tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26435737850356247022024-03-13T12:04:09.696-07:00Diary of an ArtistAn artist's personal journey: my ideas, tips, my exhibitions, exhibition reviews, thoughts, my artwork and many photos.Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.comBlogger259125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-28295738897531596632024-01-17T08:16:00.000-08:002024-01-17T08:16:27.453-08:00New Paintings 2024! I've not written for a long time, due to being too busy with exhibitions and making new work.<div>For this post, I'm showing a few new paintings.<br></div><div><br></div><div>'Dawn Flight,' acrylic on canvas 20 x 24 cm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>'Cyprus Evening,' acrylic on canvas, 120 x 87 cm</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>'Indian Sunrise,' oil on canvas, 21 x 31 cm</div><div>#painting #artwork #contemporaryartist ##contemporarypainting </div>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-74607870463472234722022-10-24T06:54:00.001-07:002022-10-24T06:54:16.904-07:00New Paintings<div>I haven't written this blog for a while due to being extremely busy with artwork and projects. This is one of my new paintings, 'Moonlit Mountain,' acrylic on canvas, 38 x 28 ins.</div><div>More posts will follow! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-47836430598062419812021-12-10T04:47:00.005-08:002021-12-10T04:57:54.906-08:00Moon Paintings<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbIkItSrgOsgqzPaRRsLv1EXzbRoh2bCG0svzmgyZczBO052EE9g_VhiKZQbqm1ng9_pc6VqB9HzBHeFqB7uJcRxRakACuvAtBij1JosnKfIFWAzS9gILsm4VEKVpM-8k48TqrlxdMVBm_AcHi-8iAZXWiOZak6kpmv9bLXrTyYfzauMWl10Sk1OSo=s2048" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbIkItSrgOsgqzPaRRsLv1EXzbRoh2bCG0svzmgyZczBO052EE9g_VhiKZQbqm1ng9_pc6VqB9HzBHeFqB7uJcRxRakACuvAtBij1JosnKfIFWAzS9gILsm4VEKVpM-8k48TqrlxdMVBm_AcHi-8iAZXWiOZak6kpmv9bLXrTyYfzauMWl10Sk1OSo=s600"/></a></div>
For this post I'm including a few paintings inspired by the moon. I began painting this theme during lockdown. At the time I didn't realise why the moon had become so important to me, it seemed to be on my mind because I was walking late at night. Then I reflected on the theme and I felt that the moon is suggestive of eternity and the continuance of normality during the difficult time of Covid-19. It became a symbol of optimism and the change back to normality. The above painting is called 'Moon Lake,' and it is acrylic on canvas, 29 by 43 cm. As I painted, there appeared a dark lake and suggestions of water and a moon above. This painting went through quite a few changes. I left it for a month but it called for more work and I finished it with thicker paint, feeling my way through emerging shapes and colours. When a painting calls for more work I usually pay attention. I've destroyed a few paintings by pushing too far but with this one I was glad I searched further.
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The above painting is called 'Rings Around the Moon,' (acrylic on canvas, 25 x 20 cm). It evolved completely from laying down paint and allowing a scene to emerge.
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'Moonscape,' (acrylic on canvas, 29 x 43 cm) also evolved from the paint and laying down stains and marks. It went through quite a few changes and gradually suggested to me a rising moon over an autumnal landscape.
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This final painting is not so much about the moon but suggests that last warm light of dusk just before the moon appears. Though I was going to work further, I decided I liked the simplicity of the image and its suggestiveness. 'Dusk,' acrylic on canvas, 20 x 25 cm.
Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-41022934771894980522021-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:002021-12-02T05:04:27.353-08:00Artworks from 2020-2021 Inspired by Covid-19<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9em69KO7s0C1CGccACE8-XcuQjU76W2q4o_24nwAJWwzk3eRQvK8EOz3OVnYpUG3selC5BNHJUtrf7_SXcJ6WJSHvXQ0t2feNX8g1mQusbZ3DLI8Y-R1XGbCRPlf4Fldep4vlRz3Q1g/s2048/From+Darkness+into+the+Light+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1516" data-original-width="2048" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9em69KO7s0C1CGccACE8-XcuQjU76W2q4o_24nwAJWwzk3eRQvK8EOz3OVnYpUG3selC5BNHJUtrf7_SXcJ6WJSHvXQ0t2feNX8g1mQusbZ3DLI8Y-R1XGbCRPlf4Fldep4vlRz3Q1g/w640-h474/From+Darkness+into+the+Light+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'From Darkness in to the Light,' oil and acrylic, 100 x 145 cm</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><p> <span style="font-size: large;">During Covid-19 I painted continuously. I was inspired by memories of walks, night walks when no one else was walking, and thoughts about the pandemic. It was a time for reflection and this filtered in to my paintings.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">The painting above was one of two I painted recently that directly address the impact of the pandemic and thoughts about a return to normality. It is my idea of emerging from the darkness of Covid in to the light of being able to meet and greet one another normally, and return to our aspirations and ambitions. I love working on a large canvas!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6air8ZmPcJ6rRmRYQnthAhUiXrdVF2pbCvi49pUoP_6rvAdvtsuEgQJrYGQXInWYCFrbQszT43srYvLTSfcQzO6k_J8k1-_acCcO7GKTzHGEZkPs8sy7OmhuJ8OQYaCcLLYZWQIgisk/s1440/250820026_10159817669218894_81754221795446137_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1101" data-original-width="1440" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6air8ZmPcJ6rRmRYQnthAhUiXrdVF2pbCvi49pUoP_6rvAdvtsuEgQJrYGQXInWYCFrbQszT43srYvLTSfcQzO6k_J8k1-_acCcO7GKTzHGEZkPs8sy7OmhuJ8OQYaCcLLYZWQIgisk/w640-h490/250820026_10159817669218894_81754221795446137_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Dawn Splendor,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 21 cm</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I am especially inspired by the seasons and times of day. </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">And I'm including a landscape painting about the rain which went on for days earlier this year in the UK. I was imagining roads and a sudden burst of sunlight.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> With this painting, below, I was trying out different ways to apply paint.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOw40LxMNw96EJMWp4O2xlqVT78xWp1IY6qAnnpdt7GfcmHN22TF9WXVc7SNPDnolwHWcht1iK_2fk4BY-UHzK5su1wkXFALvs2ImbSkxDtjHqlWus-CqKbZ2A0QliNdoh114asJR_VA/s2048/IMG_1165+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1628" data-original-width="2048" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOw40LxMNw96EJMWp4O2xlqVT78xWp1IY6qAnnpdt7GfcmHN22TF9WXVc7SNPDnolwHWcht1iK_2fk4BY-UHzK5su1wkXFALvs2ImbSkxDtjHqlWus-CqKbZ2A0QliNdoh114asJR_VA/w640-h508/IMG_1165+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'After the Rain,' acrylic on canvas, 92 x 73 cm<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPOxu-0HD4Xx62HYNEtAD4LZYGUTOD4P7Qa9-UV7pAVUlFr3s8S_gIKaaBOMu6FgqAVHFC_eW1Ig9fSL7gCbog7Sg-aHatOwV6ENDFdEF4p_ekmAmuh_p-LyaMksK3S6Bc6Nf9FZ0Gvg/s2048/IMG_1060+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1551" data-original-width="2048" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPOxu-0HD4Xx62HYNEtAD4LZYGUTOD4P7Qa9-UV7pAVUlFr3s8S_gIKaaBOMu6FgqAVHFC_eW1Ig9fSL7gCbog7Sg-aHatOwV6ENDFdEF4p_ekmAmuh_p-LyaMksK3S6Bc6Nf9FZ0Gvg/w640-h484/IMG_1060+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'The First Light,' oil on canvas, 31 x 21 cm<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">More can be seen on my website. The link is on the right side of this page.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-83530332061891805412021-11-26T04:50:00.004-08:002021-11-26T04:50:49.599-08:00Three Exhibitions in December<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuToKNBbv-pgbL_m8sKMmaMacEPz7x_CDSURvTFCIRe7TFW2T2pDjWkl6WvE3CpRf_Ak_R19PsgMQuDOnsYOkQOdeRAHwOiLsnuy1NQ-8jEL59-iD9miUgj1uFqe3G0DKgT6WaBgcLrQ/s2048/256345059_10159851201793894_435396788875059896_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1448" data-original-width="2048" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuToKNBbv-pgbL_m8sKMmaMacEPz7x_CDSURvTFCIRe7TFW2T2pDjWkl6WvE3CpRf_Ak_R19PsgMQuDOnsYOkQOdeRAHwOiLsnuy1NQ-8jEL59-iD9miUgj1uFqe3G0DKgT6WaBgcLrQ/w640-h452/256345059_10159851201793894_435396788875059896_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I'm so pleased that I've just had a painting accepted for the annual Winter Group Show at the prestigious Linden Hall Studio gallery in Deal, Kent (UK). The above painting is called The Last Light and was inspired by memories of dusk as I travelled through Kent on trains. It is acrylic on canvas and 21 x 31 cm.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The WGS is on from December 1st to January 29th 2022. I will be showing with very well known artists, some of whom were my tutors at art school, such as Mali Morris, Clyde Hopkins, Alan Gouk.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">At the same time I have 7 paintings in a large corporate show in office spaces at the Kings Hill village, Kent. These spaces are wonderfully spacious with great lighting, and I am showing some medium to large sized paintings along with several other artists. This exhibition will continue to the end of January too. More photos to follow.</span></div>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-32307532273496697802021-11-19T05:16:00.000-08:002021-11-19T05:16:17.252-08:00Selected for Turner Contemporary gallery exhibition!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylBeXD2de5xkMXpbb1bp7BwGFZE1R0ka35YVyutee1zdUZxRq_v70uw6Sie1wRQR0994qchf8W0wUmRdIyYjtyeOKy-lukXAHkaiZ2S93Y1_RfwuSeu788nyIMsvxfwdyEovX5SW1Rwc/s2048/Coexistence_Fiona+Stanbury_series.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1465" data-original-width="2048" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiylBeXD2de5xkMXpbb1bp7BwGFZE1R0ka35YVyutee1zdUZxRq_v70uw6Sie1wRQR0994qchf8W0wUmRdIyYjtyeOKy-lukXAHkaiZ2S93Y1_RfwuSeu788nyIMsvxfwdyEovX5SW1Rwc/w640-h458/Coexistence_Fiona+Stanbury_series.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">My painting COEXISTENCE (above) has been selected for the current exhibition at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, Kent. The exhibition is called OPEN and celebrates 10 years of this prestigious gallery with its wonderful exhibition space. My painting is large, 100 x 140 cm, and the exhibition is on from October 23rd to February 20th 2022. I am thrilled to be showing at this gallery!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">This seems a really good moment to write my blog again after an absence of over a year due to personal circumstances. I have made a lot of new work since I last posted which I will now start to post on a regular basis! In December I will have my paintings in 3 exhibitions: The Turner Contemporary gallery; The exhibition THE WINTER GROUP SHOW, at the Linden Hall gallery, (Deal, Kent), and 7 paintings currently on show at the corporate spaces at Kings Hill, Kent (curated by Frickleton Fine Art).</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">The photos below show my painting in the gallery and a view of the gallery at sunset. It is situated next to the sea and I took this photo from the railway station as I prepared to go home. You can see that the gallery even from that distance appears quite large.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLaSOCobir6zTKDtbe6qYJGrEQMgXyNh4K30ibnTWeXRIE83e0cB31tNLAQcaXsRzEiLXlbsqswVVygp3gEX_z-XMj7jBxFgxSOOuYqHxzvGdytE5tFJgqb2zNw9yaTWeIoOrqUVIj8g/s2048/IMG_2436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLaSOCobir6zTKDtbe6qYJGrEQMgXyNh4K30ibnTWeXRIE83e0cB31tNLAQcaXsRzEiLXlbsqswVVygp3gEX_z-XMj7jBxFgxSOOuYqHxzvGdytE5tFJgqb2zNw9yaTWeIoOrqUVIj8g/w640-h480/IMG_2436.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsr_ighDYzobkAH5szFprjKTPTo9Y2eVjQqQLSq10BPUE1_TyqycWPRSARAueE5oVTXBJvZs8G-0pGa8QeZ2HDRX-ctiznZhQUNIsAQKhWSbu6DXhsuAwf-nhdjxhIaCWiqTnwI3pkb_4/s2048/IMG_2517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsr_ighDYzobkAH5szFprjKTPTo9Y2eVjQqQLSq10BPUE1_TyqycWPRSARAueE5oVTXBJvZs8G-0pGa8QeZ2HDRX-ctiznZhQUNIsAQKhWSbu6DXhsuAwf-nhdjxhIaCWiqTnwI3pkb_4/w640-h480/IMG_2517.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-82006415808479748122020-08-06T05:24:00.004-07:002020-08-06T05:30:29.388-07:00Inspired by the Moon: A Series of Summer Paintings part 1<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78DBaAVdHpYZcuZfy23JxKesRz9VlkZ6NTub9GOgLhXUEXUjEJ6o4OeFBwX1vGBz_vL-ns-5OKIsi00SkxgQ7a5w4AvWbe8hNEudLeb0MGJ5aL6-9WrcoTjZgO0lGbRz2ldLpvS0p__k/s1600/Rainfall+Moon_acrylic+on+canvas_92+x+73+cm_2020_Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1286" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi78DBaAVdHpYZcuZfy23JxKesRz9VlkZ6NTub9GOgLhXUEXUjEJ6o4OeFBwX1vGBz_vL-ns-5OKIsi00SkxgQ7a5w4AvWbe8hNEudLeb0MGJ5aL6-9WrcoTjZgO0lGbRz2ldLpvS0p__k/s640/Rainfall+Moon_acrylic+on+canvas_92+x+73+cm_2020_Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" width="514" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">''Rainfall Moon,' acrylic on canvas, 92 x 73 cm, 2020</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As summer races by, I've felt incredibly inspired by several different experiences, alternating between abstraction and abstract figurative themes as paint suggested new approaches. One of the reasons I haven't posted for quite a while has been the intensity of my excitement and the momentum of working almost daily. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The moon has often appeared as a theme over the years. As I love to walk at night, in the UK, Cyprus and other countries such as China, I have always found night to be full of mystery and open to boundless imagination. In Cyprus I often watched the moon as it rose luminous and green on the horizon and turned to pink, orange and finally yellow. Sometimes I've been surprised by a sudden view of the large Harvest moon behind some trees and I wanted to try to convey some of the magic I've felt. There's also something unseen, and a sense of the beyond, in particular beyond this planet, that the moon brings to mind for me. At a time of coronavirus and many global problems, watching the moon reminds me of the vastness of the universe and makes me question the meanings of our existence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Light and the time of day often feature in my work and the moon theme gives me the chance to play with ideas about colour, calligraphic brush strokes and shapes. Some of the paintings focused on the developing interest in the process of making imagery and different ways to apply paint. Sometimes paint parallels light and the work veers towards abstraction.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first painting is about the summer rain, of which we had little in the UK. I was thinking about the last warm colours as dusk fades to night and the rain streaming down, obscuring a landscape. It was painted with thin layers and was unplanned, the way I always work.