When The Student Is Ready...

...the teacher will appear.  Nope, apparently the Buddha never said it, but that doesn't make it any less apposite for me.  I spent the past two days at a Cas Holmes workshop at Eaubrink Studios.  It was one of those things... I saw it, saw the word 'Japanese' in the description and thought, yup, I'd quite like to do that... and signed up.  Those of you who know me well, will know I don't do many workshops... it's just not my thing.  At the moment, though, I'm undergoing major change, mostly down to the health 'challenges' I'm struggling with, and thought that it would be useful to use the workshop as a kind of catalyst for change....and that's pretty much what it turned out to be.

I should say of Cas that she is a generous tutor, who met me where I was, accepted that I wasn't quite walking the same path as everyone else, and provided unobtrusive, unfailing support during the two days.  The focus of the workshop was paper, cloth and stitch with particular reference to momogami, or Japanese paper scrunching.  And scrunch, I did... producing some surprising results.  As always, it was interesting to watch everyone else, and what they were doing, and the diversity of the work was remarkable.  What did I make? A number of small pieces, all of which I expect to finish.   I had done some pre-work, which resulted in a single piece of work, which I think will be the first in a series.

I've turned up the volume on these, colour wise, because I wanted you to realise that the semi transparent focal point is made of a lot of different colours...I have to say, it looks a LOT better in real life.  It has a little bit of crinkled paper, and is very simple...I love the Japanese aesthetic, which I guess could be summed up in the phrase 'Less is more'.  The piece I started with was much more complicated, nothing like as successful, and shows the impact the workshop had before I'd even gone...

So... what did I learn?  I'm not going to go into the content of the workshop, because that's not fair to the tutor.  I thought I'd sum up the learning, instead.

First... less really is more.  As you know, I've gone from two rooms of fabric, to two boxes.  This workshop, with its emphasis on working from scratch to develop a couple of pieces, reminded me that even those two boxes might be too much.  It is possible to work with nothing but a blank canvas, and colour as you go along, rather than having a huge palette of fabric sitting waiting to be used.  And that's the way I need to work.

Second...workshops make you do things you'd never ordinarily think to do.  These bags are a case in point.

Both paper bags were scrunched up in order to tear them up and use the paper, whilst the cloth one was made in response to the paper one it is paired with. .  I felt I needed to use the top, brown paper bag entirely as it was, and realised, after a carefully placed comment from Cas, that this was 'about' creating a bag to keep my grief in.  The second bag is to keep secrets in, as it closes.  I'm pleased that the secrets bag is much smaller...it goes inside the first one.  The patterened bag wants to have stitch, I think, and is 'about' something else entirely...not quite sure what,  yet.  But more small bags will be made, I suspect.

Another thing I learned, or was reminded of, is how important it is to talk about the work, preferably with people who 'get' it.  The bags are a case in point, but another would be these following pieces.  I have a small collection of  vintage white cotton table runners...it wasn't until I pulled this piece together on a long, thin piece of tea and onion skin dyed fabric, and talked about it to Cas, that I realised that this was a similar shape to a table runner, and was my way in to working with the collection, which I started about fourteen years ago, knowing that I wanted to make things that shape, but not knowing where to start.  I know that now...

Equally, looking at some of the fragments I had made during day two, I found myself telling Cas that I had been fascinated by flint walls, and that they had seemed to me like a lot of paintings, all combined in a building...and how I had made several fruitless attempts to make a painting inspired by that idea.   Being a good Norfolk lass herself, she talked about Norfolk Churches, and in particular, the wool churches.  As this post is long enough as it is, if you're interested, here's a link.  And something in my head shifted.   What I'd been doing, in making fragments, was creating the textile/paper 'paintings for a felt 'wall'.

Another learning point is that workshops are safe places to test your own limitations and beliefs.  Part of the reason for the first piece I showed you, was 'about' my belief that I couldn't work any bigger than vintage napkin size.  Err...no, actually, it turns out I can work larger than that... and here's the proof.  Okay, it's not huge, but it is bigger than a napkin.  Hurrah.  I still feel in my gut that small is my future, but I don't have to create false limitations for myself.  After all the ME creates enough real ones... though I do get a mobility scooter out of the deal, which pleases me somewhat... I never have to look for a chair...

This last is very much a work in progress, a piece of Sumi E paper, tea dyed and scrunched, stitched to a calico background.  I have absolutely no idea how it's going to progress, but it will.

