Signs of Spring
Difference Between Mixed Media Art and Collage – Is Collage Mixed Media?
Is Collage Mixed Media? In one way the difference is very simple: collage is a specific technique that can be used on its own or within a mixed media piece.…
Romantic, dreamy colour mood
The Effects of Colour on Mood
Psychotherapists are, according to this article about colour, sceptical about using it to influence mood. And there is little scientific research to encourage them. However, colour has been very important to many cultures and, importantly, colours have different significance across cultures. So how is colour useful to us …? In my opinion, colour choice is very personal – from a very young age children will have their ‘favourite’ colour. For some children it will change regularly but for others, like me, it stays the same. I was very drawn to red as a child and I can’t remember there being any red in our decor at home. Maybe it was this scarcity that made me think ‘Wow!’ when I saw it …? I
A dream - Acrylic, collage and hessian and muslin fabric
Happy Process – What is Layering in Art?
In art layering means letting one application of paint dry before adding another. In some painting the layers are translucent, typically with watercolours but oils and acrylics can both be translucent, and so the layers beneath affect the colour of the outcome. In other painting opaque layers are used to obscure parts of the previous layers, for example when painting animal fur a dark layer may go down first followed by gradually lighter areas. In my painting I use translucent and opaque paints in my layering. In contrast some art is created in a single layer such as when working graphically. Think of colouring pages where areas of the painting are filled in, in one go.
A sea of pink near the sea
Getting to Know the Path
My journey to the art I now make started with walks along the portion of the Wales Coastal Path near where I live. When I was unwell I used to walk there with my mother who is very knowledgeable about plants, being a scientist by degree. She would help me identify the many little flowering plants we found there and the birds that came and went. I loved the shapes and colours and soon started photographing them as reference for sketches and paintings I then made at home.
Making of a Clematis Abstract – my process.
I was really excited to see my clematis bloom this year as it was its first. Great big duo colour double blooms .... I had to capture it in paint…
Art Therapy or Art as Therapy?
In this post I take 'art' to mean the creation of visual representations either digitally or with traditional media. I see it, in this context, as distinct from craft based…
Egret in mixed media on canvas
3 Things You Should Know About the North Wales Open
I am super pleased to have had my 'Egret Ready to Strike' piece accepted into the North Wales Open art exhibition 2017. Places The exhibition traditionally has 146 - 150…
Impasto acrylic daffodils
Daffy Daffs of Spring
The daffodil, or cenhinen Pedr in Welsh (Peter's leek) has long been celebrated as an emblem of Wales. Commonly worn in a pin on a cardigan or jumper on St…
How to Turn Autumn Leaves into Art
It's nearing the end of Autumn and leaves are falling and making lovely, rustly heaps of crunchiness on pavements and parks all over UK. So, this post is about experimentation…