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDwZpveeWjGlonFtZng9cY9sdedVE8OZK1Ssf6G-4LbHKIfXQMyhMEmH51wUjHCY04-XkGhQpdSTV6t6NM-OGoQ-sfWfgukdPVCeIzCexRG0ra1nyvJnOSNjjY5zCtY7EJaDCHqp7gzw/s1600/Rainfall+Moon+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1270" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQDwZpveeWjGlonFtZng9cY9sdedVE8OZK1Ssf6G-4LbHKIfXQMyhMEmH51wUjHCY04-XkGhQpdSTV6t6NM-OGoQ-sfWfgukdPVCeIzCexRG0ra1nyvJnOSNjjY5zCtY7EJaDCHqp7gzw/s640/Rainfall+Moon+2.JPG" width="508" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Rainfall Moon,' (2) acrylic on canvas, 92 x 73 cm, 2020</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This second painting is still in progress. I'm brightening the moon and tweaking a few other areas. I love this size of canvas, (and larger), and this painting is also quite layered with translucent and opaque paint. I layer paint until an image emerges and I feel transported to a new place. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are a few more moon paintings, some more figurative based and some abstract.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMv1AN_uhVeB-ASMyHq5yGwCjr-L-Haizw3_97xm_zBN5h8ptXCypejZLuZBBuuUdjhc0pqLlwmISBHumGoD553ALE94FLPJy_HvIv3UZvKF2jRlXqW1XMeFNMQVWuI2UNqPM0SMteOAQ/s1600/IMG_0570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1279" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMv1AN_uhVeB-ASMyHq5yGwCjr-L-Haizw3_97xm_zBN5h8ptXCypejZLuZBBuuUdjhc0pqLlwmISBHumGoD553ALE94FLPJy_HvIv3UZvKF2jRlXqW1XMeFNMQVWuI2UNqPM0SMteOAQ/s640/IMG_0570.JPG" width="510" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Moon, Mountains and Forest,' acrylic on canvas, 25 x 20 cm 2020</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLtNThaC3QZokKRoclozSLWcUv8eg2sAxpmv9OmbA03FOlWwp2CwPgXCzzuPuYXs34xcarDjR6jpMQU_qjlhwTz9hr4r2vnxNiLaMycTs-5zT3JbcAfwxHQMdbZCdEdRuOPD-fpHM3d8/s1600/Moonlit+Terrain_acrylic+on+canvas_30+x+23+cm_2020_Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1281" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiLtNThaC3QZokKRoclozSLWcUv8eg2sAxpmv9OmbA03FOlWwp2CwPgXCzzuPuYXs34xcarDjR6jpMQU_qjlhwTz9hr4r2vnxNiLaMycTs-5zT3JbcAfwxHQMdbZCdEdRuOPD-fpHM3d8/s320/Moonlit+Terrain_acrylic+on+canvas_30+x+23+cm_2020_Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Moonlit Terrain,' acrylic on canvas, 25 x 20 cm, 2020</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKIWRK5xCkWTGUa4_XVrx-mwVrVFH0wAd1CxFdXmkULMTLJZP190WFu0GUIfZy5_rf1k828mH1kLs252j3ZdcK4vVHhGhFucrBe7IwIWomxeQQmyvHMRyQAGHlvdMFFNDAmdCqSSu_MI/s1600/Lavender+Moon_acrylic+and+ink+on+canvas_60+x+50+cm_2019_Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="1600" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKIWRK5xCkWTGUa4_XVrx-mwVrVFH0wAd1CxFdXmkULMTLJZP190WFu0GUIfZy5_rf1k828mH1kLs252j3ZdcK4vVHhGhFucrBe7IwIWomxeQQmyvHMRyQAGHlvdMFFNDAmdCqSSu_MI/s640/Lavender+Moon_acrylic+and+ink+on+canvas_60+x+50+cm_2019_Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Lavender Moon,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 50 x 60 cm, 2019</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4CSKxCgsS3YzrUaV8pSOa3QJIUBuhlGMUNQJCMjggwSyZDFJNFb5TaemZe-f8_yQ0JOGt2YHaM8euXKbsSpdAciYcWjitIsUsTUVN_s6ma8ydsXFntRFkPS3I29ku0Q6kI10ffy7j-w/s1600/Painting+of+the+Day+%2523PaintBritain%252C+Moonlight+Over+Brighton%252C+Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1318" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4CSKxCgsS3YzrUaV8pSOa3QJIUBuhlGMUNQJCMjggwSyZDFJNFb5TaemZe-f8_yQ0JOGt2YHaM8euXKbsSpdAciYcWjitIsUsTUVN_s6ma8ydsXFntRFkPS3I29ku0Q6kI10ffy7j-w/s640/Painting+of+the+Day+%2523PaintBritain%252C+Moonlight+Over+Brighton%252C+Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" width="526" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Moon Over Brighton,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 23 cm, 2018</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And two of the more abstract paintings in which I was thinking of the emotional experience and loving thick paint.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXZiLPxXQgT9mSRO9KLiVG2pMEzUcjI8VK_t03MQqckGfAkbvdwGzdAld6Ioxi-P9Z6LgvJ1mEGyHV_GX-btpTT4QBAsMCFdvJzRVXGVn5earWbN6JXgYe4BAk_7eqdOiuijVTLOh6ck/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXZiLPxXQgT9mSRO9KLiVG2pMEzUcjI8VK_t03MQqckGfAkbvdwGzdAld6Ioxi-P9Z6LgvJ1mEGyHV_GX-btpTT4QBAsMCFdvJzRVXGVn5earWbN6JXgYe4BAk_7eqdOiuijVTLOh6ck/s640/IMG_0037.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Moonlit Landscape,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 23 cm, 2019</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxNqu_tENAOBZc_vxL21Ng2F45M3U5deY7bOkUZPSuVuSXPXrv8KrUtMxWER4IuF5KheI0T3CMYKy1LR06xDtAWIXaudi1vTKAD7Rj3qyv0DyWUnACDfGHVR7Mq7enS2n6jtg7oOof50/s1600/IMG_0480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqxNqu_tENAOBZc_vxL21Ng2F45M3U5deY7bOkUZPSuVuSXPXrv8KrUtMxWER4IuF5KheI0T3CMYKy1LR06xDtAWIXaudi1vTKAD7Rj3qyv0DyWUnACDfGHVR7Mq7enS2n6jtg7oOof50/s640/IMG_0480.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Scents of the Moon,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 23 cm, 2020<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This last one is about the delightful fragrance of summer which I often associate also with walking along the coast at night or through landscape. It's a fragrance that's quite hard to define but is slightly perfumed, sweet, and uplifting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will post more of my moon paintings this week and also some of the new landscape/abstracts I'm working on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you would like to see more of my new work, my website is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.fionastanbury.com/gallery_759043.html">https://www.fionastanbury.com/gallery_759043.html</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-85300608914516295492020-06-18T06:51:00.000-07:002020-06-18T06:51:31.303-07:00Artists Working in Isolation: A Personal Experience<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj10P7TKWZxKu9GM-o_lT3MLNsOMOrVbaHUnDZJ1NgcaIrCK1cTLux2xbzgdX5LDENOglJtHS3STmAxAQkPHz-ByIel9Yao_OOQpTqyNTjgYMZ3L-n37SGFQE3xK2QXXylLJGGWTXNpYQ/s1600/IMG_0487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1234" data-original-width="1600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj10P7TKWZxKu9GM-o_lT3MLNsOMOrVbaHUnDZJ1NgcaIrCK1cTLux2xbzgdX5LDENOglJtHS3STmAxAQkPHz-ByIel9Yao_OOQpTqyNTjgYMZ3L-n37SGFQE3xK2QXXylLJGGWTXNpYQ/s640/IMG_0487.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Coastal Flooding,' oil on canvas, 30 x 23 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As lockdown eases a bit here in the UK, my anxiety has also eased a little though strangely my output of painting has not been affected. If anything, the 3 months of restrictions caused an even greater concentration on my painting and my 2020 album on my website is packed with new work made since March 23rd. The painting above was completed this week and reflects the gradually changing conditions in that I've picked up the threads on a past theme of climate change. Up till this moment I was focused on a series of collage and mixed media works which was largely directed by wanting to escape to new places or were reflections on the new territory we find ourselves in. Now these themes are alternating with painting on canvas again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most artists work in isolation much of the time but the main difference has been that we couldn't meet up or visit each other's studios and exhibitions. There have been many online events, discussions, and online exhibitions and we've had to find new ways to connect with our audience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Materials take much longer to arrive at the moment so while making collage works on card I've been re-working unresolved paintings, some from a few years ago. For this post I'm showing a few of these plus a new painting made for a show in China later this year (which may end up being postponed).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD1aCLqZpr_nABsmLwfCHfAmT7_4VW8lIlu6T8jIlM3c-vsD-j714ZjzQMKAoAk0-99dmr_7MNMUdKhG3tqYXpvJdcfqFFcd1OqBzWgpDaBCD-gryKVNSIbvZf7YRSMcd6z5pGGB2Zc0/s1600/IMG_0486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1100" data-original-width="1600" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdD1aCLqZpr_nABsmLwfCHfAmT7_4VW8lIlu6T8jIlM3c-vsD-j714ZjzQMKAoAk0-99dmr_7MNMUdKhG3tqYXpvJdcfqFFcd1OqBzWgpDaBCD-gryKVNSIbvZf7YRSMcd6z5pGGB2Zc0/s640/IMG_0486.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Garden of Light,' oil on canvas, 40 x 30 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've also gone back to working with oil paint again after having spent these 3 months working with ink, acrylic, papers and gesso on card. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdAWy5PLGVLvhsZooZVSLfzY8xqSbnewcgpAgRFT6XyTl8vmaoeOolYTtMmYzkB_b4BE9ujVG0LeNj-vnT4mjt2lMTnZL3-UO_daTlyj2xQDxN6olae9SqJyRCeXF-3yicGWhjiteeUA/s1600/IMG_0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1183" data-original-width="1600" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdAWy5PLGVLvhsZooZVSLfzY8xqSbnewcgpAgRFT6XyTl8vmaoeOolYTtMmYzkB_b4BE9ujVG0LeNj-vnT4mjt2lMTnZL3-UO_daTlyj2xQDxN6olae9SqJyRCeXF-3yicGWhjiteeUA/s640/IMG_0485.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Paintscape,' oil on board, 37 x 47 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, this medium sized painting was painted entirely in acrylic. Last August as a particpant at the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale I was one of 30 artists selected to go out sketching in the landscape near the mountains. It was a 90 minute journey and I worked with ink on paper. This painting is a composite of memories of my month's painting Fellowship at the Great Wall in 2016, 4 trips to China, and reflections on my visits which evolved into waterfalls of colour. The painting was also influenced by the many mixed media works I was creating. I could have chosen any of the viewpoints I sketched though none were close up views of mountains, but as I love mountains, and they symbolise journeys and I remember the long journey to the mountains at the Great Wall, this image grew from those layers of thought.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOrfb5tlFFImM7fF8T6JT9XoXwBMp5XsjmpbGluwfsrnQ-CjblVUatx2LaB_FUer8p6GHuOeANlnEanZTY7OczVfIg5AjochdoyT63a2vQEDjn4r3968mCREQe1pmT3YEH1Fb-yL40Qc/s1600/Waterfalls+of+Colour.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1600" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOrfb5tlFFImM7fF8T6JT9XoXwBMp5XsjmpbGluwfsrnQ-CjblVUatx2LaB_FUer8p6GHuOeANlnEanZTY7OczVfIg5AjochdoyT63a2vQEDjn4r3968mCREQe1pmT3YEH1Fb-yL40Qc/s640/Waterfalls+of+Colour.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Waterfalls of Colour,' acrylic on canvas, 93 x 78 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-91209636954951256762020-05-30T06:03:00.001-07:002020-05-30T06:03:36.105-07:00“UNESCO and MEADOWS artists against COVID-19”. An Online Exhibition, May 29th 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaroaQB7ugeA4Oq-RAttz4AIQ_WjNM4F-eXEFG_IXFB3h53XLukBQnwb8NCxBjoKKXKIu327tt1jZjtwm2aZKRuL0JjH2rqQ4uOI1dIUDowcKhIAJE2F-_FO2T1lmypmxRtYAqbG95wE/s1600/layout31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="634" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaroaQB7ugeA4Oq-RAttz4AIQ_WjNM4F-eXEFG_IXFB3h53XLukBQnwb8NCxBjoKKXKIu327tt1jZjtwm2aZKRuL0JjH2rqQ4uOI1dIUDowcKhIAJE2F-_FO2T1lmypmxRtYAqbG95wE/s640/layout31.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To give an idea about this exhibition I'm sharing a quote from the UNESCO website:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;">UNESCO Beirut Office partnered with </span><strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;"><a class="ext" href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/MEADOWS-International-Mediterranean-Endeavors-advancing-Development-of-Widespread-Sustainability-international-NGO-founded-in-Lebanon/1668891090036664" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0165ba; outline: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">MEADOWS</a> (Mediterranean Endeavors Advancing Development Of Widespread Sustainability) NGO</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;"> to reach out to artists worldwide and invite them to take the challenge to use visual arts as a powerful tool effecting relevant global issues through the intercultural dialogue. The concept created by Lena Kelekian, MEADOWS’ President and Founder, led to initiating the MASK ART creativity under lockdown with the patronage of UNESCO Beirut Office, under the topic of </span><strong style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;">“UNESCO and MEADOWS artists against COVID-19”</strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;">. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">250 Artists from 120 countries placed their artwork on a mask template and the result on the website is a stunning and diverse array of beautiful masks. It creates a positive image of mask wearing and I feel it represents taking some control over what is a really hard and tragic time in our existence. Here are some more masks...</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-xwLPgTLfPHhNxV5MeyX10YMkEJYglYWe15P3GdwZMw8j-_QVVPLfWheBKrbr0155hoR4fjp5qpmluWKSQv1rMhfQaMgiY51HGnyjacqoUHTWNSLpB3coVqGg7yZXtzBz7l7crVcdpY/s1600/9a91b7ac-5016-4475-bdb1-66df6fabe78b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1534" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-xwLPgTLfPHhNxV5MeyX10YMkEJYglYWe15P3GdwZMw8j-_QVVPLfWheBKrbr0155hoR4fjp5qpmluWKSQv1rMhfQaMgiY51HGnyjacqoUHTWNSLpB3coVqGg7yZXtzBz7l7crVcdpY/s320/9a91b7ac-5016-4475-bdb1-66df6fabe78b.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUrq8nvrqPu5M_rTE2Ov2_rpp2xFdlbkFx1aAMYUuQpi2oNacVftFiQ5SvHfO4P2chJm9NqNCC-wfSXj-cxvyBISj2Phfj89bJBZvTpmbW-Yx6BdPphB4KMa65Kdia2L6A1hP1LgztXI/s1600/layout14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1534" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUrq8nvrqPu5M_rTE2Ov2_rpp2xFdlbkFx1aAMYUuQpi2oNacVftFiQ5SvHfO4P2chJm9NqNCC-wfSXj-cxvyBISj2Phfj89bJBZvTpmbW-Yx6BdPphB4KMa65Kdia2L6A1hP1LgztXI/s320/layout14.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Open Sans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.8571px;">Here is another description of the project taken from the UNESCO website which describes it better than I could:</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 22.8571px;"><span style="font-size: large;">'In these stricken times, while mitigating technical and slow internet problems, difficulties of social distancing and lockdown, communication was established with all the regional & national representatives, mobilizing every volunteer resource to transform the medical masks that instilled fear, such as stark reminders of the imminent danger of infection, into canvasses displaying strong creations of artists and their personal reaction to this pandemic crisis. The responses were highly creative. In some cases, we can find gloomy and morbid expressions of fear of the unknown but mostly they are expressions of hope and desire of a better and different tomorrow. Inside the short three weeks deadline – instead of the needed three months -, UNESCO Beirut and MEADOWS went through the process of selection albeit the language barriers and cultural differences, finding the common denominators of resilience between artists from all over continents.'</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; line-height: 22.8571px;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the link - scroll down to see the many artworks:</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://en.unesco.org/news/mask-art-creativity-under-lockdown-unesco-beirut-meadows-artists-against-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR2DUGYLmvJURi5IrAQW2bIOsi_LMKDQykvkqviupEI00c5sKbCQS86f0gA">https://en.unesco.org/news/mask-art-creativity-under-lockdown-unesco-beirut-meadows-artists-against-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR2DUGYLmvJURi5IrAQW2bIOsi_LMKDQykvkqviupEI00c5sKbCQS86f0gA</a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22.8571px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-48011994027326604512020-05-30T05:45:00.001-07:002020-05-30T05:45:51.641-07:00ART SAVES HUMANITY: My Work Is In Top 100 Artworks Of This International Virtual Exhibition<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wiScIOL9XRKGBiH7-c3792ZkKmNrl-vBKdHlwftj_aDE2QUhlXxgEOmg0egBpOIeEHX0lgnOh2IhaKL9GMsP3S_XSRoTLGPvoFg9Xq3zUqMwDQ7VkIqbyHyKmQ0a29DqEdiReE0Jhnk/s1600/Walking+Towards+a+Shared+Future.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9wiScIOL9XRKGBiH7-c3792ZkKmNrl-vBKdHlwftj_aDE2QUhlXxgEOmg0egBpOIeEHX0lgnOh2IhaKL9GMsP3S_XSRoTLGPvoFg9Xq3zUqMwDQ7VkIqbyHyKmQ0a29DqEdiReE0Jhnk/s640/Walking+Towards+a+Shared+Future.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Walking Towards a Shared Future,' acrylic and oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm 2018</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I submitted 2 paintings to this global online exhibition organised by the SeeMe team, as it says below:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">'We asked artists to share their perspective on the human condition...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Art Saves Humanity will be a global virtual exhibition bringing together the SeeMe community, Sotheby's Institute and its global network, Community Access to the Arts, the 1KNetwork.org and artists from all over the world with other corporate sponsors.'</span><br />