And finally...there is one more piece, which I haven't photographed.  I have the feeling it was 'the warm up piece'...there's always one... and to be honest, I can't see it going anywhere.  I made it because I was carrying a set of expectations... and that particular one, which was about working with semi transparency, just didn't fit either the framework of the workshop or my own real needs, which became apparent very quickly.  And that would be the final learning... you don't have to do anything you don't want to...

I have to say I'm delighted with the outcomes of this particular workshop.  Would I recommend a Cas Holmes workshop to anyone?  Yes, without hesitation.  Run, don't walk, if you get the chance.  I was really impressed, got lots out of it, and would do it again... probably in three to five years time...I suspect that's how long it's going to take to work through the ideas that this one has generated.  And that's no mean feat.  Thanks, Cas.

Funny...

...how things change.  And quite quickly, too, even though it doesn't feel that way at the time.  My last blog was in January this year, and said that I wouldn't be making, or blogging, for a full year.  Wrong...or at least, wrong-ish.  I have been making...textiles, changes and a new workshop...but more of that later.

I'd like to say I'd come to terms with the ME which has changed my life so dramatically, but I'd be lying if I said I had.  It would me more truthful to say that I am going through a great deal of grief... coming to terms with ones limitations will do that to one.  My old life has died, my new life is a work in process... emotionally, that's a lot to process.  Interestingly, I'm not depressed...which for a life long depressive, is, well, quite surprising, really.  In a good way.

I have been spring cleaning my creative life... instead of a room full of fabric, I now have a couple of boxes.  About ten carloads of materials have made their way to new homes, with a bit more still to go.  I'm debating what to do with Big Bertha, my large scale printer, because I am not physically able to work on large pieces, so she seems a bit surplus to requirements (contact me if you're interested... she will be priced Very Attractively).

It's probably easier to tell you what's left.  What's left, is materials for drawing, print making, hat making, felting and hand stitching on a small scale...think the size of a napkin (a vintage napkin).  Embellishments, and some beads.  Two sewing machines and an embellisher.   And that's pretty much it.  When you consider the range of things I used to do, that's pretty narrow.  Felt making is way down the list at present, because I don't have the energy.  Hand stitching is it...that and thinking.   And looking.  Of course, I haven't forgotten the skills and techniques I have used, which is just as well, given my next project...

I recently met Anita O'Neill, the owner of Eaubrink Studios, near Kings Lynn.  The location is fabulous... really spacious, well equipped studios in an amazing location, a lake, sheep, chickens, a lovely garden... what's not to like... and the last piece of my personal jigsaw fitted into place.  I miss teaching... particularly working with people on creativity...so I offered to run a six week series of workshops for Eaubrink on just that topic.  Starting on the 18th October, the course is called 'Finding Your Voice'.  The blurb says; "This is a series of six weekly workshops lasting four hours each time, which encourage you to look closely at the world around you, record what you’ve seen (in a variety of different ways) and then turn your findings into creative projects. Although the focus of these six weeks will be working in textile, the workshops are suitable for anyone who wants to learn how to turn ideas into finished art works, including painting, printmaking, photography and writing; opportunities to try all of these things will be available during the six weeks."  And the gem at the end, is a reunion after six months, to review the work that has come out of the workshops, with the intention of creating an exhibition.  

If it's something you fancy doing, please contact Anita at Eaubrink.  This will be the last time I teach in Norfolk; we will be moving in the Spring, heading further north to be closer to our family. There are two places left...so run, don't walk, if you're interested.  More about it in my next post.

The work... the piece on the top is napkin sized... a monoprint, which was hand stitched using two different hand dyed threads, with the gold circle in a metallic thread...which doesn't gleam in the photograph, but does in real life.  The middle piece is a wet felted base, with skeleton leaf inclusions, and couched yarn on top of the leaves.  The one below is another felt piece, heavily stitched, with yarn felted on top as a feature.  All three pieces were WIPs from before I became ill, finished off in the last few weeks.

It's been a while...

...a year, more or less.  Most of you have probably forgotten who I am... and I don't blame you. About fifteen months ago, I became ill; it turned out to be ME, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).  What that means, in practical terms, is that I don't have much energy, can't walk very far and can't work.  I mean that in the broadest of terms; I have my usual load of ideas, just don't want to do anything that even vaguely resembles art.  I've spent a year being very upset about that. My creativity has always been at the very heart of everything I've ever done; I'm not sure who I am without it.  After a lot of thought, though,  I've decided, though, that it's okay.

