Lord Of The Shrews

The early days of this new year bring chills, frosts, windy gusts and now and then, a perfect still and pristine night. Stars glitter in diamond scatters on a velvet sky, the sound of nocturnal wildlife carries for miles echoing eerily in the night. 

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     Husband has decided to have the first bonfire of the year. The incinerator is expertly stacked with combustibles in well organised layers, the ground cleared and finally the fire is ignited....a flash - a spark - then the first crackle of tinder accompanies the flickering firelight, illuminating the blackness with a primordial glow.

     Husband watches, assessing the furnace with a professional eye. At the perfect moment, he steps back and nods just once, satisfied that all is well, then turns and trudges across freezing earth towards the light from the kitchen door, clapping gloved hands together to recover some warmth until a mug of hot coffee can restore life back to his fingers. The door closes, and Husband and Wife retire together to relax watching tv in the living room.

     All is perfect. All is quiet. All is still. All is......

     .....the sound of drums......ancient sounds of primeval tradition. The sound of paws beating a rhythm on frost-hardened ground brings a wild magic to the night and shadows begin to dance across the lawn, the fences, the hen house, the cracked and painted panels of the old work shed. Some magic is afoot...some enchantment born of ancient rites.... It is the time honoured Roasting Of The Shrews! Spoken of in unlit places.....whispered only by those who know.....

     The cats have joined forces. Their warders are fooled, not noticing the strange draft emanating from behind the the enormous Raquel Welsh poster on the wall, knowing nothing of the tunnel leading to freedom and the dance of destiny which now whirls and spirals around the living flame. Outside, for miles around, shrews cling together, quaking at the sounds that herald inevitable doom. Their days are numbered, for Leonidas of Wickham has been summoned, his power undeniable, his presence overpowering, as he steps forward into the light and utters the awesome words of prophecy:

     "Hellooooo! Are there any sausages?"
 
     Wise old Gizmo sits upon his makeshift throne and watches the Champion with a drifting gaze. Now all he can think about is.... sausages. In the bordering fields, the shrews feel a flicker of hope - a glimmer of opportunity.....escape!  With Missy distracted by the robust rum and catnip punch, only the miniature Sapphira follows the path, the spare chicken coop already lined with plastic sheeting and the tools sharpened and laid out in grim and deadly glinting lines. A feline mincing machine, ecstatic in her enclosed psychosis, nothing can stand in her way! Shrew sausages..... she smiles as the marketing opportunities for organic local produce open up a world of possibilities! An island....a lair.....a shark tank and a laser to write her name on the moon! ALL THE CATNIP IN THE WORLD!!! Now a new sound, high pitched and piercing overrides the ominous drums, making dogs howl and bats drop their moths:

     "Mooowahahahahaaaaa.....MOOOwwaaHHaaaaaahaaaHHAAHAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

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Welcoming 2020 with the first kitty pic of the decade. For those who would like to note supplies, I used Winsor and Newton watercolours, Derwent Inktense bars, black Indian ink, pearlescent Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints, white gel pen and gold Winsor and Newton metalic ink. And yes, I had to include my other old man, Harvey, watching over all us and telepathically ordering his brothers and sisters to gather ALL the blankies  and ALL the cushions and, darlings, order the pate de foie gras and the Chablis with your own fair paws...otherwise it's the prescription nippity bikkies AGAIN!

Bright Bird

I'm continuing my portfolio of winter themed pieces featuring British wildlife and flora. This is my latest baby:

     His name is "Bright Bird".

     I love robins....they visit our garden all the time (whilst wisely avoiding eager feline attention) and the flash of stunning vivid red against the dark, bare branches of winter trees and hedgerows is startlingly magical every time they appear.

     I wanted to play with that image - the brightness against the monochrome - but also pay homage to the richness that nature's evergreens give to our world. Even in the darkest, bleakest and coldest months the promise of hope, renewal and rebirth is there before us every day. I chose to highlight the flora whilst leaving the bird in its original black and white, so that it still stands out, but his beauty is enhanced by the flowers and leaves that surround him.

