SAL #5 ~ Portsea Cliff

This is where I got to last time…

Now I can reveal the finished work!

As you can see I worked on the sand and cliff. I wanted the sand to be unobtrusive, so I chose to do it in a simple half stitch, which linked it into the sky. The cliff, however, needed to be more wild, to create the texture that I love.

(The yarn is another merino wool yarn from Fibreworks. This one was specially dyed for me. It is a colour that, surprisingly, occurs in Australian landscapes. It is wonderful for eucalyptus bark.)

Progress photo…

The next stage ~ the trunk ~ was trickier, and to be honest, I am not sure it works quite as I wanted it to. I am not sure how the branches merge into the canopy. Any thoughts?

I tried to include the background colours too. I suspect my problem is that I hadn’t thought it through ~ the original planning was incomplete. That area may well come out. However, I value your thoughts.

One of the things that I do love about this work is that it has brought be back to being creative after many months of obstacles. It has helped me realise that while I am not ready to get back to paint, pencils and paper, I am ready to solve creative problems (which I love doing!) with something that I can pick up and put down with ease.

In fact I have already begun my next SAL project. More of that next time.

There is a great group of creative stitchers involved in this SAL group, organised by Avis. Do drop into their blogs for their latest SAL posts. Prepare to be amazed!

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny,Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon, Daisy, Anne, Connie

 

Next painting for sale

Okay, if you are interested, this is the second painting I am offering to you for sale. There are more details below, but if you would like to know more, or like to buy, contact me, leave a comment below or email me      annebags@optusnet.com.au

I love the contrast between oil pastel and ink. The ink creates such fine detail, like the dead bits of the branch, while the oil pastel has a wonderful complex abstract textures and layers. This work is different in that I used brown ink with a nib pen. Usually I work just with a black pen. This time the black was layered over the brown.

So, to the details:

• $150.00
• Oil pastel with brown and black ink
• Paper size: 38.5 x 25.5 cm      15 x 10 inches
• Image size (approx): 35 x 19 cms     14 x 7.5 inches
• Horizontal
• Free shipping, and I will happily send it anywhere.

Remember, contact me, using the ways at the beginning of the post, if you would like to know more.

Also, I have set up a page with the paintings I am offering. Like to see the first one? Check it out here, or use the tab at the top of this page.

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SAL#2 ~ Portsea cliff

Well, I am now officially part of the Stitch-A-Long group. Thank you Avis for hosting it. There are a quite a few people who show their personal stitching, so do have a look at their lovely work. The links are at the end of the post.

Last time I was mulling over the cloud in my tapestry.

I was happy with how it turned out. Time to work out the next section, the bushes on the cliff in the background.

Using the photo as a guide ~ that’s the feature photo at the top of this post ~ my stitching interpretation needed to include:

• the dark mass behind the tree. The tree is the focal point needs the dark tones to make it stand out. However, the mass is not a uniform darkness, it has different tones within in it.
• some of the sky showing between the bushes, especially at the top of the cliff.
• a suggestion of individual trees and bushes, without too much detail.
• a density

These were the yarns I selected from my stash. The big browny/green ball is the main colour. My notes tell me I got it from Swish Yarns, but nothing more than that. It is quite a wiry yarn, which may be linen, and I think it works well.

The others I used as highlights and extra tonal contrast, which you can sort of see in this photo.

The stitching is very random, although I tried to show the direction of some of the canopy; trying to give the impression of individual trees rather than stitching each individual one.

This is where I am at the moment.

And the overall view

I think it works. I know from my other art works that a work in progress is very hard to judge. Although I can compare what I see in my mind and how I want it to look, in reality this section can only be compared to the sky. How will it blend in with the other elements, especially the focal tree? If it doesn’t work I will remove it and try something different.

Many of the yarns I use, like the sky and the shadow area, are merino wool from Fibreworks. They are a delight to stitch with. However I have found that the moths find them delightful too, munching holes in the balls. Fortunately I use shorter lengths, rather than needing the continuous yarn for knitting or crocheting. Any thoughts on how to keep the critters away?