New Year is the traditional time for making changes...and here's mine.  I'm not going to make any art for a year...and I'm not going to get het up about it.  I have already given away a significant part of my stash, with more to go, and then I start on the non textile 'stuff', the paint, etc.  Whether I like it or not, my body craves rest... so I'm going to rest, body and mind.

I'm also going to get organised.  My theme for this year is a place for everything.  If it doesn't have a place, it leaves the building for a charity shop, a friend or whatever... as long as it doesn't stay here.  That's about simplification; I'm called 'artmixter' because I've always done lots of different things.  No more.  Clearing out will, I hope, clarify what I really want to do, so that when I'm well enough, I'll be able to do it, and do it well.  Whole heartedly.

So...that's the plan.  No blog for a year, either.

Revealing All....

So.... did you have any thoughts as to what the theme of the quilt I made for the 100 Fundraiser?  Here's the whole thing...

It is entitled 'Natural Graffiti', and measures 23" by 32".  It's a bit of a steal, for the price; it would sell for a bit more than the $100 that is being asked for it.  It was inspired by a number of things.  I've always been interested in marks in nature, where natural phenomena like erosion cause unexpected effects in the landscape.  And I love looking at graffiti, of the manmade variety; there's a lot in the area of Norwich that I park in when I go shopping.  And several years ago, I took photographs of two different buildings, one a church, one a cathedral, where copper had changed the colour of the stonework, as if something had been poured down the walls.  That's what inspired the discharge dyed centre of the quilt.  It was pieced using a variety of dye printed, dye painted and discharge dyed fabrics, in a single piece.  It was then folded to find the optimal positioning and stitched together, which is why it has no edges (I hate binding, and it wouldn't have been appropriate for this work). Finally, it was discharge dyed and a little drawing added, before finally stitching by machine.  The stitching is minimal, because I think that in this piece, the fabric does the talking.... so I stitched to support the patterning and give a bit of texture.

I do hope someone likes it enough to give it a good home; I love this piece, personally.    I've come as close as I can to the colours of the original in the photograph.  The 100 deadline is Wed 4th Feb, and full details are available here.  There is a lot of amazing work available... go check it out!

More on the 100 Quilt...

Another detail image for you.  I wanted to show all the different surface design techniques that are present in this piece.  Batik is something I rarely do, but thoroughly enjoy whenever I do it.  This piece has one of those elusive batik fabrics in there...

The cloth on the right hand side is the batik piece.  It started out as a piece of white cloth; you can see the bright white marks of the original cloth really clearly.  It was overdyed in orange, and finally in blue, to produce the brown background.  The piece next to it was a double dyed piece, which was then discharge dyed; once the quilt itself was assembled and stitched, it was discharge dyed again, across both pieces of fabric.  You can quite clearly see on the left hand side piece that it is lighter in some places, where it has been discharge dyed twice.  There are a few places at the top where I've allowed it to return to the original white, but by and large, I've used the discharge technique to alter the colour, not to remove it.

So... any closer to establishing the theme of this quilt?

ps more about the 100 here...

Time Is TIcking On...

...and the 100 fundraiser for the American Cancer Society is approaching (Wed 4th February, to be precise). You can find all the information you need on here,  and a quick selection of the work that's on offer (for only $100 dollars per piece) can be seen here.  I'd intended to post more often, but have been overtaken by events and illness.  Hope this makes up for it...


I thought I'd show you some close ups of the work I'm submitting this week, unveiling the whole piece on Saturday.  The first image has already appeared on Facebook, as a taster...or is that a teaser...?  Either way, here it is.

The work is made from pieced, hand dyed cotton.  This section features a discharge dyed section, delineated in ink, and is closer in colour to the original to the version on FB.  The next section is below:

This section is much more complex.  The top section is discharge dyed, the right hand side, a section of a monoprint, the middle section is made up of dye painted cloth, some of which has drawings on it.  I still work in this way, but on a smaller scale, usually.

So, as I asked my friends on Facebook... can you pick out a theme here?  There have been a few answers already, some of which capture part of the story of this quilt, others which tell the stories that others see in it.  There is, of course, no real right or wrong.... but it's fun to wonder....

more images soon...

