Happy - tidying up and using up stuff

I'm tidying up my studio. There's just so much stuff that has somehow accumulated over the years. Some of the stuff I haven't used in ages, as my style and preferences have changed over the years. I've been hanging on to all that stuff, because... you never know, maybe one day, they might be useful.... But enough of that. If I haven't used them in all those years, the chances that I am doing so now is very little. So it's all going out. Or most of it anyway.

Work in progress - first layers

I found these papier maché letters in one of the boxes, and I had this 20x50cm canvas board that I had bought for a project that I never got round to do. Not a very convient format, but - the letters fitted perfectly on it, so I glued them on to it and added paint.

Work in progress - more layers

I also have far too many paints. Some I've had for ages, but I've discovered new brands that I prefer so they have just been sitting around unused. I've recently taken them all out and painted little samples, and some of them have become all gooey. I've used all those gooey paints for this one, using them up as much as possible before they go into the bin.

Finished!

There really is just no point keeping all that stuff if you're never goint to use it. It might be hard to just throw it all away (good if you have arty friends nearby who would be happy to use them), considering that art materials aren't cheap. But hanging on to them might just be counterproductive. At least that's how it is for me. With my shelves full of stuff, getting to what I want often requires shifting other stuff first, and I easily forget what I actually have. And the result: I don't use them at all. And a cluttered space just doesn't work for me, there's no room for inspiration to blossom. Not that I want a bare, clinical kind of space, not at all. But there is a big difference between creative chaos and pure too-much-stuff mess.

Detail

Now that my holiday, sadly, is over, I hope to finally get some much overdue planning, organising and change making done. Not to mention more time spent in my little studio and with my sketchbook.

The magic of mushrooms

Finally, summer is over, and one of my favourite seasons has arrived. The gorgeous colours of the autumn, the softer light, the cooler, fresher air... Such a relief after the hot and stiflig summer. And I'm on holiday! A relaxing holiday at home with N, with long walks, day trips, lazy mornings, home made fruity smoothies and good food. 

The other day we went for a walk in the forest and there were mushrooms, or fungi, everywhere. And so many different varieties! They're so fascinating and magical. Just gorgeous, aren't they? Of course I have no idea what they are all called, but just looking at them, and taking pictures of them, made me happy.

Happy Autumn!

A Month in Polaroid: The August Break 2017 - Final Week

Can you believe that it's already September? August just flew by! To be honest, I'm glad it's the end of summer. August was far too hot and humid for my taste. Now, that the temperatues have dropped 10-15 degrees Celsius compated to last weekend, my energy is coming back and I got more done this weekend than on all the weekends of August put together. But I did finish this year's August Break, and here's the final days of my month in Polaroid:

It was fun to think about how to interpret the prompts and find something to photograph. Of course with Polaroid, it takes a bit more planning. But that's the charm of analogue photography. 

I also made a little Steller story of my Month in Polaroid. I think it used to be possible to include a Steller story directly on your blog, but it doesn't seem to be so anymore. That's a shame, but anyway, you can find it here, if you want to have a look: A Month in Polaroid 2017 on Steller.

A Month in Polaroid: The August Break 2017 - Week 3

Here's last week's photos for the August Break challenge, again, all taken with a Polaroid SX-70 Alpha 1 and a Polaroid SLR 680.

A month in Polaroid: The August Break 2017 - Week 2

Here's my second week of the August Break challenge. As last week, all the photos were taken with my two vintage 1970s Polaroid cameras, a SX-70 Alpha 1 and a SLR 680. If you'd like to see the prompts for the challenge, and these photos, you can find them here.

A month in Polaroid: The August Break 2017 - Week 1

I've been away from my blog for a bit, spending a lovely holiday in Dorset in July and then just taking it a bit slow in the summer heat. But for August, I've taken my Polaroid cameras out of the cupboard, where they have been sitting, unused, for far too long, to take part in the The August Break challenge. Some of the prompts are quite challenging, and not made easier by using Polaroid cameras, but it's good to get thinking, trying to get the right photo for it, and get the photo right.

So here's my first week. I've used my two favourite cameras for this, the SX-70 Alpha 1 and the SLR 680.Y ou can find the prompts here.

Just practising

Thank you everyone who commented and shared their views on blogging on my last post. I am glad that there are still many of us out there, who value blogs and are continuing blogging.

I've been busy these past few weeks mainly practising in my sketchbook. As I've mentioned earlier, I'm exploring botanical art at the moment and I'm taking a class to learning more about it. At the moment, it's all about drawing and graphite. I enjoyed drawing the tone scales, I never really quite realised how much difference there is between different brands. I always sort of assumed that an HB pencil was an HB pencil. Well, it isn't. My favourite brand is the classic Faber Castell 9000. This is also the lightest of the ones I tried out and it gives a good variation of tone. Caran d'Ache Grafwood and Staedtler Mars Lumograph are nice too. The Derwent Graphic I didn't really like. They were almost impossible to sharpen. For botanical drawing, you need a super sharp point. Often this is achieved by sharpening your pencils using a craft knife to cut away the wood, and sand paper to get a really long and pointed point. Here I used a new sharpener by M+R, which sharpens the pencil to a concave point. It sharpened the Faber Castells to a lovely point, the Grafwood are too big for the sharpener, the Mars Lumographs were okay too. But with the Graphics, the leads just kept breaking off. It was okay for the 2H, H and F, but for the rest, it was pretty much impossible. I have a few of those pencils, and I'll use them for other drawings, but definitely not for botanical drawing. Taking the time to make these tonal strips is certainly a very good way to getting to know your pencils - and finding your favourites!

I'm also practicing leaf drawing. And I still have a lot of practising to do! i have to admit that I became a bit sloppy with this one and the result is a very irregular drwaing. But it will be useful as a measure for my progress. In traditional botanical darwing, the subjects are drawn in actual size, which can be rather tricky. It's amazing how much detail there is in a leaf! A magnifying glass is quite essential, not only for getting a closer look at the leaf, but also for drawing. Drawing through a magnifiying glass is actually quite amazing! Especially when you look at your drawing afterwards and see the even layers that you would have had difficulties to achieve with the naked eye.
I started a new leaf but only got as far as the outline. Which means I now have to start all over again. That's the problem with leafs. You have to work relatively quick, as they wilt, some faster than others. Or maybe that's the advantage of drawing leaves. Once you've started, you have to keep going. No room for procrastination.

I also started working through Sue Vize's book Botanical Drawing Using Graphite and Coloured Pencils. I love the good old pencil, and am discovering the potential of coloured pencils. I wasn't aware how much you can actually mix colours by layering them. The colour wheel was done using just three colours, Cadmium Yellow, Ultramarin Blue and Alizarin Crimson.

There's lots of exercises in the book with both graphite and coloured pencils. They're a useful way to pracise your drawing skills as well as getting to know your tools. There are of course exercises in actual botanical art as well, I just haven't got so far yet.

Last weekend, there was a Medial Market here in Zürich, and my Mum and me went to have a look around. It was very nicely done, with a great mix of stalls selling hand made goods, food and entertainment, and wonderful costumes. It wasn't quite as hot as it is now yet, but I still wouldn't have wanted to wear some of those costumes, they look so hot!

The guards at the main entrance to the market - very popular with the Asian tourists...

The Medicus demonstrating is skills

The knights in their best plumes

Quackery and amber

Modern Middle Ages

The basket maker