Maybe we’ll have some concrete news by next week to tell you.

My mind is like a butterfly, flitting around from idea to idea and back again without actually settling. I need a goal! I need a goal with a definite plan! I have a purpose, but not a concrete idea.

Suppose I just need to keep thinking and eventually something will take root and I can get back to work.

May

I’m working on a new picture using paint and embroidery – will upload it as soon as I’m happy with it.

Meanwhile, just going to psych myself up for my latest dental appointment – really hope they’ve got it right this time…

We have already started planning our attack for this year and have some dates pencilled in for Art & Design Fairs right up till December 2012!

This year we hope to be able to take Crab Apple Arts to other towns too, so watch this space for some new venue information.

We would like to thank all the artists and art lovers for making our event at The Lighthouse in December such a great success – we’ll keep you posted on this year’s calendar as soon as we have some final details available.

May

(pinched from Deviant Art)

Think I might just keep this in mind while I’m putting together my portfolio for my application for a Postgrad at the GSA. I need to get my thinking cap on to decide what to include/make and what to leave out (probably the most important decision)

Happy New Year!

May xx

Workshops for children and adults; Demonstrations by the artists; AND lots of wonderful unique gifts for the special people in our lives. What more could we ask for?

If you’re reading this and will be in the Glasgow area on Saturday 17th December, pop into The Lighthouse, Gallery 1 – welcome refreshments and plenty to see and do!

We will be organising a pop-up Gallery, featuring 3 artists from West Kilbride; demonstrations and workshops in origami, digital art embroidery, life drawing, jewellery making and other exciting media.

There will be many practicing artists taking part in our event and it is definitely one not to be missed – plenty of wonderful art to choose from for those hard to buy Christmas presents. Gifts as small as artist designed and made keyrings, stained glass work, textiles and jewellery to pen and ink drawings to large scale paintings and digitally embroidered pictures. Something for everybody!

We can even offer our customers a free glass of mulled wine, or a drink for the children and some Scottish Shortbread. So, come along for a great Christmas event at Gallery 1 in The Lighthouse, Mitchell Lane, Glasgow on 17th December from 10.30am till 6pm.

Canny wait!

May
xxx

Well, Mary and I had a brainstorming meeting on Saturday and we are racing to get our website started and a couple of events planned for December.

Pop-up Art and Design Fairs planned for Glasgow – we’ll be publishing details as soon as we have the venues confirmed. Watch this space!

May

Firstly, I abandoned my attempt to use oils to paint the cover – my preferred medium – in favour of painting digitally, using photoshop. I was pleasantly surprised by the control and the outcome of the initial portrait I produced using a wholly digital approach.

I have enjoyed experimenting with the new mixing brushes in Photoshop CS5 – with the help of Lynda.com. The use of ‘textures’ is helping me with my background for the project and, hopefully, the writer will be happy with the completed work. I still have some tweaking to do with the background and still have one, very important, character to add to the picture, but it’s looking good now and I have a new lease of life after a rather stagnant period of uninspired uncertainty.

I think that this situation was caused by the inexperience of both the writer and myself  - some positives can be drawn from the whole process for both of us. I am now using the project as a catalyst for learning more about the software and techniques to produce digital paintings.

Another positive – whilst searching for information on digital painting, I found a video of a fine-artist-come-digital-artist who used 3D software to reconstruct a town that had disappeared in order to paint pictures of it as it had been in the early 20th century. I found this technique amazing and am now looking into using it in my own practice – more learning! At least I have a little experience of using Maya to help me start this new process.

I’m off now to continue working on my book cover – will check in when I have something concrete to show you (don’t want to post a picture until I’m happy with the outcome).

Till the next time…

May