Fiberart For A Cause : The 100

I am absolutely delighted to be an invited artist for "The 100" to be held on Wednesday, February 4, 2015. The goal for this fiber fundraiser for the American Cancer Society is to raise $10,000 in one day.

How? All the details are here 

I'm sure you will want to be one of the very exclusive 100 patrons who will be randomly assigned artwork from an extraordinary line-up of international fiber artists.

Fiberart For A Cause has already raised $240,000 through the generosity of fiber artists and patrons.

Cancer has no boundaries, and as a Scot living in England, I wanted to support this campaign in honour of my late friend Lynn Bunis, and of my very much alive friend Clare Hedges, who lost her husband to cancer recently. Art works from some truly amazing artists (and me!) will be on offer... don't miss out on a unique opportunity!

At a personal level, this is likely to be the only opportunity to get a piece of my work for the foreseeable future.  I stopped blogging in August, after being admitted to hospital unexpectedly.  To cut a long story short, I haven't been well since then... my GP isn't sure, but I suspect that it is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).  In a nutshell, I don't have the energy to work.  So, much as I'd like to make something completely new for this great cause, I'll be looking for something that I've done recently.  Keep an eye open...I'll be publishing  pictures in the next day or so.

Writing...

is something I have felt I ought to be able to do, but somehow couldn't.  I trained as a linguist; if anyone could write, you would think that I would be able to. I thought that I was condemned to translating other peoples' work, other peoples' ideas...that I had none of my own.  Recently, though, I've been writing a lot, mainly haiku, but some poems, and the tentative beginnings of a novel.  Very tentative.

I've been quite disturbed by the way in which the recent suicide of the truly gifted Robin Williams has been reported, so I wanted to share this.  Those of you who have followed the blog for a while, know that I suffer from chronic depression, and that some of my work is around that.  This is by way of an attempt to explain to people who just don't 'get it' for one reason or another, just what depression is like.

To Those Who Don't Believe In Depression.
I know you don’t believe that we’re in pain. Mostly because you cannot see we’re broken, The things that we keep hidden because we feelAshamed, inadequate, insufficient, lostIn a darkness you don’t seem to see,Mostly because you don’t know how to look.Or perhaps, you’ve never thought that it was possibleTo seem to be one thing, yet feel another,Both at the same time. And yet, it is.We can’t explain it to you; hell, we can’t explain it to ourselves.But it is as real as you are, to us, and though our bodiesAre not broken, we are in pain.How can we explain it? Did you, when you were young,Lose a cat, a dog, or even, perhaps, a person? RememberHow it hurt? Remember being told that the cared for oneHad gone away to heaven? And thinking that you didn’tUnderstand? Such pain, such confusion…but gradually, youFelt less and less, remembered less and less, and returnedTo your usually happy state… and life went on.Imagine that pain, intensified, confusion combined with the feelingThat it is all your fault, the way you feel, that this thing should be happening.Imagine it going on and on, for years and years, without improving; ratherIt just gets worse. And it is never forgotten, not for a nanosecond. 
Perhaps, if you can imagine that, you can beginTo understand, to accept, above all, not to judge.That is all we ask for, we who suffer. It doesn't seem like much.


Personally, I thought Robin Williams was immortal, a touchstone, a miracle.  Through his work, perhaps he truly is.  His death is a reminder that all of us have demons.  Some of us deny them, some ignore them.  Some grapple with them and lose.  Some gain temporary respite... but they don't often go away entirely.  We don't know each others' demons... but we should try to remember that they are there.

Destashing...

...is a fascinating process.  I've found things I didn't know I had...and I'm  only half way through the process.  Then, combining them in groups to sell them has been interesting, too... here's a selection.

All those ideas, and good intentions, that never came to anything.  Now, it's a question of making room for all the new ideas I'm having...

If you want to peruse my stash as it appears for sale, and you're on Facebook, look here; I'm giving my FB buddies first shot at this...then I'll move them to my selling blog, Artmixter's Emporium.  Meanwhile, I've got some measuring and cutting to do... (whimper).  After the commercial fabric, comes the hand dyes... and then a few small pieces of work... I really do need some space.

So I Couldn't Wait...

to see what they looked like printed onto fabric, so I printed one small piece, and one large piece, on Evolon, and here's the results.

