Fire and Iron

2011 has been good to me, I feel revitalised. I've been catching up on time mis-spent and searching out new ways of making stuff. I'd always been attracted to the elemental nature of blacksmithing; iron, fire and muscle. But how to begin? Well as it turned out, I work with the partner of Rebecca Clarke who is both a Blacksmith in her own right and the daughter of renowned metalworker Terrence Clark. Even better than that their forge is right on the path of my lunchtime run, about 10 mins form the office.

Bex is an excellent tutor and a pleasure to be with. She took me from complete novice to making items I'm genuinely proud of in a matter of hours. Call her, commission her, you won't regret it!!

She started off by teaching me to make tongs, a basic tool of the trade and then some 8cm nails which I need for another project of mine.

I had a thoroughly rewarding time doing this. It's probably the most engrossing thing I've done in a long, long time and something I intend to pick up again when time permits. Perhaps even build a forge.

Sicily sketches

Just back from two weeks in Sicily where we rented a house overlooking the sea near Scopello. Sicily is lovely, all you might want from an Italian experience; beautiful countryside, chaotic towns, turquoise water and great food. It's also got the most unthreatening feral dogs and the most threatening drivers I've come across anywhere. The cafe/bar in Scopello is a great place to sit and be amazed by both. Outside their cars the people are lovely; relaxed, engaging and charming but once behind the wheel they're SCARY.

I Managed a couple of morning runs (not my best time :-) in the Zingaro national park which was amazing. It was more like fell-running as the paths are really rocky and uneven with quite demanding slopes. I made it even more challenging by sticking to a strict and beautiful diet of pecorino cheese, fresh bread on the hour, suino-nero salamy, oil soaked veg and cheap wine. I should really align my intrerests better.

More relevant to this blog, I found the time to do some watercolour sketching as well. It was fantastic being able to paint in such wonderful light. It really makes easier to be braver with the palette when everything is glowing. I think I learned quite a lot from the experience.

There are a few more pics here if you feel the need more sicily sketches

Semi Recovered Fail

Oil No2

Tomatoes and coffee bon't make a great snack but they serve well enough as a still life subject.
I took a bit more care over this one. I really want to be able to paint in the 'studio' and in the evenings so I sorted out some daylight lighting and used a box to reduce background interference.
I got some 20w (100w old skool) low-energy daylight bulbs from 'nulightuk' on eBay http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/nulightuk/. They work well for the subject using a desklamp but I really need another source to light the canvas. One light is just a bit constraining.
An old cardboard box with the front and top removed contains and controls the scene. It should probably be black but I figured I'd done enough prep at that stage and really wanted to start painting.
I also painfully re-learned that painting over graphite pencil with oils is not a good idea (it lifts).

It's so much more enjoyable when you can focus on painting without the time pressure of shifting light. I can see loads of ways to improve this pic but I'm still pretty happy with the result. Can't wait to do another.

Oil

I fancied trying a more robust medium so I got myself some oils. I'd used them once before, years ago got frustrated and never stuck with them.

I know this is a horribly flawed image, I was just getting a feel for the paint again. To be honest it felt alright, I could do with being bolder and less faffy but it seemed managable.

 

The biggest shock was realising just HOW LONG it takes for the blasted stuff to dry.