     Adding colour is always a double-edged sword when I've spent three days working through the intricate ink designs and it's something of a leap of faith on each occasion.

     I'm hesitant and nervous with each drawing, but I think it's worth it. I have to very carefully rework the fine ink lines sometimes, where the paint has blurred or covered them - even watercolours. I used Winsor and Newton paints on this piece with some mica powders to bring a little life and texture. After staring at it for half an hour I also added some spirals with a white gel pen to reflect the frosty cold of this time of year.

     Illustrating wildlife and nature is so important to me. I love to celebrate the diversity and beauty in every way I can and these ink drawings are always a labour of love. As with all my work, they are intuitive. I decide on a vague theme (i.e. "winter"), choose an animal, then elements which will complement that choice. In this case it was winter flora, and the bell and ribbon as a nod to the festive element of the season. In other cases - larger pieces, or marine illustrations usually - other animals or even landscapes and landmarks will feature, as well as quotations or other literary text.

     I work from reference for a lot of my detail - especially plants and flowers (or insects!...complex critters) and generally combine source materials to develop an original angle, shape or pose. My laptop is filled with thousands of images which allow me to form these fresh composites. I admit that I relish the research almost as much as the art!

     This "Winter Berry Bunny" didn't require any research for his detail as these plants and berries I have drawn so many times that they are instinctual. His patterns and swirls also just "happened".... the intuitive brain chose them for an earlier companion piece so I have adopted them as part of the theme. I used two reference photos (one of my own and one from copyright-free stock) to composite this little silhouette. This is the only winter bunny I have left - his companions were released to the world before Christmas arrived, so he's currently mine to do with as I please. I have yet to offer him for sale as I am considering adding colour.....somewhere.....somehow.......Let me know your thoughts?

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     Nature is wild, extreme, unpredictable and ferocious. Fires, floods, bitter cold and hurricanes may devastate, but if we support our planet, help our environment to thrive, nature can also heal, repair, regrow and sustain. We've just passed Yule, a time when we bring in the evergreens of nature, the colour of our world and the light of the sun captured in the flame of a simple candle or even the twinkling lights on a tree. The practise is as old as the birth of our awareness... we've followed these simple traditions each in our own way for countless generations as our species evolved. Our simplest expression of hope and determination to overcome must still sustain humanity as we reach to a future where this earth's well being - and that of every living thing upon it - rests on our shoulders... the choices and efforts we make.

     To create is a wonderful thing. To paint, draw, sculpt or sew... to twist and twine, build and mould, sing and dance.... these things add to a beautiful flow that reflects the power of nature's creation and adds to the energies which will guide us on a bright and positive journey. What we believe, who we worship is largely irrelevant... The feelings and the hope, the soul and the heart, reach far beyond mere words and icons to the very core of who we are as human beings. Our power lies in our OWN creation: how we choose to forge our path, taking the best - and the worst - of who we are and choosing to weave our complexity into nature's dance, finding ways to work through the damage and the destruction that is within each one of us, to follow the golden threads, untangle knots, add our glorious individuality and diversity to the design that is the cloth of life that covers this world.

May our patterns be as bold and bright as the little robin in winter, and as full of promise as the berries on the frost-bitten branch.

Much love to all of you and yours this new year and brand new decade xxx

A Wish for New Year 2020 xxx

Wishing you all a year full of colour and magical muse, of light and beauty and days full of the joy of being. I wish you the courage to persevere when life is grey and the bliss that comes with dancing in rainbow light. Whatever comes, I wish you a hand to hold, arms that embrace and the security that friendship brings. May stars light your way and love be ever in your heart. Happy New Year 2020 to all of you - Shroo xxxx

 

Christmas Wishes!

Wishing everyone a very merry Christmas and all good things for the coming year! xxxx

Happy, Happy Biscuit Day!

Leonard loves his biscuits.