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(quoted from their website)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The judges were Brendan Clecko, Christine Kuan, Marine Tanguy, Poppy Simpson, Ariel Adkins, Jerry Saltz and the Sotheby's team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The theme was to be about hope and reflection during the pandemic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While I did receive 2 emails informing me of the results of my 2 submissions, I had not during an exceptionally busy week opened them! So when the exhibition opened online on May 21st I went to see which paintings were in the Top 100 selected artists and as I scrolled along I came across my painting (above)! To have made the Top 100 was amazing! There was also a link to my website.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So then I opened the 2 emails. I found that both my paintings had been put in the top 100 but only one is shown. This is the other one.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wpBa5zdkI_g5QNjzkQmqOLPBwvdM_iAJQ2TApI5-nhGjTKub2Y7CMu19FBQX5ijDFIqivz4jsuZ858DGp5T9SDPyLyapw8_-XaljtiLe61nsG0eQicmpM_mSmizknNhIA8vbAuGs-k/s1600/A+Global+Connection.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh99wpBa5zdkI_g5QNjzkQmqOLPBwvdM_iAJQ2TApI5-nhGjTKub2Y7CMu19FBQX5ijDFIqivz4jsuZ858DGp5T9SDPyLyapw8_-XaljtiLe61nsG0eQicmpM_mSmizknNhIA8vbAuGs-k/s640/A+Global+Connection.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'A Global Connection,' oil on canvas, 100 x 140 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other wonderful thing to find out was that I'd won a signed copy of the new book by Jerry Saltz called <i>How to be an Artist. </i>He was one of the judges. I'm really pleased about this!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most of the time as an artist you work alone and there's very little to guide you through a vast terrain of bumps and unlit territory so it's nice to get some positive feedback.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the link to the website:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.artsaveshumanity.com/artist-selection">https://www.artsaveshumanity.com/artist-selection</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Scrolling along to the right or left brings up my art.)</span></div>
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Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-56935109997783646852020-05-29T07:42:00.001-07:002020-05-29T07:55:33.830-07:00Fiona Stanbury's Interview Featured in Art Habens Magazine, April 2020<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbps3hCG29XwnoJDjx6WPa4MyA-kXGxzNJzt-lRb7eiAmHCKKaxQnPwyAsTdGHP-X_cKeP6iaaET8d112aQ3B63Jy0buCdeA7Jb-c1uMK9PJT0p4M26YWo6KN7KvgndntEUWkQ3gzlIl8/s1600/IMG_0413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="1600" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbps3hCG29XwnoJDjx6WPa4MyA-kXGxzNJzt-lRb7eiAmHCKKaxQnPwyAsTdGHP-X_cKeP6iaaET8d112aQ3B63Jy0buCdeA7Jb-c1uMK9PJT0p4M26YWo6KN7KvgndntEUWkQ3gzlIl8/s640/IMG_0413.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Night Gathering,' (3) acrylic on canvas, 20 x 25 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recently I completed an interview for the international online art magazine, <i>Art Habens</i>. The questions they sent me were really insightful and interesting to answer and caused me much reflection. I ended up with 35 pages of text and images, one of the longest interviews published! I'm planning to print it up as a small catalogue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the Link:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://issuu.com/arthabens/docs/biennial.ed.xvii/190">https://issuu.com/arthabens/docs/biennial.ed.xvii/190</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And an image from the opening page of the magazine....</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJzz_T15_L0AIGZRH5lyvjAQM2TV7yEdGJ2QO4nk53dFdovonCJR0K7gWQJmAuYHeIZdRw8qEfhV1RzZ76_iglnM26SnGBlZUAGGQJ7ioPmXEvjq24LVeAYFU142VMrCrSI78hFWqK3o/s1600/thumbnail_hmdpdhemjipckebb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="292" data-original-width="500" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuJzz_T15_L0AIGZRH5lyvjAQM2TV7yEdGJ2QO4nk53dFdovonCJR0K7gWQJmAuYHeIZdRw8qEfhV1RzZ76_iglnM26SnGBlZUAGGQJ7ioPmXEvjq24LVeAYFU142VMrCrSI78hFWqK3o/s640/thumbnail_hmdpdhemjipckebb.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the last few weeks I've been more busy than ever. Firstly, finishing 2 paintings for an exhibition in China later this year which I was invited to submit work to as a participant of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale in August 2019. At that time 30 artists were taken into the landscape around Beijing and we made sketches which have been the inspiration for the artwork.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is one of the paintings I made.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLgMrznFGUr5aaGtGZZms9EXhqG27k7XrykQLGiSXdy8OHFnymu7Do8JDtuQbsXKLOMH1HYb7WmwZTt09-hPmtGDbs-60tvpaWbJ5mCH-z-zsuQS_HEvRYK7ceuTboszVpNU_Htbu_FU/s1600/Waterfalls+of+Colour.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1288" data-original-width="1600" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLgMrznFGUr5aaGtGZZms9EXhqG27k7XrykQLGiSXdy8OHFnymu7Do8JDtuQbsXKLOMH1HYb7WmwZTt09-hPmtGDbs-60tvpaWbJ5mCH-z-zsuQS_HEvRYK7ceuTboszVpNU_Htbu_FU/s640/Waterfalls+of+Colour.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Waterfalls of Colour,' acrylic on canvas, 85 x 65 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since I last wrote I've been continuing with my Lockdown series which began during the 30 Works 30 Days global art project in April, mentioned previously. This forced me to use new materials as due to the pandemic my delivery of materials was delayed and has generated an ongoing series of mixed media works along with works on canvas. One of the new themes is based on night gatherings or what I have viewed sadly as a lack of night gatherings. The only time I feel a sense of community on the street where I live is when we all go out at 8pm on a Thursday evening to clap the NHS and carers and keyworkers. So the painting I'm posting today is one of my series remembering the life I used to see on the streets at night and the buzz of social interactions. This is one of an ongoing series.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-43169785705354996192020-05-03T07:08:00.001-07:002020-05-03T07:08:37.856-07:0030 Works 30 Days: End of an Artist Project Followed During Lockdown<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnjyvi0A-v1-RQkvb7T_No1jleUNyxSG_rWpVaIALCrZ1fNR5Sq4KbnBIOjdtzfTzG_sbmzP6IZ_NWxRtHI9h0-V8QWqTFT4O5JsKGrwAn9G05FAwtnbcna35Qlc4HmoX97GBE8pMZM-0/s1600/Where+My+Thoughts+Wander.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnjyvi0A-v1-RQkvb7T_No1jleUNyxSG_rWpVaIALCrZ1fNR5Sq4KbnBIOjdtzfTzG_sbmzP6IZ_NWxRtHI9h0-V8QWqTFT4O5JsKGrwAn9G05FAwtnbcna35Qlc4HmoX97GBE8pMZM-0/s640/Where+My+Thoughts+Wander.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Where My Thoughts Wander,' acrylic, ink, pen, papers and gesso on card, 30 x 20 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This global project which had over 1000 artists from 42 countries ended on April 30th. You had to submit an artwork each day during April, and 5 or 6 artists were selected each day to have their works shown on the 12ocollective Instagram pages. The 12ocollective website ended up with over 18,000 artworks and I believe everyone completed this challenge for lockdown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had the following painting, made on DAY 21, displayed on the 12ocollective Instagram post for that day. I was really pleased to be chosen in amongst so many entries each day! This little painting was painted as a longing for street gatherings at night. My neighbourhood seems so quiet these days and the only time I become aware of any kind of community is when everyone comes out on a Thursday evening at 8pm to clap for the NHS, carers and keyworkers.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CUdVWYfX_pg9z87az40cFbnU0eGqegeq56TfCSIujqKFJLYQlnCF61PVKNb5h8-5DXhzY3zUM6AaD9qCSVe9PaoYLfIr8suTnAZmW5OY62ejaKkzxdoV1M-Q3s3Hj3YergdTjljBxaM/s1600/Night+Gathering.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1CUdVWYfX_pg9z87az40cFbnU0eGqegeq56TfCSIujqKFJLYQlnCF61PVKNb5h8-5DXhzY3zUM6AaD9qCSVe9PaoYLfIr8suTnAZmW5OY62ejaKkzxdoV1M-Q3s3Hj3YergdTjljBxaM/s640/Night+Gathering.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Night Gathering,' acrylic and ink on card, 30 x 20 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned in a previous post, my art materials were delayed in arriving and I was forced to use cardboard and card to make my paintings and collages. It turned out to be a positive restriction because it opened up a different way of working and seeing painting elements. I made a very large series of collages, in fact the mixed media works took over towards the end of the challenge. For this short post I'm including a few of the collages. I found working with mixed materials beneficial because limitations always force you to find new ways to assemble an image, and in particular I was thinking about edges, transitions between colours, brush strokes and patterns. This will now feed back into the large paintings on canvas.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWT6eNeZaZhXU1e9uKHxTuU3n2jfCGDOg-XIpSftSCENMQC-84imKdgHQAiViuwhfcrU5vtwpp17XclGJvJVOKRXwcbNy2kCFZBkgLAQru-EVaLVuJQpU1GhyTCXRwcRbvltJ215frryw/s1600/IMG_0392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWT6eNeZaZhXU1e9uKHxTuU3n2jfCGDOg-XIpSftSCENMQC-84imKdgHQAiViuwhfcrU5vtwpp17XclGJvJVOKRXwcbNy2kCFZBkgLAQru-EVaLVuJQpU1GhyTCXRwcRbvltJ215frryw/s640/IMG_0392.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Mountain Route,' (3) acrylic, ink, gesso, papers on card, 30 x 20 cm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlc8ojUNHg29oY9xD_pzYyfllh8y5eJeO6lypwTHhp0KTvdQJNWzpypsLK2_GLcQFU9BN0WdEb3V51r-qopNUXAebf3AZgxceU1vy182OCU8kz9nXDXSJDVyHLvhunEFSMBWo2U17gFfU/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlc8ojUNHg29oY9xD_pzYyfllh8y5eJeO6lypwTHhp0KTvdQJNWzpypsLK2_GLcQFU9BN0WdEb3V51r-qopNUXAebf3AZgxceU1vy182OCU8kz9nXDXSJDVyHLvhunEFSMBWo2U17gFfU/s640/IMG_0380.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Entering a New Land,' acrylic, rice paper, ink and gesso on card, 30 x 20 cm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozcQwnZm4M-YQgRXuDvAWoaD9GslRttsEsA4SUGeUWyod4lOh57oPpUYbJmcauM7gZpMy74hS8L776O-TrdzXsPCW9fLYZn74FGkCwIJIoB0Jx49no59jCM-d5y34YRZurGBHZaHUuZ4/s1600/IMG_0387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1600" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozcQwnZm4M-YQgRXuDvAWoaD9GslRttsEsA4SUGeUWyod4lOh57oPpUYbJmcauM7gZpMy74hS8L776O-TrdzXsPCW9fLYZn74FGkCwIJIoB0Jx49no59jCM-d5y34YRZurGBHZaHUuZ4/s640/IMG_0387.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">''Wishing to Travel Far,' acrylic, rice paper, ink and gesso on card, 30 x 20 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">More works will follow later this week or they can be seen on my artist website, the link is at the top right side of the blog page.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-60182316384308338812020-04-11T08:00:00.001-07:002020-04-11T08:00:36.422-07:0030 works 30 days: A Painting Every Day During April: Hope<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWr98GuBWFVW08neVIzozylsdIiJ8s995HT8Q6Ve-eZv4NXRe53g2Yse2wyh4I2tzpjSkjABcWHIZ7i-j9JEOsazDodbDS55c12SHD9MgRppMvuUrsCh1TpGgaU-Jd5kyFeb25_Vb9t58/s1600/reverie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="930" data-original-width="1600" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWr98GuBWFVW08neVIzozylsdIiJ8s995HT8Q6Ve-eZv4NXRe53g2Yse2wyh4I2tzpjSkjABcWHIZ7i-j9JEOsazDodbDS55c12SHD9MgRppMvuUrsCh1TpGgaU-Jd5kyFeb25_Vb9t58/s640/reverie.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Landscape Reverie,' ink, acrylic and gesso on cardboard, 42 x 24 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my previous post I mentioned lethargy. I have noticed that during this time of coronavirus it seems quite common and manifests itself in many ways. I have friends who simply can't paint at this time. There's no right or wrong way to deal with the deadly situation and constantly worsening news, and personally I find distraction in trying to extend my art practice each day. It helps me feel connected with the world by exploring my inner world, and colour always uplifts me. There may be external restrictions but my inner landscapes run free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm posting a few of the recent paintings made this last week and which have been loaded to the thirty works website. I don't want to slacken because if you miss a day you are out! I'm not following the briefs, I'm using the challenge to create ideas for new work which I will start as soon as my new materials come though I don't know when they will be delivered. However, there is something to be gained by working on unusual materials such as cardboard. They make you re-think your process and of course working speedily brings its own insights whether they are recognising new territory or falling short of one's intention.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcj2cEQ3PhBQsXBVkHV6EYrZ7yKj-3Z9dnTxK4KIWuQHYD9k9ijMeEwERq0hDCCXBDhiuJR7nHUv-cEEKjCy0QuqBQfrWr9LGG_IqV1KM6nWhUULKgNYDjpbxXU_8Xf7UQFeK_ov2UUk/s1600/IMG_0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1600" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcj2cEQ3PhBQsXBVkHV6EYrZ7yKj-3Z9dnTxK4KIWuQHYD9k9ijMeEwERq0hDCCXBDhiuJR7nHUv-cEEKjCy0QuqBQfrWr9LGG_IqV1KM6nWhUULKgNYDjpbxXU_8Xf7UQFeK_ov2UUk/s640/IMG_0351.