I have been waiting and waiting for the Spring – not the calendar days, but the warmth, the sense of growth, the change in the light….. and a minor explosion of activity has been going on. Pushed the ghosts of the winter landscape in their subdued colour and restraint to one side and went back/forwards to
the anarchy of the early Summer.
These are all on elderly oilpaintings, rescued
from the loft and cut off their stretchers. The gessoed canvas is like cardboard but does take a limited amount of stitch, it is quite fun to find out just how much. The idea is still to work with fragments, part seen, part understood, so layers of fabric, all different qualities and origins, couched yarns, strips and blocks of text have been added, sometimes working with the image underneath, sometimes working against. Great fun and entirely intuitive. The text for these is more personal, reflecting some of my thoughts from walking through the Wolds, hills and dales. Some are very basic observations, others a little more thoughtful.
These needed different framing – the slick modern mouldings were too hard, too ‘finished’. Experiments occurred (denying responsibility) with chalk paint . Sadly I liked them much more than I expected so have spent days painting, sanding and waxing. Should be all done for Open Studios, and a lighter, fresher look.
And speaking of Open Studios…………..
Launch/taster exhibition this weekend!!!! ( in the old church at the bottom of Micklegate)
Open Studios week ends are the 14th ( the weekend after!)and the21st.
(oooh. Err.)
