I've gone a bit 'Owl Crazy'!

Hello again! June has turned out to be as busy this year as it has been for the past few years...its my busiest month for sure as far a photography goes. With preparations for the exhibition in full swing too, there has been little time to paint, even though my mind is screaming paint paint paint!!! I've managed to start work on a couple of new paintings - both are combining 2 of my favourite animals...my new 'favourite' an Eagle with my old 'favourite', a horse. Not surprisingly, but unintentionally, the horse in this painting resembles my old horse 'Girlie' (who's show name was 'Twilight Zone' - an interesting coincidence, as we now fly the owls in a barn called 'The Twilight Zone'!!) So, Alfonzo and Girlie are the stars of this painting...The following pictures show the development. After several rough sketches to decide on composition, I began by lightly blocking in the bird and then masking it so I could work on the horse and background without losing its position.

Stage 1 Eagle lightly blocked in and masked, horse developed

Stage 2 Background added.

Following this, I removed the masking to reveal the Eagle and then worked on the bird.

Step 3 Masking removed.

Step 4 Detail & Tone on the Eagle.
This is as far as I've got with this painting (which is Acrylic on paper) as I ran out of time, but its not far off completion...its currently in the phase where its placed on one side, but still in view so I can look at it from across the room until I can decide what to do next! 

In the mean time I snuck a very quick drawing on to a canvas and did a very quick block in for my next painting...same theme, horse and bird. I can already see changes to be made...I think I'm going to blend out the whole bottom right hand corner. 

Horse & Bird II  first light block in. Acrylic on canvas.

So, a manic June is halfway through and zooming by, quicker than I can cope with. We've had gales and storms instead of sunshine - its all been a bit mad really. A very wet and windy day gave me the opportunity to spend some quality time with both camera and birds...these offer me  inspiration, escapism, grounding and awe...they definitely keep me sane! I hope you enjoy the following photos - they make me smile, I hope they have the same effect on you - enjoy!

George, Barn Owl

Eddie, African Spotted Owl

Elvis, Great Grey Owl

Irwin, Boobok Owl

Ulu, South African White Faced Owl

Irwin, Boobok Owl

Ruby, Milky Eagle Owl

Ruby, Milky Eagle Owl

Bumble, Siberian Eagle Owl

Ulu, South African White Faced Owl

Bumble, Siberian Eagle Owl

GVT (General Von Talon) Peregrine Falcon

This made my day! As I was photographing Elvis, the Great Grey Owl, he was intrigued by my camera and kept fling over to me to have a closer look.

Until next time, let's hope for some sunshine & happy painting,
Mandi ;)

A little bit of painting - a lot of mounting and framing!!

Hello again, (said with a smile!) as the sun has finally decided to shine again!!! So much has happened in the last few weeks...where do I start?? With exhibitions looming ever closer, I have begun to mount and frame my favourite paintings. Its a bit of a chore compared to painting, but offers a real sense of achievement when you can see your work presented professionally! My good news today is that I've had 2 paintings selected for the Royal Bath & West Show...I've never entered before, but after a friendly nudge from Lon (fellow artist and 'bird nut') I took the plunge and had a go. I'm really glad I did now, and I'm looking forward to popping across to visit the show next week to see it all for myself!

Preparations for our Summer Exhibition at Clevedon Pier's Toll House Gallery are in full swing. Myself, my mate, Lon Sandford and my Mum, Ann Hughes are Showing  "Feathers & Fur, The Way We See It" From Monday 2nd July to Tuesday 31st July. We are all looking forward to seeing our art on display after many months painting and drawing, working towards this show! Here's a sneak preview of our poster...

Working with the Birds of Prey has been awesome (as usual!)...and to top it all, this weekend, I brought home a baby kestrel to babysit for the night! Totally delightful to be sat on my kitchen floor with a baby kestrel snuggled into my neck under my hair!!! My daughter was pretty taken with it too...cuddles all round for us!

More Hawk Walks have been on the agenda...and to top the sheer pleasure of walking through countryside with an incredible bird, the countryside itself has been stunning! Green fields of long grass dotted with zillions of buttercups and apple trees bursting with pink and white blossom...can it get any better?

Another couple of afternoons at school with Year 5, this group drawing trainers, has once again proved very productive...there are some very talented 9 & 10 year olds! Check out some of these observational drawings made with watercolour pencils...

More excitement this week has included seeing the Olympic Torch pass through Nailsea. Such a buzz as everyone gathered to catch a glimpse of the torch...crowds waving Union Jacks madly as the procession made its way along the street. Its so nice to be part of something that makes everyone feel happy!

With all this going on, I've had little time to paint...just a layer of colour on my big textured 'Woolley' painting, an acrylic of a juvenile peregrine falcon against a seascape background and a portrait of Rogue, a Gyrlin (Hybrid cross between a Gyr Falcon and a Merlin) on a Falconry Glove.