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Spring Marching Across Winter,' ink, gesso and acrylic on cardboard, 42 x 24 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These 3 on cardboard are suggesting ways I could work with oil paint on canvas. I'm quite excited because through doing this project I've cut some corners and found several new forms and ways of applying paint. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">'Spring Marching Across Winter' was inspired by my daily walks when I noticed the greys, browns and warm neutral colours of winter being gradually invaded by fresh, vibrant greens and the luscious colours of flowers. 'Invasion' is about the way that the structures and meanings we hold as permanent in our lives can be turned upside down in a moment. I liked the immediacy of these 3 paintings but may layer oil paint on future canvases while trying to keep to the spirit of these mixed media works.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-WvQZnGK4S-xJV1fa33TBm-55vm_kxUYjmT-WTUwZwUu5X_ethK6xE6GoDUM0TDD40kdMCPY_4EN97OyZ0jIlCPwXuzeK2Ms5jWDCOYmeD2xQY-XUX89OEd2guMlNNtsBBqgyT0r-2Q/s1600/IMG_0350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1600" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-WvQZnGK4S-xJV1fa33TBm-55vm_kxUYjmT-WTUwZwUu5X_ethK6xE6GoDUM0TDD40kdMCPY_4EN97OyZ0jIlCPwXuzeK2Ms5jWDCOYmeD2xQY-XUX89OEd2guMlNNtsBBqgyT0r-2Q/s640/IMG_0350.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Invasion,' gesso, ink and acrylic on cardboard, 42 x 24 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My favourite is the first one because I feel it is more complete though the other 2 have prompts that can be extended when I work on canvas. It's such a good project because it generates energy and a sense of a positive link with the future. Working gives me a more balanced way to think about the current situation and gives me hope.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-15006590865272103632020-04-11T07:31:00.001-07:002020-04-11T07:36:10.647-07:00New Paintings and Keeping to Art Deadlines During Coronavirus<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQ-N7hHpuschYFk_QqD9cAJpZoy-f9DHV3-1QA769_yDQ-x1oilSFczssHs5V1NTzjax6gZDN_iT-o4Tu4khSGYPenc40rnrCLKTeb-dkqrq1XAR1MaYnMcs7Kuo4_Ep4pXuh_G_WWJ4/s1600/IMG_0334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1145" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQ-N7hHpuschYFk_QqD9cAJpZoy-f9DHV3-1QA769_yDQ-x1oilSFczssHs5V1NTzjax6gZDN_iT-o4Tu4khSGYPenc40rnrCLKTeb-dkqrq1XAR1MaYnMcs7Kuo4_Ep4pXuh_G_WWJ4/s640/IMG_0334.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'A Global Connection,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During this exceptionally difficult and challenging time when our daily routines are drastically altered, I'm trying to keep a focus on my artwork and to stick to my deadlines. It's not easy because at times I lapse into a lethargy and become anxious. Then the 'What If?' keeps me awake at night. Last night neither my husband or I could sleep fully and at 6.30am we ended up eating some trifle!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Any minor feeling of illness sends your mind racing: Is this coronavirus? I've suffered from a really bad flu (6 weeks ago) that then went in to my ear and I had to have antibiotics, and any twinge of pain or health abnormality now instantly brings to mind 'Do I need to self-isolate?' Luckily, both my husband and I are coping and keeping our distance from people but it's hard because you have to keep alert to all the things you now can not do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">However, I was really pleased this week because in between doing the daily 30 works 30 days art challenge, I managed to finish a painting for a Biennale in China later this year. I only stretched my canvas in the second week of March, and it's a big one - 100 x 140 cm - and I never thought I'd get it finished and submitted by the deadline of April 15th! The last stages of this painting were really hard and even now I have to remind myself to stop finding things I could have tweaked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The theme of the Biennale was Home and Co-existence, and my idea was to paint a home situation in which people are reading newspapers each with a different current topic on the front. So there are the themes of nature, the world, relationships, and home. I've included animals, water, fruit, a teapot, homes, and a butterfly which is symbolic of the sharing of thoughts. The people are linked by the red chairs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My thought was that people co-exist, wherever they are, through this daily ritual and sharing of thoughts on current issues. I really enjoyed painting those newspaper fronts and the theme of newspaper readers stretches back to my time living in Cyprus when this was an ongoing series of oil paintings. I have extended the theme in this new painting not only in terms of the shapes and paint application but through the way I've depicted the abstracted forms on the newspapers. None of it was foreplanned; I always let the painting guide me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I submitted the work about a week ago to an online form. It was actually very difficult to follow the instructions and took some time but I feel a sense of achievement that it's finally submitted. I hope it will be accepted!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This week I've been making a small painting every day for the daily challenge. I'm going to post some of them next. </span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-44990489584430199692020-04-07T06:48:00.001-07:002020-04-07T06:48:19.641-07:0030 Works 30 Days Challenge, Pushing My Limits<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bdfB9BE6UarV_oXFX_NKNhiftnzTZVIifd8joW2yy1I-G783TSLVUZHdUkBOKgwu4MUSpUfakwvyUMzpbWargwUh2gyEsxY_YioMpWtbBKDJNIn1RjSDSB4CRjpVwOe8zLE5nTJwdyU/s1600/IMG_0329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1600" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4bdfB9BE6UarV_oXFX_NKNhiftnzTZVIifd8joW2yy1I-G783TSLVUZHdUkBOKgwu4MUSpUfakwvyUMzpbWargwUh2gyEsxY_YioMpWtbBKDJNIn1RjSDSB4CRjpVwOe8zLE5nTJwdyU/s640/IMG_0329.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Paint Poem' (series) oil and acrylic on canvas 22 x 25 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I chose to take part in a 30 day painting challenge which has been organised by 12ocollective. We signed up to make 30 works across 30 days which I'm using as a tool to push through new ideas by trying out some different processes. If you fail to submit by midnight each day you are out of the challenge!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I work part time at the moment so fitting in this challenge along with work and making other artworks is stretching my day but I'm determined to finish. It helps also to take my mind off the worsening news about the coronavirus pandemic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first painting, on DAY ONE, is a small oil painting which I worked to a time limit. Since that first day I've been working with different mixed media, combining acrylic and ink on gesso on cardboard and rice paper layered on cardboard, with ink and acrylic. My main materials, stretchers to make canvases, will not arrive for a while so I'm having to work with whatever is around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For this post I'm including a few of the paintings I've made so far. We are currently on DAY SEVEN. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXosPwjowBe3cUK-3XIOCIxS1U7_pvRwjTQGC10q3lXcE60LIQ5y0MTQJWswIRBiBod_R20Ijin2Y6KThpg5W6SZ6jPi47EVtFF-_vdi1EADKg000j56ieEHmKnoN2i-jn9r1xro7a_4/s1600/IMG_0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="1600" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXosPwjowBe3cUK-3XIOCIxS1U7_pvRwjTQGC10q3lXcE60LIQ5y0MTQJWswIRBiBod_R20Ijin2Y6KThpg5W6SZ6jPi47EVtFF-_vdi1EADKg000j56ieEHmKnoN2i-jn9r1xro7a_4/s640/IMG_0343.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Paint Poem,' (series) 22 x 27 cm, gesso, ink and acrylic on cardboard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxk6yFk9XwYUxmJ6rAFtR4dnnLxu7WfFuexCA6asilh5zxWWq4L_UIfiEXLhirPIkKtqEG8yDqb9jZYghc_d-GkONXPw2QH6zNGmYxvqA8_ZigcXLFhVpMT7mDqnKHosLpxZjZvA3x1E/s1600/IMG_0332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxk6yFk9XwYUxmJ6rAFtR4dnnLxu7WfFuexCA6asilh5zxWWq4L_UIfiEXLhirPIkKtqEG8yDqb9jZYghc_d-GkONXPw2QH6zNGmYxvqA8_ZigcXLFhVpMT7mDqnKHosLpxZjZvA3x1E/s640/IMG_0332.JPG" width="588" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Social Distancing in the Park,' gesso, ink and acrylic on cardboard, 30 x 28 cm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQIVa2jrYX-GDHpyTSELVNjBcT6k2CMeqY4KN6y6VtoRAugxvV-5TQGbFdL2AC4rhRJhsjhncYCb4BQLiIKqlZNQG5jBe6XITnrf1Rb80q7MMqLLNFMZzPpHO4Yht43NJKvBufRPd-cY/s1600/IMG_0348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1600" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirQIVa2jrYX-GDHpyTSELVNjBcT6k2CMeqY4KN6y6VtoRAugxvV-5TQGbFdL2AC4rhRJhsjhncYCb4BQLiIKqlZNQG5jBe6XITnrf1Rb80q7MMqLLNFMZzPpHO4Yht43NJKvBufRPd-cY/s640/IMG_0348.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Paths in the Park,' acrylic and gesso on cardboard, 28 x 26 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">More will follow!</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-77913956562174665542020-03-25T11:57:00.000-07:002020-03-26T06:24:36.573-07:00Making Art During the Coronavirus: Normal Activities Can Create Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6VKKCL4tWbx8oI4jvIc69SlLzNRC3ehqvzdSnNpsma_qyCSaWoD1vlRom_v30OB4hx4-l5eLBFz-l9HRfXABIUhH9-KWdxQ-_rllenZo-6akef4wS8CUDkb2SbXW8jStvKsZLmb1QXI/s1600/IMG_0318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="1600" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO6VKKCL4tWbx8oI4jvIc69SlLzNRC3ehqvzdSnNpsma_qyCSaWoD1vlRom_v30OB4hx4-l5eLBFz-l9HRfXABIUhH9-KWdxQ-_rllenZo-6akef4wS8CUDkb2SbXW8jStvKsZLmb1QXI/s640/IMG_0318.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'The Sound of Colour: Fiona's Place,' acrylic on canvas, 93 x 72 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since I last wrote over a month ago our daily life has changed drastically. A month ago the Coronavirus had not taken its pernicious hold on the UK; it seemed to be something that was only really affecting the rest of the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The UK is now in lockdown since Monday night and like much of the world we have to completely reconsider how we do things daily. Some normal activities are no longer possible or restricted. Even today, on such a lovely sunny Spring day, my husband and I had to choose a route for a walk that was not overlong and decreased our contact with other people. To write this seems really strange and would have been unthinkable a month ago. At this point in time I'm wondering how much further these restrictions will have to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of my paintings, which featured people in physical or close contact, as in the painting below, now represent a time that we may not see for several months or longer. Imagery has ceased to have its usual values and certain imagery, both moving and still, has quickly taken a different, questionable meaning. Seeing videos of packed supermarkets with counters overflowing with fruit and vegetables in between News reports underlines how much has changed in a very short time. Similarly, adverts featuring holidays and gatherings of people on beaches or at parties now appear part of a past lifetime.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxeQ2CKim0M-DQCmUhqGS5CYyDu_BtdDBKR4XTmG1adFh-WskqkKVodAJP7E8gr8bFLnCMNwj2MWPJPO6RPNoswrdGWEbpvn8LkDjj3eSHWlYQQ5woZ3w3vB8CmFVD23UmkfKM6aVCbY/s1600/Social+Integration%252C+Peace+and+Opening+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="1600" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxeQ2CKim0M-DQCmUhqGS5CYyDu_BtdDBKR4XTmG1adFh-WskqkKVodAJP7E8gr8bFLnCMNwj2MWPJPO6RPNoswrdGWEbpvn8LkDjj3eSHWlYQQ5woZ3w3vB8CmFVD23UmkfKM6aVCbY/s640/Social+Integration%252C+Peace+and+Opening+Up.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Social Integration, Peace and Opening Up,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 100 x 140 cm (exhibited at the Dafen 1st International Oil Painting Biennale, 2018/19)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As artists we now find that exhibitions which were planned some time ago, gallery opportunities and our source of income has also been impacted on. Much is uncertain and several of my own exhibitions are now postponed. However, I've been selected for an interview for a high quality online art magazine called Art Habens which will be viewable in April and I'm busy writing answers to the interview questions. This sends a positive strand in to the future for me personally.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Personally I always feel I can keep going through the positive impact of colour. My artwork inspires hope for the future and making it gives me a sense that life will return to normal at some point. It's a strong link with the future and I always believe in being optimistic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the same time, I'm exploring new ways to work as the art shops locally have closed and I'm not sure how long online art suppliers will continue to deliver materials. This has been a worry because I have several large paintings to make for exhibitions later this year. On the positive side, working with my collage series is still possible at this time as I have a large supply of cardboard, papers, paints and inks. One of my favourite collages is the one below.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJxxX_WndmKlMzQPbRrpEJX-FLpTDHbrZ1S2ucvewSU-KVTxQGRPgIlMlzqMlvsIZyHCcAeWAlB9n6XR_-Mk13K82WInmPnk_LsOQBUGhor1DRE-Z5_cQqasYs1FE2kED8fmqO4HvyJQ/s1600/IMG_0303+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1600" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcJxxX_WndmKlMzQPbRrpEJX-FLpTDHbrZ1S2ucvewSU-KVTxQGRPgIlMlzqMlvsIZyHCcAeWAlB9n6XR_-Mk13K82WInmPnk_LsOQBUGhor1DRE-Z5_cQqasYs1FE2kED8fmqO4HvyJQ/s640/IMG_0303+-+Copy.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'B Went Missing In The Land,' mixed media on cardboard, 51 x 38 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">People will keep continuing to find ways to feel as normal as they can. People will find ways to be inventive and to adapt to the new routine and life. One of the best things about modern technology is that whereas in World War 2 when they had only phones to contact one another, we have social media and can contact each other online, through Skype, through Messenger, and by sharing pictures and our thoughts. No one needs to feel alone, and there's always the phone if you don't have other means of contact. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Every morning before I start to paint I view paintings on social media by my friends and it really lifts my mood. It was always part of my daily routine but now is more so. Art may be at the bottom of the list of things to buy right now when people are having to reduce visits to the supermarket, but online it can give joy to others and I've already been told by followers across social media that my artwork has lifted their mood. That's really warming to know during this time of social isolation. