We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
"Little Gidding"
T S Eliot

Monday 1 April 2019

Canvas, Cathedrals, Culture ... oh ... and a bit of shopping!

Recently attended a workshop to create an abstract piece with canvas cutouts.

We started by creating a design for the cut-outs; I decided to loosely base mine on a lotus flower. Then we cut the canvas from the back, and added some bits using Powertex. I used string and some mesh.


Next the texture! Using stencils with paste, dribbling Powertex, and I made some clay flowers.
Yes ... those flowers I seem to have an obsession with at the moment. Scroll back through a few older posts and you may come across them! Created more texture using P/tex with Stone Art (another P/tex product).

Time for lunch!


Now for some colour!


Had to finish at home - I covered the back board with gold mirri paper, then added some gold gilding flakes, and a final varnish before fixing the back board with a staple gun.

Really enjoyable workshop.

Had a trip to Chichester last week with the Arts Society. We visited the cathedral, which is currently having a new roof, replacing the copper tiles with lead. It is swathed in scaffolding, so not very photogenic, so here is what it did look like. You can see the old copper roof, which had turned green.


We also visited the Pallant House Gallery, which features British art from 1900. The main exhibition  at the moment is on Harold Gilman (1876-1919). Not allowed to take any photographs, so here is the front of the catalogue.


Harold Gilman was a British painter of interiors, portraits and landscapes and a founder-member of the Camden Town Group. A group of English Post-Impressionist artists active between 1911 and 1913. They gathered frequently at the studio of painter Walter Sickert in  the Camden Town area of London.

Not one of my favourite artists but I do like his use of colour and thick paint.

The Gallery had a fab bookshop with lots of reduced books, so I treated myself to one ...



Man Ray (1890 -1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his photography, and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. Man Ray is also noted for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.

I first came across Man Ray a couple of years ago, when I visited Farley's House, home of surrealist painter Roland Penrose.

Looking forward to dipping in and out of this rather large and heavy book.

Chichester is also good for shopping, so a little retail therapy was also in order!

Another good day.

2 comments:

  1. Your canvas is incredible. I was so surprised with how it turned out. It is a genuinely lovely and colorful piece of art.

    I first got interested in Man Ray when I went to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. in the late 80s. I also saw some of his works at MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) later that trip. His work was not only impressive, it was off the wall. His photos are most impressive, too. I KNOW you will like this book. It sounds fabulous.

    How is the house hunting/selling working out?

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  2. I just stopped by to let you know I’ve now have regained control of my original blog and have even posted on it.

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