Posts Tagged ‘pigment’
Mushrooms Rock!
Pencil, Biro and pigment on paper “Mushroom Field” Marianne Slevin 2010
It is funny when you discover the same thing coming from several different sources at round about the same time. Today has been a lot about mushrooms for me. How mushrooms can help save the earth. I just watched a great video on TED T.V by Paul Stamets about solutions to help save the earth. They grew Oyster mushrooms on some land where there was toxic waste and the mycelium, a fine but strong branch like network covered the land producing mushrooms actually revived the land and soon there were insects and birds and it was an oasis of life once again! Fungi uses radiation as food, Mycelium can absorb oil, it can even brake up rock.
The drawing above was from the idea of mushrooms saving the earth but done before I had seen the video more about my imagination then facts. This morning one of the Tweets I was reading jumped out at me so I followed the link about this discovery that mushrooms may save the planet. It totally inspired me. This drawing is like an elaborate doodle, very enjoyable to draw! I think there will be more to come on this amazing fungi at work!
Sketch book drawing of Mycelium by marianne Slevin 2010
Shadow self
Pigment on wallpaper scrolls Full moon January 2009
Left Self with Samurai sword
Right Even bigger than me
Pigment on wallpaper scrolls Full moon January 2009
I have just been rereading The Celestine Prophecy and it has been really nice, it sounds like it will be a really lovely world we just have to wait a few hundred years!
Moonbeams, shooting stars and an enchanted frozen Lake!
“Traveller” Marianne Potterton 2008-2009
Oil and Indigo pigment on canvas
“Here now Peace” Marianne Potterton 2008-2009
Oil and Indigo pigment on canvas (Detail)
Moonbeams squeezed under the door the night we had driven back from the enchanted frozen lake, making a wish on on shooting star on our way home. That was yesterday. Somehow all of these experiences filter into my paintings. So as James often tells me it is so important to expose ourselves to lots of powerful and interesting experiences so our art is fed by them and becomes richer. Yesterday I went to Lough Ger in County Limrick, it was beautiful and well worth a visit.
These are two painting that I reworked the other day. Sometimes it is hard to know if you are making the biggest mistake painting over a painting that once you thought was finished. I was never really happy with these paintings so the other day when I had no canvas to work on I thought that I would see what I could do with them. I do like them much better now and feel more confident showing them. Though sometimes I think a painting needs time to be and one day will be it’s time, possibly these could be the best works or it could be that they never really arrived at an interesting place.
The top painting has gone through many different phases, now you can barely make out the astronaut/diver, just their rose coloured visor. The lower painting is staying with the space theme in a way, with planets and stars and down to the activity of atoms and invisible changes. This connects to the 7 Veils of Illusion series from earlier. Saying Here, now Peace.
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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