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnVs6FrqUXnhhznz52oxlAEnw3WesQUKlEJ6FFL_8VPJ7b9NkiHn0m1AbQ6qWTRBnL-xtAzZFZAVucua-2MdOeTtd3tttYa3d39ie8xpZ744nS_vijBxAjeuYji2AijOxlTzjcwhmMh8/s1600/The+Sailor%2527s+Song.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="853" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnVs6FrqUXnhhznz52oxlAEnw3WesQUKlEJ6FFL_8VPJ7b9NkiHn0m1AbQ6qWTRBnL-xtAzZFZAVucua-2MdOeTtd3tttYa3d39ie8xpZ744nS_vijBxAjeuYji2AijOxlTzjcwhmMh8/s640/The+Sailor%2527s+Song.JPG" width="532" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'The Sailor's Song,' acrylic on canvas, 50 x 60 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This last painting is about Hope. My father was in the Royal Navy and was a Commander with his own ship during the second World War. He used to tell me about the times he piloted a ship over 100 foot waves and dangerous moments navigating around icebergs. He also spoke about prayers to reach land safely when at sea in peril. This painting is about a rough sea in the evening, with high waves and rocks, and in the distance is the shoreline and safety. The boats are headed there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stay safe and well!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-13638465215817103022020-02-26T07:04:00.002-08:002020-02-26T07:04:21.625-08:00How Using Collage Can Suggest Creative Possibilities For A Painter.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOA-AuwWXp0Mic6uX-0BWjlhXxbF-Rwmt-uBu2vJOeTvIFu4-fOrUGD-NcslJnSViu9KpdYBuojODNwE9bHXQx2TP7D6geEqKhFBMAUv5FVuEaC6iAIZlt-bYGv4VxgHOFHsqzjKNUbM/s1600/B+GOES+MISSING+IN+THE+LAND.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="975" data-original-width="1600" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPOA-AuwWXp0Mic6uX-0BWjlhXxbF-Rwmt-uBu2vJOeTvIFu4-fOrUGD-NcslJnSViu9KpdYBuojODNwE9bHXQx2TP7D6geEqKhFBMAUv5FVuEaC6iAIZlt-bYGv4VxgHOFHsqzjKNUbM/s640/B+GOES+MISSING+IN+THE+LAND.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'B Went Missing in the Land,' ink, gesso, acrylic, papers on cardboard, 48 x 36 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recently I've begun using collage as a way to extend my working approach. Grappling with different materials allows you to question why you use certain elements in your work and to see ways you can simplify, substitute or drop aspects of your practice which perhaps are no longer relevant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">While my main focus is landscape, and some of my works are more landscape referenced than others, I feel the call of colour and shape pushing me to drop certain landscape references. Questions hang in the air every time I work on canvas or collage and I like that side of creating because I see painting as opening one's eyes to potential. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodq8kylWbSi33fnIkExSfM_6Hizu1WjhlGmXmIszOm4oYT8_4f77BS5p9vG9oDNxq5g9jQd6yf16_rrgPXm8y8OIBub0IYdIB2PkvmzzlAwvPQ3oHDqgzM_ve03_zOKebFzCjkR7GTDA/s1600/IMG_2022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodq8kylWbSi33fnIkExSfM_6Hizu1WjhlGmXmIszOm4oYT8_4f77BS5p9vG9oDNxq5g9jQd6yf16_rrgPXm8y8OIBub0IYdIB2PkvmzzlAwvPQ3oHDqgzM_ve03_zOKebFzCjkR7GTDA/s640/IMG_2022.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'They Passed Many Trees on Their Way to the Mountains,' collaged canvas, ink on canvas, 35 x 45 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The examples I'm posting today show different ways of working with varied materials. While they are only a step in the process, they have been really helpful to me with thoughts about reassessing edges, shapes and ways of making marks. They have helped generate a bolder approach.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt80tNssVe1obm4yNgll5j0fKq9pdMTaVzdCf-BpFRk8K2sv0iB_2NtzCSZat7q82JZFiaBINVSP_7wpmWK2LhJh3n_ISPCan63Qwmxaf7r6U5p-vpsGxV-h69oyy_PX431OfI7fBN1z8/s1600/IMG_0306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="741" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt80tNssVe1obm4yNgll5j0fKq9pdMTaVzdCf-BpFRk8K2sv0iB_2NtzCSZat7q82JZFiaBINVSP_7wpmWK2LhJh3n_ISPCan63Qwmxaf7r6U5p-vpsGxV-h69oyy_PX431OfI7fBN1z8/s640/IMG_0306.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Land Rhythms,' canvas, newspaper, ink, gesso and acrylic on cardboard, 24 x 13 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Things I want to think about in these works are: how to simplify; how colour and marks can suggest a place without constantly illustrating 'trees' or 'houses,' etc (not that this is wrong, just that for me right now something else is calling). I want a sense of 'air' in the work yet to explore how colour can be an entity in its own right. Perhaps this might even lead to more sculptural work.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGHD633TJB8tBdU_lu5lrsqxhMaLCTST-r0XuVphYqKPRwrazkES12WH5iEcnihF9kZDnjCFBdnnMnV8bNSn5NH0kHK6njJFdbRxr7UGCJJV59Kd5NtDo8tT3Sxko7JGXXeeeaEbwOVc/s1600/IMG_0304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1576" data-original-width="1600" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGHD633TJB8tBdU_lu5lrsqxhMaLCTST-r0XuVphYqKPRwrazkES12WH5iEcnihF9kZDnjCFBdnnMnV8bNSn5NH0kHK6njJFdbRxr7UGCJJV59Kd5NtDo8tT3Sxko7JGXXeeeaEbwOVc/s640/IMG_0304.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Rain Dance on My Patio,' rice paper, ink, acrylic on cardboard, 50 x 50 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of these use a lot of layered paper, as the example above shows, and some combine canvas on cardboard with inks and acrylics. Each approach tripped me up, made me re-evaluate the way I think about the picture arena and what I want or don't want.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaozxNOwxTa2IGZJ_3HQdGoaYJ227IlTjiy5cSvsT35z9-xl8eUDKbGLtJdjsGm1i5V0tpGsZIZD6blb5ajWC053F0xqw7JZLMeGp49Y4rvcljClzmTrHrd8hocymq2CoRWGlcsUMoagw/s1600/IMG_0305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="1600" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaozxNOwxTa2IGZJ_3HQdGoaYJ227IlTjiy5cSvsT35z9-xl8eUDKbGLtJdjsGm1i5V0tpGsZIZD6blb5ajWC053F0xqw7JZLMeGp49Y4rvcljClzmTrHrd8hocymq2CoRWGlcsUMoagw/s640/IMG_0305.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Lemba Evening,' (series) painted canvas, rice paper, acrylic, gesso on cardboard</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With some of the works it was not possible, due to the nature of the materials, to make too many changes. However, I feel that this is a good strand to follow while also painting on canvas because the combinations of materials really force you to focus and some of the 'accidents' suggest fresher directions.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3Sd2n38v_Tl-9l43X82VAzNlM5u9miuUTZIB35Cy-lF0ZOl9Mrn0HE8rNQBOcE-lNRBjf54Y71QmpiQXOuh8zFwbEFrJVfXIO2BvpTHveXDjW190SxkMRCSBk2sJWzehaN00kjHhgG4/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="989" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3Sd2n38v_Tl-9l43X82VAzNlM5u9miuUTZIB35Cy-lF0ZOl9Mrn0HE8rNQBOcE-lNRBjf54Y71QmpiQXOuh8zFwbEFrJVfXIO2BvpTHveXDjW190SxkMRCSBk2sJWzehaN00kjHhgG4/s640/IMG_2114.JPG" width="632" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Untitled,' paper, ink, canvas on canvas, 30 x 30 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">More to follow.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-51680183564421415152020-02-03T08:54:00.000-08:002020-02-03T08:54:11.952-08:00Painting About Light in Cyprus and the UK: An Artist's Thoughts.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahdHWU8_XHyvrl2freW_wU7cM7AJf_aULyr38jCOo4AL7hH3_Tm7dDp0oYvGfga_zY8SF2Q95zKBNecH8VhVbnEDw0L6u8ofrpiIY9KeZ6mVjkvC_Jm4usTZkXJbfxkFsa5vzmflurmA/s1600/Painting+of+the+Day%252C+%2523PaintBritain%252C+Fiona%2527s+Final+Goodbye+to+Burrswood%252C+Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1600" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahdHWU8_XHyvrl2freW_wU7cM7AJf_aULyr38jCOo4AL7hH3_Tm7dDp0oYvGfga_zY8SF2Q95zKBNecH8VhVbnEDw0L6u8ofrpiIY9KeZ6mVjkvC_Jm4usTZkXJbfxkFsa5vzmflurmA/s640/Painting+of+the+Day%252C+%2523PaintBritain%252C+Fiona%2527s+Final+Goodbye+to+Burrswood%252C+Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Fiona's Final Visit to Burrswood,' acrylic on canvas, 92 x 72 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm posting a few new pieces of work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The above painting was inspired by my final visit to Burrswood on December 2nd. As I have mentioned in previous posts, this was one of my favourite places when I used to paint in situ, and I painted at this place over a 9 year period in all weathers. Now I tend to abstract from the experiences of seeing the light change, walking along many paths around lakes with distant vistas visible through the trees. Always at the end of my painting session I'd walk back out through the forest as the light faded.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">During my last visit I left at dusk. There was a warm, colourful light behind the trees to the west and the plaintive sound of the birds followed me out through the forest. This painting is still being considered but my idea was to present myself in nature - naked, authentic to the spiritual experience - as the light faded. There's a suggestion of a chessboard on the distant hills because the random event of the closure of a place that had been open to the public for 70 years was very unexpected and seemed to echo the sometimes random events in people's lives. I wanted to convey light and to evoke a place but there are parts of the painting I'd like to work on further.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_bfKgASLC97SAeu36zugtknEJG689CdkOvRkX3e7UfUxN1wL3e9kt4czZtF67lh_dxvX8FLIXs4MK1vLDfKYVQM0tyGe8K3QgjE3Tss_uhsaZL8hhugcu7gJyjHyknFUiSzktskntkY/s1600/Painting+of+the+Day%252C+%2523Paint+Britain%252C+Cyprus+Dusk%252C+Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_bfKgASLC97SAeu36zugtknEJG689CdkOvRkX3e7UfUxN1wL3e9kt4czZtF67lh_dxvX8FLIXs4MK1vLDfKYVQM0tyGe8K3QgjE3Tss_uhsaZL8hhugcu7gJyjHyknFUiSzktskntkY/s320/Painting+of+the+Day%252C+%2523Paint+Britain%252C+Cyprus+Dusk%252C+Fiona+Stanbury.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Cyprus Dusk,' acrylic on canvas, 22 x 30 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is another from my Cyprus Evening series. They are really about an exploration of colour as a parallel for light. I've witnessed the fading evening light in Cyprus over 36 years. It's usually fleeting but there's a moment when objects - houses, Carob trees, paths - melt in to an all pervading colourful light, which saturates the land, with orange, yellow and pink, and this sense of time and light was my main focus.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWPFF4UmZm8yPKFDwLSwFVOXjOUIVtUZZLTAwB4e15-VN6hy3ZFnE8y04KflkcL8vK-4Bwan8bOkWSESnK-t2x-uGJdYlmRt-dgsLTDSOXMWNgA961LODFvYryOk-QDX-c9GvLa87ZkA/s1600/IMG_0298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1209" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWPFF4UmZm8yPKFDwLSwFVOXjOUIVtUZZLTAwB4e15-VN6hy3ZFnE8y04KflkcL8vK-4Bwan8bOkWSESnK-t2x-uGJdYlmRt-dgsLTDSOXMWNgA961LODFvYryOk-QDX-c9GvLa87ZkA/s320/IMG_0298.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Spring Energies,' acrylic on panel, 25 x 18 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, this was what I call a 'spin-off' painting which was made during working between other paintings. Spin-off paintings often emerge from an accumulation of ideas that seem to flow off the brush on to the support, usually when my mind is buzzing with expressive possibilities from previous works. I'd just stopped working on 2 other larger canvases and I looked out of my window to see the sun shining - a rare occurence this winter - and began to think of Spring. There's a time during early Spring when the light brightens and you can feel the energies in the breezes. My aim was to catch a sense of movement and light. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-61001097283051141182020-01-21T07:51:00.000-08:002020-01-21T08:13:54.580-08:00An Artist's Ideas and Inspiration Going Forwards in to 2020<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk5oaELnVrsNeyBlkqpI47drIyeg06h03iO08_VYT3QGK2h0OB57HVqm1xplNJtSJvXHe4ehTC3tVRpB2HVWZ_BxmlKMDpRR4UD-yoAGEWv8BctdwCSQBjpuqrMPtnRR_Se3qtmDPJG4/s1600/IMG_0295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqk5oaELnVrsNeyBlkqpI47drIyeg06h03iO08_VYT3QGK2h0OB57HVqm1xplNJtSJvXHe4ehTC3tVRpB2HVWZ_BxmlKMDpRR4UD-yoAGEWv8BctdwCSQBjpuqrMPtnRR_Se3qtmDPJG4/s640/IMG_0295.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Lemba Dusk,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My first post of 2020! I'm going to write about some of my painting inspiration and potential 2020 exhibitions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This has been my first chance to write because I've been busy submitting work for 3 opportunities so far this year; one in Germany, one in Bangkok, and one in the UK. These have been quite complex submissions and some have required several PDF documents, long descriptions of past projects and numerous image files. This is the life of an artist; juggling making the artwork along with seeking out opportunities and applying to them!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0x_g9fSFdn3LPH8Pq4sWY-iWwLi-Js9Aa4WbR9ezzV0egONHq50x5lIQyQMtPHVSEEqATb6BnGMItoZRoLr-nU57pN2zQevoR9ejvmPMk9as894AJb04IcPjaNsvAKPbMWhYREDcoMgU/s1600/IMG_0294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1197" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0x_g9fSFdn3LPH8Pq4sWY-iWwLi-Js9Aa4WbR9ezzV0egONHq50x5lIQyQMtPHVSEEqATb6BnGMItoZRoLr-nU57pN2zQevoR9ejvmPMk9as894AJb04IcPjaNsvAKPbMWhYREDcoMgU/s640/IMG_0294.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Dusk Birdsong, Winter,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Currently I'm applying to 3 more opportunities and one painting residency. There are numerous opportunities out there on the internet, or if you sign up to newsletters, and the main limits are how much work do you have, do you have time to paint something for a particular theme, and how much does it cost? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I feel that certain opportunities here in the UK are very exclusive - they say they are also for unknown artists but when you see who is selected you realise that they already had some artists in mind, either known through various connections or whose father is a well known artist. A little research backed up my thoughts on this when I found that a so-called unknown artist who was picked for a group exhibition in London was already many months earlier being 'followed' on social media and commented on by the 'hosts.' It is certainly not an equal playing field: although I've exhibited internationally for some years now I've never been able to get a certain local news/arts publication to write about my participation! So much depends on who you know and who they wish to promote!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So far this year I've not done as much work as I'd hoped but today I've begun stretching one of several canvases. I'm back to working with oil again, though some of the posted work is acrylic.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQWGfxc1vet4uOw-ICHymjavqhSdtDgVA8Z5ca32snUmvEPUyuRyOzpUXJpe3iygI7mhUbOGSwoDHQygx39Hilb5SKKofOuz93RLpDpKfUiCZZpxW31jz1MWbgnP-wi2Rb8SpBLkCVCk/s1600/Summit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQWGfxc1vet4uOw-ICHymjavqhSdtDgVA8Z5ca32snUmvEPUyuRyOzpUXJpe3iygI7mhUbOGSwoDHQygx39Hilb5SKKofOuz93RLpDpKfUiCZZpxW31jz1MWbgnP-wi2Rb8SpBLkCVCk/s640/Summit.