'Woolley'  Acrylic with Texture Paste (second layer)

Juvenile Peregrine Seascape, Acrylic

'Rogue on the Glove' Acrylic (unfinished)

I'm already looking forward to seeing what the next couple of weeks bring...

Until next time, 

Mandi ;)

Texture & Printmaking - my focus this week!

 Another week has flown by...and yet more art works have been created. After all the excitement of the prospect of using texture within my work, I have come to a sudden halt in the creation of my collagraph prints. I have made a series of collage plates to print, but I am unable to gain access to my printing press (its buried under canvases, frames and boxes!!) So for now, I can show you the plates (which look quite beautiful in their own right!) and the series of mono prints I made last week. Due to the fact that all my painting/printing is done on my kitchen table at home, I have used water based printing ink (rather than my preferred choice of oil based ink) because it is SO much easier to clean up!! The down side of this for me is that the water based ink does not give such a subtle print. Until the time comes when I can clear a studio space somewhere, this is something I am going to have to deal with - and who knows where it might lead me on my experimental journey?

So, first here are the collagraph plates - made by painting with pva glue on cardboard, then when dry, the whole thing is varnished to make it waterproof. (it has to be waterproof because to print from theses plates, damp paper has to be used...if the surface of the plate is not sealed, the damp paper reactivates the glue and it all sticks together - Not good!!) I hope you get an idea of the lovely textures that can be achieved using this technique...when I get around to printing them, you will be able to see the  beautiful quality of line that this surface creates!

Barn Owl Collagraph Plate

Boobok Owlet Collagraph Plate

Boobok Owl Collagraph Plate

Barn Owl  Collagraph Plate 2

Woolley, Eagle Owl Collagraph Plate

Eagle Owl Collagraph Plate 2

The next set of images are mono prints - again using water based ink. (a mixture of acrylic paint and printing medium)

Eagle, monoprint

Falcon in flight, monoprint

Eagle Head, monoprint

Harris Hawk, monoprint

Eagle Owl, monoprint

Barn Owl, monoprint

Then, I played with them and added a bit of acrylic paint to add a hint of colour.... These now render the prints above non-existent. As its name suggests, a monoprint is a 'one of a kind' .

Eagle, monoprint with colour wash

Barn Owl, monoprint with colour wash

Falcon in flight, monoprint with colour wash

Eagle Owl, monoprint with colour wash

Hawk in flight 2, monoprint with colour wash

Eagle Head, monoprint with colour wash.

You can see the difference between a mono print and drawing -  these prints were made by drawing, but the act of drawing on the plate through the back of the paper  picks up extra ink which creates this atmospheric look to the image.

With 'texture' being a bit of a focus this week, I made a start on a large scale (3ft x 2ft) textured painting, using the acrylic texture paste I bought last week! Trying this new technique, I decided to use Woolley, a familiar subject to paint. I've only made a basic start - there's a long way to go on this one! I've used the texture medium both on its own, and mixed with the acrylic paint...what you see here is the 1st application. I'm working on framers board which I primed with gesso so it looks pretty stark black and white - I can't wait to get my teeth into this... Hopefully, I'll find some time in the next week - but its looking very busy... Sadly, this photo doesn't show the texture very well - hopefully it will become more apparent as the painting develops?

Woolley - Acrylic on Board 3ft x 2 ft

To finish this week's blog, I am pleased to show this next painting, and to wish its new owner a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

This is a portrait of 'Yuri', my friend Lon's dog. Slightly daunting, painting a portrait for a fellow artist, but I am pleased with the result!

'Yuri',  Acrylic, 10" x 12"

So that's me, all blogged out until next time!

Mandi ;)

Just back from 'arty retail therapy'!

Hello again! I'm writing with excitement and a bit of a grin on my face as I've just got back from the Art department of our local garden centre with a bag of goodies to experiment with!!! This week, I've gone back to my printmaking roots and indulged in some mono-prints - a fantastic technique for creating atmospheric images and playing around with visual ideas with immediate results. 

Getting out all the bits and pieces needed for mono-printing really got my creative juices flowing and I soon had a set of interesting bird images which have a completely different feel to my other paintings and drawings. Excited to push the printing further, I had the urge to make some 'collagraph' plates , so out came the cardboard, glue and salt, and I began to draw on the card with the glue and salt to create a rich textured surface to print from.

   (A collagraph is a type of print where the plate is made up of a collage on cardboard to create different marks and textures on its surface. Collagraphs can be printed either in relief or intaglio, these methods give very different qualities to the final print but both are interesting. I prefer the intaglio version which needs a printing press to create a successful image, where a relief print can be made by hand using a roller, baren or a wooden spoon.)

Having varnished my collagraph plates to make them waterproof (so the damp paper doesn't stick to the glue during printing,) I was reminded  of just how beautiful the plate alone can be....and this is when I had my 'lightbulb moment'!! I'm going to try to paint paintings with this '3D' texture...DOH!!! I can't believe I didn't think to do this before...???!!!!!!! So....my purchases include Acrylic Texture Gel and Acrylic Modeling Paste. I can't wait to crack on with a new painting where I can experiment with THICK PAINT!!!! I'll post the results so you can see how I get on...for now I have a few paintings to show you...