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I mean, he REEAAAAALLY loves his biscuits. His biscuit meow is one long siren howl of excitement which goes on and on and on and on, rising and falling in pitch and volume. The shrews for miles around duck and cover, fallout helmets buckled under little shrew chins, sandbags blocking vulnerable shrew doors and shrew windows taped up to protect from the blast. Little shrew ornaments are wrapped in cotton wool and packed with straw from our local guinea pig straw dealer, Bitsy, traded for gourmet worm quiche and the "special" mushrooms...

     Leonard is oblivious to the shivering shrews and the birds plummeting from the sky, satellites failing in their orbits and the Kraken waking and rising from the murky deep... His attention is firmly on the bowl daddy carries and the precious cargo within. He bounces down the hall like the Tiggeriest Tigger that ever was, his eerie clarion call shattering glass and signaling the coming of the Apocalypse. He's a merry little biscuit-addicted doom bringer...

Wishlist vs. Bugdet: The Eternal Struggle

Paper! Pens! Paints! The lust for more art supplies is positively indecent! How to cope when the budget and the wishlist aren't at all compatible?

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     If you're arty or crafty then you're as guilty as I am of wanton shopping for what  we all refer to as "essential" supplies. Mmm-hmmm. Doesn't matter whether you're a beginner, a part-time for-fun arty-farty, or full time professional, the lure of shiny new products sparkling in hobby store aisles, snuggling seductively on art store shelves, or winking cheekily at us from websites designed to feed the desire for creative crack to our feeble inner paint and paper addict.

     *sigh*

     All too familiar. Youtube is arguably the greatest social media platform ever created and is an invaluable source of education and inspiration, but holy Tim Holtz, Batman! It's the very devil on the shoulder of anyone with a square inch of shelf calling out to be over-filled. All those videos....all those tutorials....all those LISTS and LISTS and LISTS of supplies. There. Right there. This kicks off the inevitable 12-step process...

     It goes like this: Step 1: Watch Youtube tutorial/process video
                                Step 2: List AAAAAALLL the supplies.....
                                Step 3: Open a new tab....ebay...art stores... (JUST TO LOOK!)
                                Step 4: Temporarily lose all awareness of self and have a convenient gap in time
                                Step 5: Act surprised when the postman delivers an undeniably unreasonable                                                                                   number of packages
                                Step 6: Open them in a flurry of excitement; hug/lick/drool on every item
                                Step 7: Find/make a space to display/store/hide every item
                                Step 8: Stare at art desk/journal/canvas/out of window for half an hour
                                Step 9: Make a cup of tea/coffee/gin
                                Step 10: Eat cake. It's always cake.
                                Step 11: Walk past the art space without looking at it
                                Step 12: Open up the computer.....repeat steps 1-12

      Yeeaaaaaah....you know it's true. My own studio breaks down to 10%: stuff I use all the time, and 90% stuff that gathers dust. Phrases like, "it was a bargain", "they were on sale", "it was cheaper to buy three and get the offer", "this is DEFINITELY the last one...", have been all too common over the years. 

     The stash builds up, along with a guilt complex and the intimidation factor that accompanies the stacks of tubs and packages, tubes and pads and those little boxes of compartments and tiny drawers that were supposed to help when everything was fiddled and faffed  with into colour groups, themes and sizes. Inspiration all but disappears, buried under teetering towers, hidden behind precarious piles, nervous of expectation, experiencing a disconnect from the eternally flaky artistic muse.

      ....The cycle has to be broken. Finances - and space - aren't endless and common sense just has to win out. Clear the clutter. Make a wish list, not a shopping list. Don't buy more 'til you've used some of what's already there. We all forget that these wonderful supplies are designed to be an extension of our imaginations - it's their purpose, their raison d'etre. We deny them their full potential by leaving them, ignored, pristine in their packaging, uniform in their production....waiting.

     Don't get me wrong - my wish list on the Jackson's Art site is a gajillion miles long and would easily bankrupt a good sized continent, but it's just that: a WISH list. I'm off my twelve steps, have broken the cycle and I spend now only to replace what I've used. I buy what I need. I use what I have. I still WANT...I just redirect. How I achieved this is a longer topic for a different post, but the discovery of how much fun it is to make art from very little has been a saving grace - and I'll prove it.