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summit,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The posted paintings:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. 'Lemba Dusk' is about that magical moment in Cyprus when dusk dissolves recognisable forms into a haze of sunset colour. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been inspired by memories of coastal sunsets in Paphos and the way the land and sky become one colour! I've watched these sunsets many times and this painting is about the small buildings, vegetation and various elements melting in to the warm colours of dusk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. 'Dusk Birdsong, Winter' is about the melancholy sound of winter birdsong. I've listened to it many times while I've walked back out through the forest at Burrswood when the sky to the west blazed with the last warm light and the shrill, plaintive notes of the birdsong seemed to hold an anxiety about whether the light would come back. I chose colours with references to light, and the pure colour touches are my idea of birdsong notes cutting through the fading light.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. 'Summit' is a painting which was different to the other two in that I had no theme in mind. The summit refers to the accumulations of paint going upwards as I struggled to find a form for the paint but it could also be a landscape.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">More to be posted soon.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-46081718690912116742019-12-12T06:04:00.001-08:002019-12-14T07:43:23.436-08:00Paint Ideas And Inspiration to Take Forwards In To The New Year<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJtSZLUQiqxyH4D2SmpSYSkBAhWC7wKdgbfPfHWERjBAnoY42tNu7q433XuDQJyCq7neGTdD1GVCR0wnGKHthPDiuwo1Fyw3ywgjlWHpWNLmeIwAOJle8YvyHOiHlwzRJW74fxr7Jeck/s1600/LEMBA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1207" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJtSZLUQiqxyH4D2SmpSYSkBAhWC7wKdgbfPfHWERjBAnoY42tNu7q433XuDQJyCq7neGTdD1GVCR0wnGKHthPDiuwo1Fyw3ywgjlWHpWNLmeIwAOJle8YvyHOiHlwzRJW74fxr7Jeck/s640/LEMBA.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Lemba Sunset,' oil and acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As Christmas approaches I'm working on 9 small canvases because I know there isn't time to start my large canvases. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The small paintings have been very positive because they allowed me to refresh some ideas. It's good practice to make a shift in your approach at times by changing the scale of your canvas or paper, to challenge your way of working. I usually work on medium to large canvases which sometimes means working slowly but with the small canvases I've been able to make changes very fast and to try out some other techniques. I've used each canvas to test some paint applications - thin acrylic layered, thick oil paint scraped and dragged, oil paint over marks of acrylic, knife painting, brush work, etc. These paintings opened up some other options.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The 2 orange paintings suggested, as I worked, the sunsets in Cyprus. At this time of day the sky can turn orange and this casts an orange glow across the land so sky and land become One! It's an unbelievable sight. As these small paintings developed I used elements from reality - dark shapes of Carob trees, small square buildings, paths - to build what turned out to be abstract compositions. They surprised me and I like to be surprised.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo91DAgG9CyE68Og-JkTWwdXOTcxnf5GQOPqotjh448ndJ4slgjLbMy1yPSE2UNiAFX5H3Ne6Lw0d5as5leRFxWWK32S-fyHRFRPVeoRxqB-LkRqI3xK8K0HiM0S8RjhQumjfUDgcaag/s1600/IMG_0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1327" data-original-width="1600" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRo91DAgG9CyE68Og-JkTWwdXOTcxnf5GQOPqotjh448ndJ4slgjLbMy1yPSE2UNiAFX5H3Ne6Lw0d5as5leRFxWWK32S-fyHRFRPVeoRxqB-LkRqI3xK8K0HiM0S8RjhQumjfUDgcaag/s640/IMG_0059.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Lemba Sunset,' (2) oil and acrylic on board, 21 x 31 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My focus is often the translation of landscape elements in to paint elements and I may take this series much larger in the new year.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBzhhahKNGURMCrzVQJdj0eVtKY_hQjn2fC_6JTtjCzenwsAjAAlJNBa06GfR-0YqsSde_o8INX6KfoFdgOis5rBU8hCLDivfH8ZVWX1c4EsrQngfkrf5CP3-oivp3SpCJTJSh7rjl_E/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1202" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBzhhahKNGURMCrzVQJdj0eVtKY_hQjn2fC_6JTtjCzenwsAjAAlJNBa06GfR-0YqsSde_o8INX6KfoFdgOis5rBU8hCLDivfH8ZVWX1c4EsrQngfkrf5CP3-oivp3SpCJTJSh7rjl_E/s640/IMG_0037.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Rising Moon,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm posting a few more of these small canvases as I reconsider my body of work for this year and think how I may go forwards in the new year.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggsGoyMudPswjmp5Th8yA_8sKIkNE4_RlIsTRDqMPi8gP_k_-zxvAYAnGQP4ThtTL-yew23FLrs7v2L4-sl5IBK5V7vxtDFwLKCo80jhMO_aYsNSDHqiYDIJsFhm6jkUPvdvMG4dPka1U/s1600/IMG_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="1600" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggsGoyMudPswjmp5Th8yA_8sKIkNE4_RlIsTRDqMPi8gP_k_-zxvAYAnGQP4ThtTL-yew23FLrs7v2L4-sl5IBK5V7vxtDFwLKCo80jhMO_aYsNSDHqiYDIJsFhm6jkUPvdvMG4dPka1U/s640/IMG_0053.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Fiona's Final Goodbye to Burrswood,' oil and acrylic on panel, 21 x 31 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Figures in landscape have been a theme since Art School and I wanted to take some of the paint elements that emerged during working on the other small paintings in to an abstracted kind of landscape with a figure in it. There was no plan except to let the paint form suggestions and clues. The inspiration was my last visit to a place in Kent which I love and which has now closed to the public. The grounds are amazing and I've spent many happy days over the years painting there in all seasons which has created a deep connection with the land there. In this painting there's a figure but the exact colour has not replicated; it's actually more of a pink ochre and stands out more rather than appearing as an ochre coloured shape. (Unfortunately the restrictions of photography do not always allow an accurate reproduction of colour as I found when visiting a Howard Hodgkin exhibition some years ago. The paintings were quite different, and more amazing in technique, than the books and catalogues displayed.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I added a vague chessboard in the distance (the chessboard of life) and was also seeking ways to represent nature but with paint marks. I can see this one being developed in to a large painting.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcZveflkiLwqm-W1tqrf3y1sHm63L0IJ49IHBhagJQ6HMiFJS6Yo_MHXsmVd5lI1W2GszV2kgEx9_W2b1vN-KyaaJDwxxj47GXQP2DtwpNCKH513Gjhkn_5cZ9_-09kydWcGKbqXmg7o/s1600/IMG_0049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1204" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcZveflkiLwqm-W1tqrf3y1sHm63L0IJ49IHBhagJQ6HMiFJS6Yo_MHXsmVd5lI1W2GszV2kgEx9_W2b1vN-KyaaJDwxxj47GXQP2DtwpNCKH513Gjhkn_5cZ9_-09kydWcGKbqXmg7o/s640/IMG_0049.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Evening Poem,' acrylic on canvas, 22 x 30 cm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3NF1U0OTI6R0pD1DY_op6MG-FuzZeUPpi00GinT3w2TQGcmwS3T4UqiPdRKbgjRIeFswWZliGX6ZnT4-6HBapeZKDSFGj5eXWiDpKmcIZWoHGN7qoWbAIOiocIB6Ki487v3bA6fr6-c/s1600/IMG_0039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ3NF1U0OTI6R0pD1DY_op6MG-FuzZeUPpi00GinT3w2TQGcmwS3T4UqiPdRKbgjRIeFswWZliGX6ZnT4-6HBapeZKDSFGj5eXWiDpKmcIZWoHGN7qoWbAIOiocIB6Ki487v3bA6fr6-c/s640/IMG_0039.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Clearing in the Forest,' acrylic on canvas, 30 x 22 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I feel really positive about starting new work in January and exploring some of these ideas.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-23033076534815678772019-12-06T11:16:00.000-08:002019-12-11T08:21:57.136-08:002nd Review of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMeLdvnUBhhsYQdfHgwTZZ_ja0yuS7dVAyeifd-dkhcJzSKNMkpsMM8y2yFugIKabqIyY5A1Vg-KjJ5QJk7LBHcb8ujyhLYvUkEKWLzDbGZPj5tsoVmC27iIgD2fPFHY0BxLjkU_Z1eM/s1600/69612298_2479640798740598_9110313233310285824_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="1024" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMeLdvnUBhhsYQdfHgwTZZ_ja0yuS7dVAyeifd-dkhcJzSKNMkpsMM8y2yFugIKabqIyY5A1Vg-KjJ5QJk7LBHcb8ujyhLYvUkEKWLzDbGZPj5tsoVmC27iIgD2fPFHY0BxLjkU_Z1eM/s640/69612298_2479640798740598_9110313233310285824_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'A New Dawn,' Freddy Coello, oil on canvas, 120 x 170 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale opened at the National Art Museum of China on 26th August 2019 and continued until September 23rd. This is the second part of my review of the Biennale, (as a participating artist), my first review was written on October 8th - please scroll down the page for this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The theme of the Biennale was 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' </span><span style="font-size: large;">Much of the artwork was very large due to the minimum size of submitted work being restricted to 100 cm by 100 cm. To make an impact on the huge walls of the Museum the canvases needed to be large to very large. However, with sculptures and ceramics there was much more variety in size, some being quite small. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned in my previous review, there was a huge range of artwork on display, from paintings to sculptures, ceramics, prints and installations. I deeply regretted not having enough time to see everything! For this second review I have chosen a few more artists as examples to give a broad idea of this rich and diverse Biennale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The painting above 'A New Dawn,' by Freddy Coello, an artist from Ecuador, was painted using one model in different poses. Freddy showed me photos of the model during one of our artist group chats in the foyer of the hotel. It is a very impressive and detailed painting with much attention given to the expressive poses of the model.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yannis Koutsouradis, an artist from Greece who lives in Holland, writes about his colourful sculpture below:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #f1f0f0; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 20.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f1f0f0; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 20.1px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">My memories from the Greek islands are possibly the basis for the inspiration of this work together with reflections, recollections or angels of the Aegean Sea. They found themselves at home in Holland due to the Dutch nature or the endless water parties.</span></span><br />
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After realising that the ancient Greek sculpture had lost its colouration, I decided to research and apply "colours forever".</span></span><br />
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I was able to do that during the second period of my studies at the United kingdom. my professor Alan Gouk at the art school which is now called University of the Arts London, as well as my instructor in technique Tony Driver at the Royal College of Art has revealed to me the secrets of paint and colour enamelling on steel. Thus the materials of my work are made of these.</span></span><br />
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The work is of course realised in the Netherlands - my chosen land, in which I have celebrated recently 30 years of sharing with my native Greece.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHjxvt73Zpf_wIivhbupuUwrHLc1MR12pN-yJkCdGKOW11kCrhAgHn-xYzHkaNSbZV5w9V9g98ah5jJDjMecxP0cMRX9JfQLM6_jg-HDWkjb9PdJHAZO2V7yhexbGJnpCcme13Y-zFDs/s1600/69848808_10156666848322333_866565559557292032_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="1600" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHjxvt73Zpf_wIivhbupuUwrHLc1MR12pN-yJkCdGKOW11kCrhAgHn-xYzHkaNSbZV5w9V9g98ah5jJDjMecxP0cMRX9JfQLM6_jg-HDWkjb9PdJHAZO2V7yhexbGJnpCcme13Y-zFDs/s640/69848808_10156666848322333_866565559557292032_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yannis Koutsouradis with his sculpture</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLQd0piCD1xZnQSKtfkokpjVLe4raCfTGwKYGYSG0SP1nVUpZtYuhpcFHrTUbxECyaBWxAZ6VvWnIiCiH_u1gbXpBhD71NieSeivsN9iMad8XWuX_CWaqZOCuk0AkqY9zQO2sch-HODA/s1600/61836386_849069082134805_1790253642985504768_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1500" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmLQd0piCD1xZnQSKtfkokpjVLe4raCfTGwKYGYSG0SP1nVUpZtYuhpcFHrTUbxECyaBWxAZ6VvWnIiCiH_u1gbXpBhD71NieSeivsN9iMad8XWuX_CWaqZOCuk0AkqY9zQO2sch-HODA/s640/61836386_849069082134805_1790253642985504768_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yannis Koutsouradis' sculpture, Para Thin' Alos, glass enamel on metal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Figurative painting was side by side with abstract. This large colourful abstract canvas is by Alon Kedem, an artist from Israel. It impressed me with its colours, different kinds of mark making and shapes.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoLG1mp0fQtE98r_AtnWSJY2EBlVfK8VY0BNhoOQPIUwZb9fV15W7ePAo9qzxg5XO_qlalwJNiZm2D6BhxQz-bVJnNJi0u2WVh305krg7bWMpIcM9lOn0UxQFxVEsT_GEH_QPdPYtfX8/s1600/IMG_8484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYoLG1mp0fQtE98r_AtnWSJY2EBlVfK8VY0BNhoOQPIUwZb9fV15W7ePAo9qzxg5XO_qlalwJNiZm2D6BhxQz-bVJnNJi0u2WVh305krg7bWMpIcM9lOn0UxQFxVEsT_GEH_QPdPYtfX8/s640/IMG_8484.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Green Light,' Alon Kedem, oil on canvas, 200 x 235 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the most inspiring aspects of the Beijing Biennale was seeing the different visions of the artists and how there are infinite ways of seeing the world and translating it with all kinds of materials. The breadth of artistic imagination is breath taking at the Biennale every time. It is also interesting to see artwork from so many countries outside one's own.