is not because I am ungrateful for the award, but usually because I am very busy with other parts of life.

Thank you to those who thought of me, who visited my blog and who took time to consider, comment and acknowledge my work. Painting, in itself, is a learned skill and still puts me outside my comfort zone very often. So with my own belief (or disbelief, as many artists have) in my ability, thank you for the boost in confidence.

I am supposed to name seven people and list seven things that I love. I have done this previously and as so many people who I visit have been given this award already, I won't do so again. The things I love number much more than seven.

So please visit the artists who have awarded and been awarded. You will be glad that you did.

Pat Reese
Chris Beck
Tracy Hall