Posts Tagged ‘indigo’
Bird
After painting some very small paintings it was really nice to work on a large un-stretched canvas. It is 2 metres wide which is pretty large for me, I have made many large works on paper but not this large on canvas before. I used the Indigo pigment we brought back from Marrakech and the Poppy and the Blue Marjoram just mixed with water. I did not know what I was going to paint until I saw a huge pair of wings in front of me, even bigger than my own arm span! I am not sure where it came from but I felt very connected to it. I poured the dry pigment straight out of the bags then started to use water on it and draw back into it with the lump of indigo The pigment sparkles from certain angles which I like. I plan to frame this behind glass at some stage as it is quite vulnerable.
I bought some more wall paper liner today for some really long drawings! It is 10 metres, not sure yet how long the drawing or drawings will be. James suggested maybe doing a spiral shaped 3 dimensional painting on canvas, I really liked his idea and think it would suit my work a lot; it fits with my folded and scrunched paper objects and my love of light and portable art work. I love the idea of showing paintings on the walls and spiral paintings hanging in the centre of the room which can be viewed from every angle. Long live the muse!
Back from Marrakech with magical pigments!
Detail of artwork in the studio
Indigo, poppy and blue marjoram on canvas
We had a wonderful time in Marrakech! But when we got home we all got sick! Nearly better now though; that is why I have not been writing.
We drank lots of mint tea and went on a scooter into the Atlas mountains, stayed in a beautiful Riad ( a traditional family run guest house) Ours had only 5 bedrooms, they were all individually styled, some with the deepest bathes I ever saw! Everything was thought about even the fan in the bathroom was beautifully designed black metalwork! This lovely place was hidden down a rabbit warren of right and left turns, we only got lost once going back to it and that was when we found a magical lantern lit roof terraced restaurant, which looked scary on the outside turned out to be peaceful and beautiful when we went up the lantern-lit stairs!
As well as being given some Indigo and Poppy pigment by two lovely Irish women staying at the same Riad I got some more Indigo, Poppy and Blue Marjoram, which is a very magical pigment that starts off a red brown colour and turns a dramatic blue when mixed with water. I had a very blue hand after just picking up a dusting with my fingers and then washed them in water, even the soap still has blue speckles! Marrakech was a pure visual feast, even the bins at the airport were pretty!
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