Blog

I haven't posted any artwork for many months, not because I haven't been working on my art, but because of computer glitches! I cross my fingers that the problems are solved now and as you can guess, I have a lot of work to post over the next few weeks! Bear with!!

In December 2022, I became interested in experimenting with mixed media. Mainly using collage papers, acrylic paints and pens. I loved making my own collage papers using the Gelli plate for some papers, and marker pens for others. I am continuing this interest into January 2023. I especially love creating an abstract background full of lively bright colours, then stopping to look and see if the colour pattern arrangements suggest a figure or two that could be developed into an artwork. There is the feeling of exploration and discovery of new images which I really like. Its very good for imaginative and semi realistic figure work.

I've been spending lots of time with my watercolours, recently. I am enjoying experimenting with techniques and discovering new hues for my palette. Raw sienna is a new addition for me. I like it better than yellow ochre. I have also found an interesting way to paint dry on wet alla prima, using a damp acetate sheet as support for my paper. Today, however, I did get into drawing with pen and colouring with pan pastels. It was good to have a change. If you would like to read my weekly art blog, you will find it at::- https://artbyjunewalker.blogspot.com/

July is world watercolour month and so I took time to practise watercolour painting this month. My subject was primarily cats. I made a few mini studies of wild cats because I thought this would be useful if I decide to incude small wild cats in future work. The studies help me to better understand the markings and special features of the chosen cat, and this month I focused on the agile serval cat from Africa. This cat has very long legs and ears and likes to leap into the air to grab birds for its dinner. Its also a fairly people friendly cat. Some are kept in zoos amd some have been kept as pets, when rescued from the wild.

I am continuing with experiments with texture on the paint surface. I'm using various tools to make the surface paint more interesting and varied. Tools like brushes, palette knives, and shapers. Its so enjoyable to mess around with paint in this way and it gives a more lively paint finish, I think. I've only tried it in imaginative works so far but I think I will go on to do more realistic portraits with textures later in the year. That's the plan at any rate.

I haven't been making much finished art this year as I am rather at sixes and sevens with this pandemic situation. Its very difficult to ignore the stress and focus on work! However, the good news is that I have been experimenting with different ways of putting paint on paper and hopefully the new process will develop nicely and I will have some larger finished work soon. The horse proposing to the alpaca in the image shown above, is one done in my new painting method. If you enlarge the main image on my gallery collection, you will see all the new kind of marks I am using to spread the acrylic paint (and mixed media) on the paper surface. Keep well. Bye for now.....

I have been concentrating on developing a new style combining abstract shapes with figurative line drawings. I use marker pens for these works as markers have bright colours and need no pre-mixing. But this style could easily be used with traditional paints and brushes. I use Posca acrylic markers and Winsor & Newton watercolour markers for this work, at the moment. Both pens are high quality, light resistant, artist quality marker pens and wonderful to use. I hope you like this new drawing style.

I have been enjoying making abstract art this week. Experimenting with Posca acrylic paint pens and Winsor & Newton watercolour pens. I like the bright blocks of abstract or geometric shapes I can do with these artist's marker pens. I hope you like the bright colours too.

Happy Easter! Have a good day.

This week, I finished a pen and pan pastel portrait of a girl holding a brown owl. It started off as an intuitive doodle drawing, which I then tidied up a little before applying some light sepia ink marks and washes, under the pan pastel colour. Its an imaginary scene of course and so the owl isn't any species found in Nature. I have visited owls in owl sanctuaries and zoos. I was able to touch a barn owl that a keeper was holding at my local zoo...so I am delighted that this little brown owl showed up from imagination.