Yesterday I didn't manage to do any painting. This is because I was officially exhausted. I've been overdoing it again, what with the garden needing a 'good old dig', the seeds needing a 'good old sow' and the bamboo needing a 'good old removal'. Plus it's been very busy at work and my other half has been poorly. I felt like I had been riding a wave and I pushed it just a little bit too much last week. It was time for a break and today I feel much better for it.
So on my day off I went off to the printers to drop off Monstera problema and Chelsea Tulips. I don't think I will offer these two pieces as prints, but I like to have a scan as a record. Neither of these are as finished as I'd hoped, but I am keen to move on with new work. At least Monstera is alright not being perfect as that was the whole point. I painted this one at a time when I had an ovarian health issue going on and felt 'imperfect' and like I was missing something. I painted it because the leaf has egg-shaped holes and is itself missing bits... Problem was, I was in a fit of absolute upset when I started it. You know how it goes - you got to get what ever it is out of your system with a brush... I just had to paint there and THEN, but I had no paper big enough, so I grabbed some Intaglio printing stuff I bought a while back from the bottom of my wardrobe. What a mistake that was - this paper is great for Intaglio - but completely unsuitable for botanical art. The paint didn't really stay on the paper very well and the masking fluid took bits of the paper off. It was a nightmare. So this is an unfinished painting of an imperfect leaf on imperfect paper by an imperfect artist. It's finished - as an unfinished piece.
Then I went to the framer to check on my latest frames... "Hey nice going there framer - you did a good job!" - I am really pleased with the job so far. I see a lot of frames in my other line of work and this really helps me to see what shapes a piece well and what doesn't. Over the past year I have seen a lot of David Nash's work and he seems to have the same taste as me when it comes to framing. He uses either no mount at all or a floating one. What I like about this is it looks modern and gives a contemporary feel to botanical art. I'd like to think that customers feel like they are getting a present in a box.