The first is just a sketch I did the other night when I couldn't get to sleep. Instead of tossing and turning for hours on end, I decided to put my sleeplessness into action...here's the result: (I used some photos on my phone as reference)

Graphite Drawing of a Lanner Falcon and a Scops Owl

Next is a large scale Acrylic painting of Woolley, one of my favourite owls to paint! I wanted to paint this BIG with a view to hanging it in a large space, but feeling a bit nervous wondering if I could make it work at this scale...but I love it!! 

Woolley in progress

Woolley, Finished!

My next couple of paintings see a return to water colour. Both fairly experimental pieces as I have never painted either bird before. Daisy is an American Turkey Vulture - an interesting character! - I wanted to paint her in a 'loose' fashion, not too careful. The blue tit on  bulrushes is a picture I've wanted to paint for quite a long time, but didn't quite know how to approach it. I saw this over a year ago on the pond at Puxton...the shape and texture of the bulrushes intrigues me. This is still a work in progress as I need to work on the background, but I am happy with it so far.

Daisy, Turkey Vulture, Water Colour

Blue-Tit on Bulrushes, Water Colour.

My final picture for this blog is yet another of Woolley...again an experimental piece as it is a completely different medium for me - pastels. This came about through watching a Pastels 'how to' DVD with my Mum in the Easter holidays... the Artist made it look very easy (don't they always!) and I got the urge to give it a try, so Mum offered me the use of her pastels and a few sheets of pastel paper...and here's the result - Woolley in pastel. I didn't really enjoy using the pastels - they are quite messy and because this is a relatively small painting, fairly fiddly too! However, having said all that, this picture has grown on me and I like it! It could do with some 'finishing' around the branch area, but I'm in no rush to get back to pastels, so this is probably how it will remain!

Woolley, Pastel approx 10" x 7"ish!

So, that's all for today...look out for my next blog where I'll post my mono-prints and possibly a collagraph or two... bye for now,

Mandi ;)

Harris Hawks and Eagle Owls...Its been a very busy month!

Its 2 days short of a whole month since my last blog...Its been a pretty manic time and what with the Easter Holidays I didn't think | had much to share. How wrong I was! I've done lots of paintings and drawings during the past few weeks, and as promised, there are some Harris Hawks inspired by the Hawk Walk in my previous blog!

This is 'Miller', a Harris Hawk...seen from a Hawk Walker's Eye View

This first painting is unfinished - waiting for a background, but I love the unusual angle of view. I'm hoping it will be quite impressive once its complete. The second is another watercolour of Miller in Action..soaring down towards the glove from his perch above! I love the colouring of these American Harris Hawks...their bright yellow heads and feet against the red, black and white of their feathers - they are beautiful!

Harris Hawk in Flight - Water Colour

Despite the diversion towards Harris Hawks, I've still been absorbed by Owls as subjects to paint - spending more time with them in the Falconry Centre has allowed me to get to know them even more as individuals - their quirky personalities becoming more obvious every week! Its one of my favourite parts of the day - cleaning the Owl Aviaries. Its one-to-one time, just me and the owls, having a chat, and more importantly for me, time to really look and see the intricate beauty of their feather patterns, crystal clarity of their eyes and the sharpness of their beaks and talons!!! STUNNING!!!!! Occasionally I get to give some of them a 'bath' or rather a shower from a hosepipe...fun for them and me...and great to watch! Here are a few Owl paintings...                                        

Woolley - Acrylic

 This is Woolley, an Indian Eagle Owl - a favourite to paint as his personality just oozes through his expressions! He is a stunning bird with striking markings. I find I can really relax and enjoy the ritual of painting when its Woolley...its like I know him so well, I don't have to concentrate too hard on 'getting it right'...it just seems to happen, right off the end of my brush!

The next two images are of an acrylic painting of Bumble, another Eagle Owl, but this is a Siberian Eagle Owl. He is much bigger than Woolley, and has a much more serious character. I've attempted this on a much larger scale than most of my other paintings as I wanted to try to convey the enormity of his wingspan - which at a guess is around 5ft. What you see here is the first layer..I'm finding the underside of the wings pretty tricky...I got this far and took a break - I haven't yet brought myself to attempt to finish it!! Funnily, seeing it here, small and digitised, I'm a lot happier with it (so far) but in reality it is nowhere near finished.

Bumble, coming in to land. Acrylic.  approx A1

Bumble, detail.

Bumble's Morning Bath!

My last image for today's blog...to end on a smile...Bumble having his morning bath...! Its a bit difficult to see, but the light blob in the centre is Bumble, on his branch, soaking up the 'rain' that I'm squirting him with!  I hope its brought you a smile...I had a big grin on my face when it happened!!! I'm going to finish here, but keep an eye out because I'll be blogging again SOON!! Catch you soon, Mandi ;)