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAVK_Z3v6wP14V1_WZVIz5miLRctIHJKVdqCzA6Xck8hdw1jMiC74xD7AX27Kty2-S3rw1hS6vpgTElEb8kKfKqCFH3in5yOslqdmV0nGNze-CM7vVIKNlsXkEtKPyXe8ZexhEYgevro/s1600/69817954_1279120245602615_590039334359400448_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQAVK_Z3v6wP14V1_WZVIz5miLRctIHJKVdqCzA6Xck8hdw1jMiC74xD7AX27Kty2-S3rw1hS6vpgTElEb8kKfKqCFH3in5yOslqdmV0nGNze-CM7vVIKNlsXkEtKPyXe8ZexhEYgevro/s640/69817954_1279120245602615_590039334359400448_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stella Mimikou with her artwork</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrTYhAVZ3c9KWOpUL-EzWyQ1hyphenhyphenYN5jCRwCQHG5PDkLSjn3BiaiKMrCPJma7GikKJxvSehIU8R1GU4zt3NTQk9LKpFX9l2n79Fl2z4w2oU7aXB_ccSq0GREbwWyBjRU0FWJ1sDjTVIDsk/s1600/69323469_1265330393648267_2843571909650546688_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBrTYhAVZ3c9KWOpUL-EzWyQ1hyphenhyphenYN5jCRwCQHG5PDkLSjn3BiaiKMrCPJma7GikKJxvSehIU8R1GU4zt3NTQk9LKpFX9l2n79Fl2z4w2oU7aXB_ccSq0GREbwWyBjRU0FWJ1sDjTVIDsk/s640/69323469_1265330393648267_2843571909650546688_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Colourful Hands; Chain For the Future,' Stella Mimikou, 120 x 120 cm, acrylic<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stella Mimikou, another artist from Greece, was inspired by the lyrics of the Greek poetess Zoi Karelli and her words, 'With hands in extend and balance, an ideal divine line.' </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">During my 4 days invitation to Beijing, I tried to meet as many of the over 200 invited artists as possible but there was simply not enough time due to various obligations - attending the Opening ceremony, various trips to the countryside and to see Beijing, and preparing my speech for the international symposium - but mealtimes in the beautiful restaurant gave a wonderful chance to meet up with old friends from previous Biennales and to exchange artist cards with new friends. Thankfully, social media allows for connection once an event is over and we are all back home!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_GT1XiC7ER0i9Ehyphenhyphenr08a9UGBH3t_1KqFNxkpkQJnSH_eGxJx-nnYDNmtMLNYbxsWzVSTSkqq63OR-kUqS0xofrJeV2AqTAjvYOgsOYy1VBrLnyk99Ro7qlAYM77cHlVPlo2NAo-j7l8/s1600/IMG_8513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu_GT1XiC7ER0i9Ehyphenhyphenr08a9UGBH3t_1KqFNxkpkQJnSH_eGxJx-nnYDNmtMLNYbxsWzVSTSkqq63OR-kUqS0xofrJeV2AqTAjvYOgsOYy1VBrLnyk99Ro7qlAYM77cHlVPlo2NAo-j7l8/s640/IMG_8513.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'The Kiss,' Irami Bulimaivale, oil and ink on canvas, 155 x 125 cm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGfaxr6FjIgWqdP0wOOeVATw627oXN85pB47Qe58kvkE3PtykCKs_PBXds8JiAzeAD3sjtyhOoTHRooksvonirxH5I2AZsz7BrQFABzLoIQ-HBG3THpjJ7Hb_-JMPvyIP8qM92VBHzJ4/s1600/IMG_8450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGfaxr6FjIgWqdP0wOOeVATw627oXN85pB47Qe58kvkE3PtykCKs_PBXds8JiAzeAD3sjtyhOoTHRooksvonirxH5I2AZsz7BrQFABzLoIQ-HBG3THpjJ7Hb_-JMPvyIP8qM92VBHzJ4/s640/IMG_8450.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Biennale</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I liked the way the sculptures and ceramics were displayed around the huge rooms because they shared equal attention with the work on the walls and there was enough space to be able to walk around each sculpture to see it from all angles. The sculptures ranged from totally abstract to highly detailed and figurative. Again, there was a wide range of materials used.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWbYrPTR7G0eNPJf80Wg0pHERdf-R8f3_qxLkiU6rOmab7Q3_kK0U-LjEO4r8YjD7l_DUJY2otLlkm9ZpXmHq90WgWl0-zOAZUEjweB0_J1ubLItiEnO1qM4nHVK0lZ_0ceapI2e46Yo/s1600/69549818_10156348800326466_7438710050446639104_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRWbYrPTR7G0eNPJf80Wg0pHERdf-R8f3_qxLkiU6rOmab7Q3_kK0U-LjEO4r8YjD7l_DUJY2otLlkm9ZpXmHq90WgWl0-zOAZUEjweB0_J1ubLItiEnO1qM4nHVK0lZ_0ceapI2e46Yo/s640/69549818_10156348800326466_7438710050446639104_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Burst,' by Naima Karim, oil on canvas 150 x 120 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale exhibited 640 artworks from 113 countries with 446 of the artworks being from outside China. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to exhibit with such renowned and talented artists and to have had a glimpse in to their creative visions.</span><br />
<br />Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-53766170883657854752019-11-14T06:19:00.002-08:002019-11-14T06:32:33.317-08:00An Artist's Thoughts on the Creative Process: Returning to Oil Paint<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTp-bluTvmWKB0S2QkycR64zPrcQuGZ94ROBjvi1qn8siyoB8ufVK5HnBRBr95lHqjJGBCxQd77kG5bRtmn_uMrzejHx5WB3Y8xmjPtlJeDVDZuYCa-imaOebLyNY3JY3pCs2XXE2i7sI/s1600/Dawn+Poem.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1104" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTp-bluTvmWKB0S2QkycR64zPrcQuGZ94ROBjvi1qn8siyoB8ufVK5HnBRBr95lHqjJGBCxQd77kG5bRtmn_uMrzejHx5WB3Y8xmjPtlJeDVDZuYCa-imaOebLyNY3JY3pCs2XXE2i7sI/s640/Dawn+Poem.JPG" width="440" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Dawn Poem,' acrylic and oil paint on board, 45 x 30 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In a week or so I will finish my review of the Beijing International Art Biennale, once I have collated all the sizes of the artwork and names of the chosen artists, but for now I'm posting a few new and reworked paintings from the past 8 days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A recent painting, posted on October 17th, shows some of my current interests and how I'm exploring the fluid qualities of acrylic paint because it allows me to parallel the approach of working with ink on rice paper. However, this week I decided to go back to using oil paint and to rework some older paintings. It's always good to break the 'pattern' of working for an extended period of time in one medium; it allows you to see things afresh and combine the best of several mediums, if you choose. It allows for new questions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Much of my work focuses around questions such as: can I take this risk? does it have meaning and make sense in visual terms? does it have to make sense according to pre-determined rules? can I extend the boundaries of past ideas? am I being surprised by the elements; are they expressive of my inner world? I've written quite a few blog posts about these questions which have helped me to clarify aspects of my journey and I always hope they may be helpful to readers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love to work on top of old paintings because there's already substance and potential to excavate. I can 'live' the worlds emerging in the paint as fresh new colour begins a relationship with older paint. The first two of these four paintings relate to my recent insomnia and seeing the first light of dawn. The Dawn paintings are a bit more abstract, bringing thick paint qualities back in to my mind. While the first Dawn painting is more structured with colour, the example below is toying with an emptier, looser kind of space.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKXTW33qdx9gkMkgnsCIXfcetO4361Zceoo5IebA55kKK2TFkiRFFPt6L8q-qxr-c16IWeP16-EQ940UuPATVG4tHHSohrGTh-Phy1j9Jt1Q6RRl6AX71z9cSO9tJ0-dEE56jtcElelY/s1600/Dawn+Rising.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1071" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKXTW33qdx9gkMkgnsCIXfcetO4361Zceoo5IebA55kKK2TFkiRFFPt6L8q-qxr-c16IWeP16-EQ940UuPATVG4tHHSohrGTh-Phy1j9Jt1Q6RRl6AX71z9cSO9tJ0-dEE56jtcElelY/s640/Dawn+Rising.JPG" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Dawn Rising,' oil and acrylic on board, 60 x 40 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I tread in circles around a form of calligraphic mark making and colour, letting my imagination inform the various elements, and a series of paintings which tend to have horizon lines and are more landscape based, such as this one.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWCsy-6ZZbbXNWDue0OmunIhQjpR2vHrWfU9hdQXuzQE_3Y4OxuKGJRzNOc0GUs71-L13im-7McJju5oCUtedNXABR5_fqcxinZJ1PHrCe5y1XQR4ZHnAUpLhp-wu8g_QZ1oxDk_m-Qw/s1600/Fiona%2527s+Place.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1600" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhWCsy-6ZZbbXNWDue0OmunIhQjpR2vHrWfU9hdQXuzQE_3Y4OxuKGJRzNOc0GUs71-L13im-7McJju5oCUtedNXABR5_fqcxinZJ1PHrCe5y1XQR4ZHnAUpLhp-wu8g_QZ1oxDk_m-Qw/s640/Fiona%2527s+Place.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Fiona's Place,' oil, oil bar, and acrylic on board, 45 x 65 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And paintings which almost seem to excavate their shapes and rhythms....</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIO8ppUvTVxuQ7aqsoBGcVbfneWCChSPeD8jfVCzzxkY3qZVV7yqAvNKoL20MNOFsItwxmuc32owAldq_GwtBo6qb7fZStTSiND0e71HExOt7RgdJWHEDH3SV24PfN5nMxM_yM3ItckA/s1600/Windswept+Landscape.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="1600" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDIO8ppUvTVxuQ7aqsoBGcVbfneWCChSPeD8jfVCzzxkY3qZVV7yqAvNKoL20MNOFsItwxmuc32owAldq_GwtBo6qb7fZStTSiND0e71HExOt7RgdJWHEDH3SV24PfN5nMxM_yM3ItckA/s640/Windswept+Landscape.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Windswept Landscape,' oil and acrylic on board, 40 x 60 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(The colours in the above painting are not quite correct - there's a delicate red shape running through the lower quarter of the painting which just doesn't show up at the correct value and which really informs the sense of space in this work.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I worked on the 4 paintings in the same session which is quite helpful as there's no pressure on any one painting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm going to leave these paintings as 'finished' because I feel that they have stopped 'speaking' to me of the need for further work, and I'm sitting today hoping my new stretchers may arrive so I can start new work.</span></div>
Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-2456983298357650972019-10-17T06:29:00.001-07:002019-10-17T06:29:26.964-07:00Inspired by my Flight to China for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchzIovkNJqOZw21NFPyt24jQoJbB-xcrzAH1CegjEHGjVogGTbgTIr0ZceJ2sdpuD1VE7JzMpnSuSq5LuqgbabC6gneztLXbrV_8HPxJJC67s7uzjf0ftRz0NgozJEaqCZglTflPWZxs/s1600/FLIGHT+TO+CHINA+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1600" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchzIovkNJqOZw21NFPyt24jQoJbB-xcrzAH1CegjEHGjVogGTbgTIr0ZceJ2sdpuD1VE7JzMpnSuSq5LuqgbabC6gneztLXbrV_8HPxJJC67s7uzjf0ftRz0NgozJEaqCZglTflPWZxs/s640/FLIGHT+TO+CHINA+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Flight to China,' acrylic and ink on canvas, 110 x 70 cm</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While I collate the set of photos for the second review of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, I'm posting a photo of a work in progress which was inspired by my recent long flight to Beijing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I actually hate flying! But when I've had a few glasses of wine I'm able to marvel at the changing landscape below and often draw. This painting is a composite of my 4 flights to China since 2015 and it intertwines so many aspects of landscape and my love of landscape. Since I was a child I've felt the underlying energies of the land and this painting explores a sense of those energies, a feeling of movement, the movement from West to East, and approaches mark making and variations of colour in reference to my many ink paintings on rice paper,</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The quality of mark making and the quick spread of ink, as you work on the highly absorbent rice paper, creates all kinds of unexpected effects and beautiful transitions. I wanted to see if I could take aspects of these qualities on to canvas using thin washes of colour. The photo does not really show the transitions of tonal values in the colours or the textures and thick versus thin paint. There are light veils of colour (coastal areas) and ink brush strokes made with a calligraphy brush. It is a painting which, as it is largish, needs to be seen in reality to experience all the detail and contrasts. I still see this as 'In Progress' because there are a few tiny areas I may still tweak, but I see it as a highly personal painting and the shapes and colours emerged from the painting as it developed; there was no planning or sketching in of areas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I like my work to be a parallel for journeys and as I painted this I relived certain parts of that journey, remembering both the actual landscapes and also the intense feelings they created and my imaginings about what lay below. Most important for me is to be able to travel through my imagination as the paint sets cues on the canvas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stay tuned for the 2nd part of my reviews of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale.</span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-14043301419685528372019-10-08T03:55:00.003-07:002019-12-06T11:22:42.351-08:00Review of the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, 2019, Part One<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK78m9amsuNNr-p686ZvCI-p07UyE5sgvUqaqHtT1s8ts5gtjm5OFuJsBMGFK537LWTuqPityn9FawH8rCki6hSp0fEGfAkZOw4MvTVh8J2XdtWky9pOrpYtK1nXQ7ZmHDH9mMAbZI9M/s1600/IMG_5982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCK78m9amsuNNr-p686ZvCI-p07UyE5sgvUqaqHtT1s8ts5gtjm5OFuJsBMGFK537LWTuqPityn9FawH8rCki6hSp0fEGfAkZOw4MvTVh8J2XdtWky9pOrpYtK1nXQ7ZmHDH9mMAbZI9M/s640/IMG_5982.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elmar Peintner, 'Children's Feet and Ladders,' oil and pencil on canvas</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a painter I always love to write about other artist's work and being a participant in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale at the National Art Museum of China gave me the chance to see a diverse array of artwork that simply called to be written about!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The 8th Beijing International Art Biennale this year had the largest number of participating countries (113) and the theme was 'A Colourful World and a Shared Future.' There is a size requirement of a minimum of 120 cm by 120 cm for paintings, though sculptures were many sizes, and this may be because the walls of the National Art Museum are so large and high that they call for large paintings. Many of the Chinese artists' work is very large indeed! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In these articles I will be selecting a few artists to write about and also posting general photos of the exhibition. Unfortunately I did not have time to see it all as the large rooms across 3 floors needed a few days to fully explore.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I met the Austrian artist Elmar Peintner in 2015, (painting above) at the 6th Biennale, and since that time I have been a big admirer of his paintings. His large compositions always give an unusual viewpoint and an unexpected interpretation of the Biennale themes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The painting above combines powerful empty space (bare canvas), patterns and figuration in a masterly way with great subtlety and sensitivity. It is a painting which invites you to go closer to examine the flow of textures and colours and to marvel at the concept. Elmar's paintings all display such a creative and emotional use of composition and sensitive transitions between colours and shapes. Many times I thought that the medium of his paintings was watercolour because the lightness of touch and quality of the brushwork has the delicateness of watercolour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">He writes about this painting: 'The children's feet in a variety of skin colours represent childhood in a cross-cultural context..'</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elmar Peintner with his painting 'Children's Feet and Ladders.'</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the exhibition</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqsVchPzg4J57F7cQzl_d_RnIA4bUoEolaOvHrU8T23P1IVLSFEdzU4jUWiNIkaYEzpMKqYc7bh3xlYMFavI-fEEJxoBU_P1WxDGHFHSZKJADspXL7yaWqgK33jtB82joVQzpGImmt6E/s1600/IMG_8323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqsVchPzg4J57F7cQzl_d_RnIA4bUoEolaOvHrU8T23P1IVLSFEdzU4jUWiNIkaYEzpMKqYc7bh3xlYMFavI-fEEJxoBU_P1WxDGHFHSZKJADspXL7yaWqgK33jtB82joVQzpGImmt6E/s640/IMG_8323.