     I had a conversation with a friend I met recently on 'Art Journal Junkie', a facebook group filled with inspiration and talent, about making something from nothing and we challenged each other to make art solely from scraps. Only rule was it had to be about our pets! Awesome! In order to begin, I looked at ONLY what was on my work table - nothing else - and this is what I selected:

Bargain sample paint pots from a local supermarket chain (Wilko's here in the UK). They are cheap as chips and as good, if not better than any crafter's acrylic on the market (less chalky, more vibrant and generally very good for lightfast qualities, given that they're meant for decorating walls)

Three Golden acrylic colours...will ya look at the state of them.....

My trusty indian ink and nib pen, with lovely splooshy flexible nib which is still uber fine when I need it to be....

One colour of Treasure Gold gilding wax and four colours of mica powder...

Papers selected from these scraps, left over from a previous project...

Two brushes - a #2 filbert and a #1 liner,  a uni ball 1.0 black gel impact pen, a Uni Ball Signo 1.0 white gel pen, a Wilko black gel fine liner pen, a Derwent Inktense pencil - Bark colour, a Faber Castell Pitt pen (permanent carmine #126) and two Stabilo fine liner pens in brown tones...

Lastly, Aleen's Matte Decoupage medium - as good as any swish, high priced, rootin' tootin' gel medium. You can see how well-used everything is... Not shiny, just loved.

     None of these things are awesome. None of them are going to have their own Facebook page, but they all do a fine job, and to me, art's about the creativity and imagination that comes from using what you have to hand, not so much having the latest and greatest, cost-a-kidney trend-setter collection which can often make things a bit too robotic, too smooth....less challenging.....not so individual. That's just me - I know it's not the same for everyone, but this post is about using what you have to create something - anything, not languishing in a haze of wishlist based 'what ifs'.

     For a background I used an old piece of backing board which I'd been using as a test scribble mat as I figured any marks that showed through would just make things more interesting. Now - I hadn't intended to blog this so I don't have masses of process pics, so bear with me and I'll do my best. 

     I used the Wilko's cheap acrylics to layer a splooshy painty background with my fingers and used the handle of the paintbrush to  make lines and texture swirls:

     A little mica powder sprinkled on the wet medium added more texture and sparkle, then a touch of gilding wax picked out some raised lumps and bumps so that it caught the light. The shape of the cat and its eyes were made by using the decoupage medium to glue torn coloured paper pieces into the desired shape. I like layers and a bit of textural  'oompf' so I was pretty chuffed to have the playful mosaic effect of the paper coming through.

     Black Indian ink picked out facial features and outline and I had fun smudging it with kitchen roll to add black marks to the background. The teal and yellow Golden paints added highlights and brightened up the cat's immediate background to help her stand out, and the titan buff Golden paint gave her a nice white mouth and chest, just adding to the colour of the background papers. Just adding a teeny touch of teal or yellow here and there did well to pull the picture together, with all its patchy colours.

     I wanted to leave the original paper colours to come through, so I only added the inky Pitt pen carmine shade smudged here and there to make the oranges a little richer, then making happy marks with the Stabilo pens and gel pens to create 'fur' effect and whiskery whiskers.

     A few strategic dots and lines for highlights... I wanted her face to have character! A little carmine pen ink and white gel ink smooshed together with the liner brush make the perfect pink for nose and ears... And she was done! And I had immense fun as well!

     So....what think you? Worth rummaging through your 'bits' box, grabbing a few bits and bobs and having a go at creativity over collecting? Make use of your awesome hoard, your staggering stash, and make art - and make space for the shiny, sparkly new releases that your favourite companies are guaranteed to tempt you with in the coming months? Even then, maybe you could be more picky, a little choosy about what you buy. Put a little aside for a fabulous day out with family or friends... A little treat to brighten your heart and  inspire your muse!

     I'd love to hear from you so feel free to say hello and leave a comment either here or on facebook, introduce yourself and let me know how you cope with your stash building vs muse freeing experiences. See you soon, de-stashed and covered in paint and glitter - with cake! - Shroo xxx