More stitching adventures can be found below. We post on the 22nd of the month, so, depending on your time zone, some posts may not be up. Drop back later.

Avis, Claire, Gun, Carole, Sue, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Cindy, Helen, Linda, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Hayley, Megan, Deborah, Clare, Mary Margaret, Renee, Jenny, Carmela, Jocelyn, Sharon, Susan, Anne

Stitch A Long #1

I am gatecrashing a monthly get together that Kate at Tall Tales of Chiconia hosts. Edited correction ~ apparently I not only gatecrashed the party, but got the address completely wrong! It’s not at Kate’s house, although she does write a mighty fine blog, but rather at Avis’. She blogs at Sewing Beside the Sea  and hosts the Stitch Along where each month a group of stitchers post progress on their stitching, work that is purely for pleasure.

You may know my art work ~ watercolour, sewing on paper, oil pastels etc. If you would like to see more you can jump over to my Etsy shop, or get a closer look at a watercolour tree that is for sale.

However, you may not know that I create tapestries, where I interpret a photo with yarn. They are landscapes, and, of course, usually include a tree or too. Like this one from my time as artist in residence in Flinders Island. I loved the weather beaten landscape and the coastal heathlands.

Or this one from the outback landscape around Menindee, NSW. Very few trees in that environment!

Winter is a great season to create these as Summer is too hot to work with wools and the the canvas crumples.

So time to get going on a new one, from a photo taken at Portsea during my artist in residence at Police Point.

There are strong diagonals in this photo, which lead the eye to the focal point of the tree and there are darks to give contrast. As well I loved the texture of the cliff face, and my fingers are itching to work there, and the twisty trunk of the moonah tree, is a joy.

I set up the tapestry canvas with minimal guide lines, and began with the sky, using variegated blue wool and tent stitch.

 

The clouds were trickier. I thought a beautiful silk thread I had would be right, but it didn’t work. A hunt in my stash gave me the perfect wool ~ white with a slight roughness, which gave the cloud the fluffiness I was looking for. The beginnings of it are at the bottom of the cloud. I used a cross stitch to give it more bulk.

You can see why I was dissatisfied with the silk. I had to carefully unstitch the silk thread, which is handprinted and expensive. No way was I going to chop it up.

Much happier.

I am looking forward to selecting the yarns, and stitches, for the next part, which will probably be the background foliage. I am excited to see what emerges!

Next time I hope to include a link to others who are taking part in the Stitch-A-Long.

Painting for sale!

My exhibition at the Old Auction House has finished. Many of you were unable to make it, so I would like to offer you the opportunity to have a closer look at the individual pieces. This is the first one, and it is for sale.

$150.00

Watercolour

Paper size: 26 x 36 cm, A3

Paper: Arches watercolour paper

I used a slightly glittery paint on the tops fo the tree. You can see it a little in the photos.

If you are interested in knowing more, contact me:

• In the comments
• via my contact page
• email me     annebags@optusnet.com.au

I happily ship internationally and shipping is free.

Cheers!

 

My exhibition at the Old Auction House

Let me show you my work in a moment, because we need a catch-up.

My Patients are both home, and both doing well. I am gradually getting some time to  do things I need to do, pulling my life a little back towards me. Thank you everyone who commented on the last couple of posts; sorry I didn’t get to reply individually.

We are not out of it yet as there are a whole list of hospital appointments and follow-ups in the next couple of months, and I will be involved in those. I need to be involved, as Terry’s extra pairs of ears (and even with the hearing aids his don’t work so well 😉); I want to be involved, as his support crew; and I have to be involved, as he is not allowed to drive!

Along side of the hospital dramas, was my exhibition in Kyneton. You know that it was my first solo exhibition, and I was very excited. Just to refresh your memory, Kyneton is a regional town about an hour from Melbourne. I managed to get there a few times, including the Meet the Artist session.

I was blown away to see my work hanging and felt so proud.