Not the best of photos, but gives you an idea of how it has turned round...the background is pure white, rather than the odd pale lilac it's showing here.  That's the small piece (no surprise there...), a bit larger than A4.  And this is the larger piece...

which, for reasons best known to my software, is fairly accurate, colour wise.  In both cases, though, it's all about the line, just as in the linescapes series.  Dammit, how much work can any one person have going at the same time... ?

Now to find more Evolon...and wait til it's cool enough to do some more ironing...

Following The Plan...

seems, on the surface at least, a reasonable thing to do.  So I did.  I made green and brown transfer dye papers, because I needed to for a project.   I needed two or three.  I ended up with nearer twenty.  Oops.

All of them were supposed to look like  this;

I'm going to make some leaves... the blue isn't really blue, honest.  Or I hope it isn't.  In fairness, about half a dozen of the papers do look like this; one has some red added, another, yellow, just for fun.  Mostly, though, they're brown and green.

And because I wanted to use up the leftover dye, the small amount that was left in the bottom of the tubs I was using, after I had put the excess into sealed containers for next time, I thought I'd do some mark making. And ended up with lots more papers than I had intended, and had to take some dye back out of the sealed containers... well, you know how it is... when you're on a roll, you're on a roll...

This is what I ended up with.. at least, a sample of it.

I really enjoy working with transfer dyes, though admittedly don't enjoy the heat transfer bit, but we can't have it all...  It'll be interesting to see how these look with added stitch... Evolon here I come...

I'm glad I didn't follow the plan.  Amongst other things, it reminded me that I don't like to be too tidy, too calculated; another reason to go upstairs and sort out Even More Fabric to get rid of.  If you are on Facebook, and want to join my stash busting group, click here .  I'll be starting with FQs of commercial fabric, and progressing through the hand dyes, and then, I think, will probably add some small pieces of work.  Mwhah.

Facing Facts...

is a helpful, focus-inducing thing to do.  Fact.  I have too much fabric.  No, don't give me the whole, need a stash, nonsense; it's just not true.  Or at least, it's not true for me.  I have fabric for a number of different reasons.  Some I have, because I like it, some because it is Useful Fabric, the kind of thing that if you do make a traditional(ish) quilt, it makes good borders or backing.  Some I have because I dyed it, or dyed and painted it, intending to use it, and didn't; some because I dyed and/or painted it to sell, and didn't.  Some because it feels good (velvet and silk, in particular); some because I've written about it and am still exploring (lutradur and evolon).  Some, because it's fun; some because someone special gave it to me.  Like many of us, I have more fabric than I could use in three lifetimes.  And that's fine.

Except, it isn't.  It is getting in my way (fact).  When you can't see the wood for the trees, it's time to either go to the optician, or deal with the issue.  What I have realised is that, whilst I am great at finding focus, I'm dreadful at sustaining it, for a number of reasons.  I don't sell my fabric because I didn't persevere in doing just that, and because I find it difficult to believe that anyone else might want it, an inherent lack of self confidence that I thought I'd kicked into touch, but clearly haven't (it gets in my way, too, but it's not so easy to deal with).  So... I thought I would begin with my excess of fabric, decide what to keep, what to sell and what to donate, and I made a start today.  The image gives you an idea of what's what..and that's just the fat quarters...haven't looked at yardage yet... or hand dyes.  There is a hand dye mountain, and it is good... and it's also excessive.  So that too will go.  But wait a minute, I hear you holler... there's some hand dyes at the back, there.  And indeed there are, some muslin that I bought to cut up and sell in packs for embroiderers... you can see that didn't happen.  Sigh.  But I only brought that down so I could iron it and cut it up, honest.

There's some lovely fabric here, but I'm never going to use it in a million years, so sell it I shall.  Two stuffed bin bags are going to the Hub, so that the guys can enjoy it.  And once the stash is whittled down, the interesting work will begin, whittling down the ideas, being honest with myself about what I really want to make, and getting down to doing it.  And maybe after all that effort, I'll be able to walk in and out of the fabric studios without tripping up on piles of stuff (yes, when I've finished with the cloth, I'll be starting on the rest of it...).  It is going to take some time, but I think it will be worth it.

In the first instance, I'm going to set up a Facebook page to sell this stuff... and any that doesn't sell that way, will either go on ebay or etsy.  Email me if you want details.  And when I've done with the materials, I'll be going through the work, and either selling or donating it, too.  Time to take charge.