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shefali Ranthe, 'My Life is in Your Hands,' oil on canvas</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shefali Ranthe lives in Copenhagen. I first met her at the 7th Beijing International Art Biennale in 2017 when I was impressed by the beautiful colours she uses and her rich imagination. Her work defies any category being entirely her unique vision of life. It combines inventive figuration and abstraction with vibrant colours and shapes. I love her boldness and the way she pulls abstract shapes of colour through elements of figuration, using both large areas and tiny accents of detail to create movement, and I admire the richness of her paint textures. I feel that she is completely at ease with who she is as an artist and her paintings exude happiness.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shefali Ranthe with her painting</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Opening Ceremony</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soraya Sikander with her painting 'A Winter Night.'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Soraya Sikander is an artist from Pakistan who currently lives and works in Dubai. She paints large abstracts which have an interest in calligraphic brush work and colour and are often layered with fluid paint. They allow the viewer to make all kinds of associations and to enter their imaginary world. She says:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">'At the point of action, at the point of painting, all sorts of other elements come in to play. It is not totally cerebral, it is not planned on a piece of paper and replicated on canvas. My work has the ability to surprise me. It captures the complexity of development.....It is the whole meaning that interests me not just surface development.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The photo does not give the full beauty of the complex surface and marks or the richness of the colours. In reference to the theme she writes that it is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">'...a universal common thread shared by men.'</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was a painting which kept inviting me to go back and look and find new meanings and places each time.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'A Winter Night,' and its caption</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Official photo of all the invited artists outside the National Art Museum of China, Beiijing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aleksandra Suspitsina, 230 x 500 cm, oil on canvas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liao Qin (China) 'Sharing Wind and Woe in the Same Boat.'</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The painting above by one of the Chinese artists was truly amazing. The photo does not do it justice because the colours and details really need to be seen in reality. This artist also spoke at the symposium and I was moved by his humble request for people to critique his work and make further suggestions. It looks perfect to me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Further works by these artists can be found on their websites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To be continued with more paintings and also sculptures.</span></div>
Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643573785035624702.post-6731233754389236632019-10-01T08:56:00.000-07:002020-01-21T06:56:22.465-08:00My Participation in the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale 2019 , Part Three: Landscape Painting<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5AmvV7c1X6YYUPjoVgS0H6Nt446ra3IAGAKQskzAosz6MPYNiVk7dnhUgIvji2nAFHOv90O1QzWd0fQs2pNvFCi3LskD_Z-YmskBQlGMa4uplKb9njIZFhJ5uR3ssewZYjRjQ8o5Z-I/s1600/IMG_9421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="1600" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA5AmvV7c1X6YYUPjoVgS0H6Nt446ra3IAGAKQskzAosz6MPYNiVk7dnhUgIvji2nAFHOv90O1QzWd0fQs2pNvFCi3LskD_Z-YmskBQlGMa4uplKb9njIZFhJ5uR3ssewZYjRjQ8o5Z-I/s640/IMG_9421.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the distant lake, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As part of my series of articles on the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale, I'm posting some ink paintings I made in the Chinese landscape on September 1st. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To my delight I was invited to go on a painting trip to a village called Shuiyucun not far from the mountains with about 30 other artists, a mix of Chinese participants and others from around the world. As I'd found out about this trip before I went to China I packed my ink (bought in Beijing in 2017) and calligraphy brushes and bought paper while in Beijing.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain View, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain View, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the tower I painted from</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The journey out of Beijing and into the verdant landscape took about an hour and then we were divided in to groups when we reached Shuiyucun. Some of us were taken down to a small river to paint but I think that possibly artists had specific ideas they wanted to work from because no one wanted to work from the river. (If I had had longer time I would have been happy to paint there as it was quite interesting.) Consequently we split up to seek out other places of inspiration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since my first glimpse of distant mountains I knew I wanted to paint them. Two of the guides took me up a hill to a wooden tower where I was able to paint alone for about 90 minutes. The view was incredible; a panorama that stretched on two sides (north and west) to mountains, and then the land fell away in to undulating pastures and areas of trees to the east, and to the south I could see a lake and far beyond the hazy outline of Beijing. It was very hot and once my eyes acclimatised to the bright sunlight, an array of many greens spilled out from the land. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had deliberately taken only ink as my aim was to catch some shapes and lines I might extend back in the UK.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I painted mostly North, West and South, and made 12 ink paintings. One of the guides had her small daughter with her and I was quite surprised when she looked at a small ink - quite abstract with few marks - and exclaimed 'It's a whole picture yet with so little brush work!'</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Lake,, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DJSF0Q5X0XC-699SW6_76OQ3BgqcyGynt5xhCdwGcK5n3kxijMC4gGG5_N0zS-2-nUNVvgt5rLusGzEwyhpsCj8KuDIljfxI4rHF2rsDlb0f4tnzmwqqTtRQpHzkSGW9LQxAfGP0Tho/s1600/IMG_9427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="1600" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DJSF0Q5X0XC-699SW6_76OQ3BgqcyGynt5xhCdwGcK5n3kxijMC4gGG5_N0zS-2-nUNVvgt5rLusGzEwyhpsCj8KuDIljfxI4rHF2rsDlb0f4tnzmwqqTtRQpHzkSGW9LQxAfGP0Tho/s640/IMG_9427.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Lake, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Though I initially concentrated on the mountains, I soon became quite intrigued by the distant lake because I knew we would be painting there in a few hours. The sun being in front of me cast deep shadows in some areas while other elements faded in to a shimmery haze.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The guides took me back to the village where I met up with the other artists and we had a huge lunch which consisted of many different dishes brought to us freshly cooked from the kitchen. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfFrrTNs8eQnecqUNyQwXuKGpc1BlNn0Iuvf1wmLf5pJ58zPHFPu8XSf7Wkm9Hn-axf_I1WG7NCA1z5uckznbc5jyFnhoh0uzu2mC3MJwTNVcN32IUMljbTH08DQBh3dV87M1A16bdQo/s1600/IMG_9006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZfFrrTNs8eQnecqUNyQwXuKGpc1BlNn0Iuvf1wmLf5pJ58zPHFPu8XSf7Wkm9Hn-axf_I1WG7NCA1z5uckznbc5jyFnhoh0uzu2mC3MJwTNVcN32IUMljbTH08DQBh3dV87M1A16bdQo/s640/IMG_9006.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tables being set for us in the village</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5psLGdDqIktZGBQLi4-oa12J-Wl7UDHVVkOtxjj5PFafm6RZLg4dX4IdtGcAD3CFRGmHDAZW7OpIlkBZDNTEt06bYIhcMp09F0XZBJ5lHUQq10P8qUJxF39q2QyjYRCr6ORUiLdMS1s/s1600/IMG_9016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP5psLGdDqIktZGBQLi4-oa12J-Wl7UDHVVkOtxjj5PFafm6RZLg4dX4IdtGcAD3CFRGmHDAZW7OpIlkBZDNTEt06bYIhcMp09F0XZBJ5lHUQq10P8qUJxF39q2QyjYRCr6ORUiLdMS1s/s640/IMG_9016.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The table I shared with friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NPhyRBDvPJaLs4wXgJdaLK5dm6TlftfYMlcfYGru5PiyJ3sPCirWZHKGKqSqiWgcu0s4ir6qc_CB3LAFhNfBOXXT4QukhiR9v2canoltdx9LIamoxClTCIYqIVVJR_5T3gqozpJzrCI/s1600/IMG_9017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NPhyRBDvPJaLs4wXgJdaLK5dm6TlftfYMlcfYGru5PiyJ3sPCirWZHKGKqSqiWgcu0s4ir6qc_CB3LAFhNfBOXXT4QukhiR9v2canoltdx9LIamoxClTCIYqIVVJR_5T3gqozpJzrCI/s640/IMG_9017.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing dining area</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Not long after our meal, we were taken to lake Quilong where everyone set up next to the rippling expanse of water dotted with islands of lotus leaves. There were floating water lilies with small yellow flowers and I became mesmerised by the swaying water as I sat on large rocks to paint.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5M8KATMnvdKBjvfz2-rg_WKfjWYkbly-E31a3OT41ePSHndohzxGdt14yryCPHYIRmgUqRv8LdmNIwrOyAaIKMRecTAysagieV6vqhBGuQgNmnKi-C_QeuxEn6yycAvm6m9oCQPVCA1A/s1600/IMG_9424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1600" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5M8KATMnvdKBjvfz2-rg_WKfjWYkbly-E31a3OT41ePSHndohzxGdt14yryCPHYIRmgUqRv8LdmNIwrOyAaIKMRecTAysagieV6vqhBGuQgNmnKi-C_QeuxEn6yycAvm6m9oCQPVCA1A/s640/IMG_9424.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ripples on the lake, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zEe2mhS7cLi5ZK5wncfBbc7WVHqAas2N2_9gXHSQuSO069AA2GdApjPCC8aRv_wkLcKa2M_Lr80mgNQz9-PGmZew4ak9DfLmiEWRGjoX-J4XDFgQ4LCNRAjvse_6iv3AklmitV74iYY/s1600/IMG_9422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1176" data-original-width="1600" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zEe2mhS7cLi5ZK5wncfBbc7WVHqAas2N2_9gXHSQuSO069AA2GdApjPCC8aRv_wkLcKa2M_Lr80mgNQz9-PGmZew4ak9DfLmiEWRGjoX-J4XDFgQ4LCNRAjvse_6iv3AklmitV74iYY/s640/IMG_9422.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artists painting by the lake, ink on paper</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was also intrigued by the distant mountains which seemed to echo the shapes of the tangled lotus leaves....</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7m9Cn0AXueY4pU7Klew1eLdhqNPRrJ_Ja7uObRHHGslbncUulG-BEgl9gf58l7L9ovNGYYl0d_J_-HAPOpg9qfm9SpDtkCAkyX8ZdGx0zL12819m092BgPtgLZX-hLJf5FhnhYyhc6o/s1600/IMG_9423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1149" data-original-width="1600" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7m9Cn0AXueY4pU7Klew1eLdhqNPRrJ_Ja7uObRHHGslbncUulG-BEgl9gf58l7L9ovNGYYl0d_J_-HAPOpg9qfm9SpDtkCAkyX8ZdGx0zL12819m092BgPtgLZX-hLJf5FhnhYyhc6o/s640/IMG_9423.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lotus Leaves and Mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD41F4QGhgMbHGtyOniCHwrI_belIswDSjudHAQv9mTkT_Q0cFf53MMO01E7JCLcbk4odEh5aCEF_oIdCEYDAeX6WxF07WajNDgNnZ4qhDO5URTbl57ULgxgSNKB2aeEEBaF_fbloQzM/s1600/IMG_9048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiD41F4QGhgMbHGtyOniCHwrI_belIswDSjudHAQv9mTkT_Q0cFf53MMO01E7JCLcbk4odEh5aCEF_oIdCEYDAeX6WxF07WajNDgNnZ4qhDO5URTbl57ULgxgSNKB2aeEEBaF_fbloQzM/s640/IMG_9048.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lake Quilong</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1TC4J6awORkqpogopzH0a2ZumqWR6OYtnvIpquYOAPjNVbZbeY_X9la8trIURKWGdsxYHEzL-S3ynNACJwPoiR3rByEAUahr2cWkvcveuODpgT0_3X39qXHNLPFFOqLHg-QBB4T9RKY/s1600/IMG_9049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1TC4J6awORkqpogopzH0a2ZumqWR6OYtnvIpquYOAPjNVbZbeY_X9la8trIURKWGdsxYHEzL-S3ynNACJwPoiR3rByEAUahr2cWkvcveuODpgT0_3X39qXHNLPFFOqLHg-QBB4T9RKY/s640/IMG_9049.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artists at work</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWJDQ0it-TMYQyH9pR2SQ_Jy7n0X4leKMaleWZ9BYG_Z1c3eONFhvVrqp72Q4Rc2JZaBRKBhCsuQuOlhUBFZTE-91pxpXrbTr4Ns_mZY9dtdvUOfUdHmq_9UljAmGgOLmQV2o3IZHqa0/s1600/IMG_9050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglWJDQ0it-TMYQyH9pR2SQ_Jy7n0X4leKMaleWZ9BYG_Z1c3eONFhvVrqp72Q4Rc2JZaBRKBhCsuQuOlhUBFZTE-91pxpXrbTr4Ns_mZY9dtdvUOfUdHmq_9UljAmGgOLmQV2o3IZHqa0/s640/IMG_9050.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lake and nearby houses</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTqd4S4BRBJcOXbKwS4DcrxnP6JV7Y2lLSF1eMS3Fw5hSjlzj3D9luvc92eMQrRQ8YOgmvdp44aSsI8K0WjzkVc1Qe5IGWfngHtIKO9cTDRo6Navj1UgwOc8pp6cxhfIHjg4de00ExfQ/s1600/IMG_9061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTqd4S4BRBJcOXbKwS4DcrxnP6JV7Y2lLSF1eMS3Fw5hSjlzj3D9luvc92eMQrRQ8YOgmvdp44aSsI8K0WjzkVc1Qe5IGWfngHtIKO9cTDRo6Navj1UgwOc8pp6cxhfIHjg4de00ExfQ/s640/IMG_9061.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the artists (I am the 3rd from the right)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, we all went back to Shuiyucun to have a discussion with the leaders of the village and the Chinese artists. It was wonderful to have this exchange and to share our ideas. There were several photographers and we were filmed as well. I was invited to say something because they had seen my speech the previous day and I mentioned how much I had loved the experience of being able to paint in the landscape and that I would love to stay for several weeks! I felt really lucky to have been offered this chance and to have had a glimpse in to aspects of village life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone was so friendly and wanted to know how we felt about the trip and what ideas we had to extend or improve it for the future.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqCJfauW8TV2oxea04jWzPGh9oW7jdwP4yhLhmhwVQEoppX2GB7PHg8SwhGYOBI8xRhEu1msxMM2O9pABxuEPjN274YQ8ojF13M3RkWs8eOQgaY-WNK-Xf7f4RFIl1IUPo5ioF_JCGi8/s1600/IMG_9074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqCJfauW8TV2oxea04jWzPGh9oW7jdwP4yhLhmhwVQEoppX2GB7PHg8SwhGYOBI8xRhEu1msxMM2O9pABxuEPjN274YQ8ojF13M3RkWs8eOQgaY-WNK-Xf7f4RFIl1IUPo5ioF_JCGi8/s640/IMG_9074.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The leaders of Shuiyucun starting the discussion</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAMWaDOazS2pFaJwyEVecJSkfnekCgwwbazIBl_zBuypRZ9E9kOjc6xTYFBwhxLvWV8TO51vz2FWdH2LpXDvd0nAOIlT3wr62ldw0Qe3zg1SiGvXHlW7BpgNbIY0XHWJeqqeaKsiQ7Ck/s1600/IMG_9071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyAMWaDOazS2pFaJwyEVecJSkfnekCgwwbazIBl_zBuypRZ9E9kOjc6xTYFBwhxLvWV8TO51vz2FWdH2LpXDvd0nAOIlT3wr62ldw0Qe3zg1SiGvXHlW7BpgNbIY0XHWJeqqeaKsiQ7Ck/s640/IMG_9071.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the artists</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Fiona the Artisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04036988613038604859noreply@blogger.com0