 

A big shout out to Rhain at the Old Auction House. Along with Jo, she has been such a positive support for me. It has all gone so smoothly. She is building a vibrant, creative space ~ musicians play together on Sundays, a studio space house a costume maker, the gallery walls are full of interesting art and the gift shop is a treat. All things for sale are hand made, and if not local then from Victoria and Australia.

I was delighted too by the number of friends who were able to get to see it. If you were one of them, big hugs! It’s a lovely feeling to know that so many people, even those of you who couldn’t make it, are interested in my art and cheering me on.

And the sales? Well, as of a week ago, I know that 2 have sold. There may have been a big rush in the last week of the exhibition! 🤞🏼

This is one that is off to a new home.

 

The other painting was one of the oil pastel trees. Maybe it was this one?

On Wednesday I will head to Kyneton to pick up the remaining ones.

Was there one that you fancied? Over the next few months I am going to ‘advertise’ the paintings. A weekly blog post, Instagram and Facebook posts and my newsletter will give you details and close-up photos of one of the trees. If you would like to buy it just let me know.

I have been so inspired by everyone’s positivity that I have applied for another exhibition at the Beadle Hall Community Gallery, at the Incinerator Gallery* here in Moonee Ponds. I’ll find out if I have been accepted in early November.

*Why is it called the Incinerator Gallery? An incinerator, designed by world renown architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony, has been repurposed into an arts hub. Read more about it.

The story of the Incinerator highlights a proud moment in Australia’s history, when our country developed an innovative, economical and technologically advanced solution to waste disposal that was envied worldwide.

Pity we can’t do that today.

 

Reflecting on July

I like to do a reflection at the end of each month, thinking about what I have achieved. Most months there are about 8 to 10 things that I look back on as worth celebrating. In July I had 3:

• I helped see the Fella through a difficult time in hospital, so that now he is well and getting on with things.
• I helped my Mum recuperate from her pneumonia. She is now in rehab, and while frail, is much better within herself.
• I got ready for my first solo exhibition.

So, only three, but what mighty big achievements they were! No wonder there has been little time for anything else. And no wonder I am well over hospitals.

The other day I took my paintings up to the Old Auction House in Kyneton. There are 20 of works, all trees in some form. You know of my fascination, some may say obsession, with trees. This is some of them laid out, ready to be packed up for travel. (The orange labels are my cataloguing process, and are removable.)

A selection of some of the individual trees.

and the Tangled Trees series ~ watercolour and then embellished with machine sewing.

Then there are some others.

I thought you might like to read my statement that will hang with the paintings.

Trees have always been a part of me. My grandfather worked in the forests of the Dandenong Ranges and Dad took us camping in the bush, off the beaten track. I remember learning the word ‘silhouette’ when Mum pointed out the shapes of the trees outlined against the sunset.

It was during an artist in residence at Mountain Seas Resort on Flinders Island that I first noticed the shapes of the melaleucas and their wonderfully twisted trunks. I was further inspired by a trip across the Nullarbor Plain, where the trees glistened and swayed. A recent artist in residence at Police Point in Portsea, organised by the Mornington Peninsula Shire, opened my eyes to the coastal moonah habitat. 

It is the shapes and rhythms of the canopies and the twisted branches and trunks that inspire me. I have explored them with many different media ~ watercolours, oil pastels, ink, sometimes embellishing the watercolours with machine sewing. I have created tapestries of trees and landscapes. 

In this exhibition there are individual trees and dense, tangled thickets of trees. No matter what the medium with each work I want to capture the feeling of air moving through the branches and then contrast the twisted trunks. There is a joyous freedom in exploring these ideas.

As well, each piece is a reminder of precious, fragile habitats that need us to treasure and protect.

The details of the exhibition:

8th August to 2nd September

The Old Auction House 

Mollison St

Kyneton, Victoria

 

So July has gone and August has many things to look forward too, especially being able to take Mum to Kyneton to see my work hanging. What are you looking forward to?

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