Changing Things Around...

is always an interesting thing to do.  I found some scraps from a jacket I made, years ago, cotton which had been hand dyed, then discharge dyed, and then painted, using freezer paper shapes as a resist.  It looked a bit like this...

I wanted a lot more detail on it... so started in with a silver pen... and ended up with this...

 In terms of contrast, not that big a change...that will come later, but I've certainly added a lot of detail...

It looks a lot bigger in the photographs, than in real life; it's three quarters the width, and slightly longer, than an A4 piece of paper...that makes it a contender for a small Linescape... so watch this space...

Up in the top studios today, I found a little quilt...

It is made from transfer dyed lutradur, which was then embellished with cotton fabrics, backed and stitched into.  It lacked something, so has lain around for ages.  I tried adding buttons, and got this result...

Starting to be a bit more interesting.  What I think it needs, though, is some mark making in pen on the surface...not sure quite what colour...black, perhaps.  Or some hand stitch.  I'm leaning towards the pen, but I can imagine that both will eventually occur...  As I have to go into Dereham today, I may well pop into the bead shop, and see if they have a large purple bead to use as a focal point...

Two pieces, both changed, neither finished.  I'll let you know how I get on.

I Take A Lot...

of photographs.  A couple of days ago, Clare and I went to Burnam Overy Staithe, for a walk on the marshes.  I thought I'd give you a few snapshots of what we saw...pure eye candy, quintessential Norfolk.

.

We are, we agreed, privileged to live here.

Look What I Found!

As a rule, I'm not a great fan of galleries...which may seem like an odd thing for an artist to say.   A lot of them are Very Serious.  Some of them are really crowded, so you can't see stuff clearly.  And then...occasionally... you find one that is None Of Those Things.  Here are a couple of pictures of one of the best galleries I've been in for a long time.  It's tiny; I've been to Burnham Market before, and not realised it was there, tucked away as it is.  It features the work of one (very friendly) artist, Andrew Ruffhead, and it is called 'Fish And Ships Coastal Art Gallery'.... it's a wee gem.

What struck me first was the colour; the work glows against pure white walls.  There's a great range of work, much of it quirky, or just plain fun... I had to buy a whale fridge magnet (it's okay, Andrew, it got home in one piece, thanks to the careful bubblewrap).  This is how he sums up what he does (from his beautifully designed leaflet):

'Andrew opened his Studio/Gallery 'Fish And Ships Coastal Art' in 2006, producing prints, coastal maps, cyanotype photography, pen, ink and gouache drawings and paintings, and lobsters, crabs, whales, prawns and fish made from driftwood and pieces of old marsh and beach-found boats.'

Trust me, the work's amazing; if you're in Norfolk, run, don't walk... I had a whale of a time! And if you're not...check out his website.

... And The Heat Goes On...

and on... and on... and I do know it's unreasonable to complain about it... but hey.  The Shed remains oven like... though it wasn't too bad yesterday, when I managed to get a reasonable amount done.  I spent the day painting, something I haven't done in a while, and finishing off most of the prep work on some altered books; there are still two remaining that need finished, but the other three are ready to be worked in.

I'm still exploring the 'Linescapes' idea, as you can see from the images that follow;

This is an A5 image, mixed media.  I like the energy in it; if they could move, those curves look as if they would be travelling at speed...   Robin calls it the desert piece.  Which was followed up by this;

This is a small board book, with its pages sealed together, giving the piece a three dimensional feel.  I'm not so keen on this one...these lines feel too thick, and too far away from each other, too regularly spaced.  Interesting, though.

And finally, this one, the best of the three, I think, Strata.

This is on a canvas board, and I think it shows some potential.  Again, it's mixed media; acrylic paint and oil sticks.  I like the texture of the overall piece, and I need to think some more about how to use textures in this series.  I had initially wanted the lines to be raised in some way, which is fairly easy to achieve in textile, but needs a bit more thought in paint.  Looking at this, though, I like the overall texture.  It's reminiscent of one of the first trial pieces I made in paint, which I didn't photograph, unfortunately.

Finally, I did some work on a small piece that I was not happy with, and it has ended up like this;

About six or so inches square, on board, it's called 'Dawn In The Summer Garden'.  Very gentle..and possibly not quite finished... oh well...back to the drawing board...