Task 2: All Creatures Great and Small (watercolour)

Task 2 will commence on Tuesday, 2nd March 2010.

Task 2: All Creatures Great and Small (watercolour)

All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.


Each little flower that opens
Each little bird that sings
He made their glowing colours
He made their tiny wings.

For our second task we will be experimenting with watercolours. Once again, I will be heading into unknown territory as I have no experience with this medium. What fun we will have!

If you haven't painted with watercolours before and wish to see a pro in action click here . This will take you to Gennine's Art Blog. On the right-hand side of here blog is a link to a video clip showing her creating a watercolour piece from start to finish. It's really quite fascinating. One thing I really love, is her use of white acrylic ink to add finer details.

Here are a few other artists I picked out from etsy. I tried to go with a 'feathery friends' theme until I came across the balloon print. I had to include this because I thought it looked like such a simple and effective use of watercolours. If anything, it might be a good exercise in developing some control.

Check them out if you want some ideas:

1. Diaphaneous Flock by karenondracek
2. Feathery Plumes by Gollybard
3. Birdie by Gennine 
4. Red Balloon Print by Jellybeans

Lauren Child's Tree

Rachel this one's for you:

This is a photograph of a tree that was set up at Lauren Child's exhibition. Looks pretty funky I reckon. Thought it might be worth a peek seeing as though you're using her illustrations as your inspiration.

Task 1 - Pathways (Collage)

PATHWAYS

I chose this theme because I thought it was a good one to kick off the new year with. With New Year's resolutions still fresh in our minds, we are all facing the opportunity to turn over a new leaf and begin a new journey. What will your journey be? Which path will you take or make?

And now for a little bit of inspiration

'Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

and sorry I could not travel both

I took the one less travelled by,

and that has made all the difference'

- The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost

'The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination'. 

- Peter Ellyard

Collage

The medium for the Pathways task will be collage. Below is a collection of artists, both past and present that have produced some gorgeous collages. If you wish, click on the links to study some more of their work in detail. I find it quite inspirational.

Let's start with one of the masters - Matisse:

And something from one of my favourite children's author, Lauren Childs. This lady truly rocks when it come to having fun with collage! (I'm sure your kiddos would agree)

And now three of my current favourite artists producing beautiful and inspiring collages. I could stare at their work for hours. Click on the links to check them out (you may just want to have your wallets handy!).

1. Gennine from Gennine's Art Blog.

2. Corid from corid's shop on etsy

3. Jayme McGowan of Roadside Projects

And one more - By Graphitegirl on etsy. These are great fun  - a bit of a more upbeat Salvador Dali.

Welcome - Let the scrawl begin!

This year will see the launch of our new art group, Sardine Limousine. I think this name is appropriate because art and creativity is another thing we all would like to, or need to, squeeze into our busy and at times, fast-paced lives. Let's hope our new little group will breathe creativity and fresh air into 2010.

So what does it involve?
- A monthly task focussing on a particular artform/medium centred around a set theme.
- 2 hour weekly workshop
- Perhaps a 15 minutes skill-building activity to kick-off each workshop. I need to give this a little more thought - watch this space!

What equipment do we need to get started?
- A visual arts diary is a good place to start. This is where you can play around with ideas and practise techniques.
- A range of lead pencils, sharpener and eraser is essential.
- Any stuff needed for the set task.
- An ultra funky, ultra chic bag to carry all your stuff in (optional of course).