Onwards...

if not upwards. Robin rang a minute ago to say he would be leaving work shortly; I couldn't believe that most of the day had already gone (albeit it's only half past four). I've been painting all day, with a break for lunch and a couple of telephone calls, one from an artist friend who hasn't been in touch for a while, so I was delighted to talk to him. Especially as he reminded me of a joint project we'd been talking about ages ago, and was keen to go with it. More as that progresses, I promise.

The new work is mixed media, I'm using my own handmade paper on a board support, and painting on top. I've always resisted collage like the plague, but find myself having a happy time with it, mainly, I think, because I'm only using the technique, the paper equivalent of applique, rather than trying to compose images with it. The image on today's blog is a small mixed media piece I made some time ago. The odd green dot is, I hope, on the scanner, not on the work (note to self, must clean scanner!). It's a tiny thing, really, about 7" by 5". When I get myself an Etsy shop, or selling blog, or whatever I decide to do (I used to be indecisive, now I can't make up my mind, to quote one of my friends, the redoubtable Sally), it's small pieces like that in paint and textile that I think I would offer. I'm rather fond of this small piece, Red Rains, and might well make some more on that theme.

Now to go get the paint off my hands; it is acrylic, and so isn't a problem. However, as it is warm today, it has been drying even quicker than usual, and I forget to put retarder in it, so find myself adding layer upon layer to Get It Right. I have, however, moved from the conservatory to the upstairs studio; I realised that splashing paint around near my large silk screens was Not The Most Sensible Thing To Be Doing... Yes, I did, no, it's really quite small, yes, it's in the middle. Sigh. What a twit.