I warn you, this is a long post but there are lots of pictures so hopefully it will be relatively painless!  I finished my Creative Composition final piece, which will be going to exhibition! Yay! It’s 40 x 40 cm on canvas and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. About 10 minutes before the end I hated it because I was trying too hard, so I gave in to my expressive side and went nuts! You can click on all of the images below to see them in better detail.

First of all I splattered on a heap of yellow ochre acrylic and laid into it with a palette knife (my first time using one).  Then I added some cardboard and string.

I left it to dry so that I would be able to add my red and blue tones over the top of the canvas.  I then drew in my basic shapes with a brush and started putting deep red and cadmium red on the main object.  I didn’t like this look at all, so I started adding some purple and cerulean blue to it, but it was all turning a bit messy.  I left that area for a moment and went over to the objects on the right.

I started to lay in some blue and purples here, which mixed in with some of the yellow paint but I think it worked out well.  I went back to the main object and started to scrape off the paint with my palette knife and scored it in the process, which made it look much better than previously.  I decided to add some more yellow ochre over the top with a brush and then scored it again with the knife.  I liked the messiness of it and decided just to add some purple and deep red to define it.

I then moved over to the left side and pasted on some cardboard.  I painted over it with deep red, cerulean blue and added hints of white.  I then scored it with the palette knife to match the string square on the right.

On to the circle.  Again, just some deep red, purple and a hint of white, then scored it with the knife to bring out the yellow ochre underneath. I had intended leaving the background yellow ochre but it just wasn’t working.  This is the part where I hated it.  So I decided to get some deep red again and brushed over the canvas with it, allowing some of the yellow to come through. I also added cadmium red and orange to bring it out a bit more.  I finished off with brushing on a few hints of yellow ochre.

Ok, onto the next subject.  I warned you it was a long post! Whilst visiting Peggy’s site the other day the topic of ‘idea catching’ was discussed, and the various ways in which people gather their ideas and put them onto paper, canvas or other media.  I mentioned that because I work on various briefs to a given theme – usually based on a word or two – I use mind maps.  I use these because it’s often difficult to translate a word into an idea.  The word may be obvious but conversely, it may be more obscure and you can’t imagine how to put that it into a painting.  This is where mind maps come in.

As you know, I have various briefs just now and one of the themes I chose was ‘Rendezvous’.  I had no idea how to translate this!  So, I started my mind map, and within about 15 mins I came up with heaps of ideas.   Peggy has never used a mind map before, so I suggested she give it a try.  Since she’d never used one, she asked if I could show her an example.  So, here is a very rough mind map, based on the theme ‘Rendezvous’. Again, click to enlarge.

As you will see from this there are many words that popped into my head.  Some of the words lead to a dead-end and I can’t go anywhere with them really.  Well, I could but it would be getting away from the idea of a rendezvous.  However, there are several words that I can translate into a painting.  For instance, there are words such as weave, camouflage, covert, layers, divert, and join.  All of these can be translated.  I got the idea for weave from web of deception and weaving lies.  I can translate this by adding a weave pattern into my image, whether it is painted, textile or collage.  You can add layers of paint or fabric.  You can also divert attention from part of the image to another and so on.  It’s a brilliant way to quickly come up with ideas, and importantly they always stick in your head once you’ve done this.  Why don’t you try it?

And lastly, I was given this little blog award by Leslie for brightening up her day.

It’s the first blog award I’ve been given, and it added some sunshine to my day.  The idea is that I pass this on to others who inspire me and cheer me up.  I will be doing this, as I’ve been meaning to add a post about all the wonderful people and sites I’ve encountered since I started blogging.  Once I get a bit of time to myself I will get to it.  I promise! So keep an eye on your mailbox!