Clay Workshop Waiariki Institute of Technology

I have been so busy this week with the clay workshop that I have not been able to do any blogging until now. I am way behind with my Milliande art journal  pages but I have done the background for three of them and  I'll have a play on them over the next few days.

I can assure you that I have been extremely creative everyday.

I'll first post you a couple of oil paintings that I did on Cherie Sayer's course at Waiariki last week.

The inspiration came from a children's book and a card.
It was not exactly original because I wanted to practise some oil painting techniques that I hadn't used for about ten years.

They are a picture of a girl riding a bird and a sheep in a paddock.
 I love the colours and textures and now I'm rearing to go with oils again; they are so buttery and easy to mix.

Can you see the bird and the girl?

 I like paintings that give me some ambiguity.

 I don't want it all spelt out for me.

When people view my work I quite like it if they frown and look a bit confused. It means that their mind is asking questions and they are staying engaged with the painting for longer.

Of course you can see the sheep, but can you see the spot where I have purposfully left the canvas without any paint on it.

I always like paintings that are underdone as opposed to overdone.

The best way to avoid an overworked, tortured looking  painting is to stop painting  just before you think it is finished.

Let your viewers do some work and fill in the spaces.

They'll love you for it because it will give them a chance to ask some questions.

Which one do you prefer?

Write and tell me.

Creativity Quote of the day

Difficulty: "Painting should never look as if it were done with difficulty, however difficult it may actually have been."

-- Robert Henri