Romford Art Trail.....

I've just been speaking to one of the lovely girls down at the Brentwood Road Gallery about the Romford Art Trail. The gallery itself has been taken over by some really innovative people who are very passionate about art & design and are transforming the gallery into a social hub. They've even taken on their first major challenge of bringing the art trail back which had been dormant for a few years. So this is a great opportunity for all local artists, designers and craft makers to get together and show Romfordians your amazing work. All you need to do is find a local business, such as a shop or restaurant, in Romford for the 14th - 27th July to display your work.

This is such a great opportunity to get art back into the community and to meet other local artists in the area. For more info about the art trail click here The gallery are working at full steam to introduce a whole variety of great exhibitions for the year along with some great events so make sure to follow to keep art alive and kicking in the area.


This is their next upcoming exhibition.......

This is one of the great events they hold.....

Talking of art, i've been trying to draw a bit more lately, here's a picture I drew of me holding Ellie's hand, for a new baby card and for her keepsake book. Next on the list are circus animals for her bedroom which she'll be moving into as soon as we've painted so i'd best get started.
My mum also managed to remember to take her camera and take pictures of the great weekend workshop she just did, but we've just discovered they've been deleted from the camera. So if anyone has some pictures from the weekend can you send them through to us so that we can share them with you all.

Kirsten

Still feeling the joys of spring......

has put me in the mood to do some spring / summer sketches.

I'm going to print them out and add some watercolour in lovely uplifting colours too whilst the sun is still shining!

New CD sleeve design....

Hi,

Just thought i'd share what i've been working on at the moment.
I was just given a great opportunity to design a CD cover for Imani Hekima's new song 'Shame'. Have a listen on his myspace page as he has an amazing soulful voice.
Although the video to the single is aimed to promote awareness about honour killings of girls and women the song itself is open to many interpretations of destruction.

So my starting point was trying to find an image that captured the right mood which never really came, I even made a terrible attempt to pose for one myself which was very embarassing and nothing like the great attempts I see other budding artists do on Flickr! So I ended up painting the image of the girl myself using a thick Japanese brush and black ink and am really happy with the way it came out. However it was looking a bit flat so to add some depth I put some texture in the background with layers of paint and my favourite new toy, my paint roller, and added some tears of blood dripping from the girls eyes.

We're both really pleased with the outcome so I hope the single does well, which is due to be released at the end of August, and helps to raise more awareness.

Kirsten

This week end head on over to Leytonstone for the Leytonstone Festival and Arts Trail. There will be loads of local artists showcasing in venues around the town and we will be showcasing in the Leytonstone Library along with the E17 Designers. So if you have nothing in your diary come along, check out all the other exciting offerings on their website and make a day of it.


I've been working on some new drawings, which were meant to be finished ages ago but i've just managed to mount and wrap them!! So if you come along you'll be the first to get your hands on them.


Also happening this week end is the grand opening of fellow the E17 Art House, a new venture from fellow E17 designers. They're hosting lots of activities for kids as well as other entertainments so make sure to pop along at some point on Saturday and Sunday.

Happy New Year

It's a little late but we've been hit with the usual winter bugs and have been couped up in bed. But apparently cupcake cures depression so after a mammoth cupcake session with my sister, that included 8 huge bars of chocolate, i'm now feeling back on track with a fridge full of cupcakes to keep me company!

Image came from fffound, a great site for lots of inspiration.

I did get a great Nikon SLR digital camera for christmas so when I felt brave enough to embrace the cold I went and got snap happy! Here is one of my favourite pictures that I took at Richmond Park of the parakeets near the river. I still find it crazy the amount that live in the wild over there but it's great to see them.

This is a basic sketch from my picture, I love to simplifly images as much as possible to create something striking. I then worked into a rough etching which i'm hoping will be really delicate.


Here's another of my favourite pictures that i'm working on for another print.

I'll post the outcome as soon as I get onto it. Which reminds me of my New years resolution, to finish things i've started!!
Kirsten

Merry Christmas

Sitting here with a glass of Baileys, christmas songs in the background and snow outside, I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas (it's been quite merry already so maybe just a Happy Christmas!).

On behalf of both of us I just want to say a huge thanks to all of our customers and students who have supported us this year. It's been a fantastic year for us and we're really looking forward to next year, getting our act together and putting on more classes, as requested, so watch this space.

In the mean time, here's a few of our Christmas pics to get you in the festive spirit too (though Baileys helps!).

Life drawing at the Tate...

As a mothers day treat my sister and I took my mum to the Tate Gallery to do a life drawing session. Not knowing what to expect we turned up and were led to the entrance of the Rodchenko & Popova 'Defining Constructivism' exhibition. To be honest I was a bit worried at first, being a traditional artist who doesnt get out of their comfort zone very much, but the other two took it on board to become star pupils.

I would thoroughly recommend it as a great night out if you're on your own or in a group, like us. The tutors were brilliant, offering lots of advice and inspiration. I have also been to their sessions at the Candid Arts Centre so go check them out if you can (http://www.annesite.co.uk).

Here's the results from our short sessions. Obviously you can tell which one of us got asked to move to Russia to sell their work, not me!

William Morris workshop - working progress...

I've started sampling for the William Morris Class.

I visited William Morris' house, many times as it's so nice, to get some inspiration and take some pictures to get me started for the class.

I always start off with colour. This was the picture that I loved:

















Which I then experimented with various painting techniques in similar colours using transfer paints:

I then looked at a colour study for some images that I liked:

From that picture I then started on my own line drawings:

Then I experimented with paint techniques using transfer paints: