Slow Creatures on the Move

My last two paintings, both featuring slow coach creatures, are on the move!

This weekend I’m delivering the tortoise painting “Tortie” to his new home.  It’s lovely to be able to hand over a painting personally.  It’s a little nerve wracking as Tortie was a commission based on the client’s real life tortoise and although he’s seen the photographs it’s always going to look a little different in real life.  Hopefully he will be pleased!

So Tortie is all packaged up ready for the journey.  We have an opportunity to be in the area for a social function so all in all it should be a good weekend.

In other news the sloth painting is (*whisper*) finished. 

The painting part is all done.  However, there’s another 4 or 5 sessions to complete the varnishing part, which is not very exciting but crucial. 

At the moment, due the nature of the materials, some of it looks gloss and some matt, so it’s tricky to photograph in a way that does it justice.  As soon as the finish is more even and I can set up my gear I’ll take photos to share with you.

However, here’s a sneaky peek prior to the big reveal …

Just Four Quid Means A Lot

I want to tell you about the Just Four Quid (JFQ) campaign and my part in it.

Each week the Just Four Quid blog gives tips to save you money (with a pinch of good humour).  You’ll be able to find things to help you save lots of money over the next year and maybe you will consider donating a little of what you save to the campaign?

http://justfourquid.com

ME Research UK and the ME Assocation (for the Ramsay Research Fund) have joined together for the JFQ campaign to raise £1 million pounds by May 2010.  That’s just four quid for every one of the 250,000 people in the UK with ME/CFS.

Money raised will go towards furthering biomedical research into ME which is currently not receiving any funding from the UK government. Hence needing to raise money for it ourselves.

I’ve done my own digital drawing to celebrate JFQ:

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I’ve set up my own fundraising page to raise funds for ME Research JFQ.

www.justgiving.com/rachelcreativejfq

I can’t climb a mountain or run a marathon to fundraise but I can do this.

I’ll be doing my best to contribute each week when I’m able  until May 2010.  I’m also hoping to give a little from all the money I make on my art this year.

I made a start this May donating through the main JFQ ME Research page. But I thought it would be good to now have my own fundraising page to share with you all.

I know times are getting tough.  But if you feel able to give something, or to use the money saving tips and give a little back to the campaign – thank you.

Whilst my life is severely affected by ME/CFS I maintain hope that one day I will be better and lead a full active life once more.  Research can offer insights into causes, treatments and maybe even a cure that could make that hope a reality one day.

Thanks for reading.

Rachel

PS: If anyone wants to use this drawing (for free) for the campaign they can.

Please don’t edit the image without asking. Anything other than personal use (individual’s blog etc) I would like a credit please.

An even larger version is available on request rachelcreative@yahoo.co.uk

Human Pillow for Cat (Drawing)

This was drawn a few weeks ago after a sunny afternoon lazing on the lawn with my cat Flyman.  He used my arm and hand as a pillow.

It was actually drawn the other way up but I liked it so much better this way up that’s how I decided to show it to you.

Ink and watercolour 10″ x 10″.

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Holga Photos and Operator Error

After much excitment to get my latest Holga film back from processing I discover a series of operator errors.  Or rather a single operator failure gone uncorrected through most of the film.

I left the camera setting on bulb – which to those not in the know means the setting that allows to leave the lens open for as long as you like to make long exposures, for instance in darker conditions.

This means most of the film is overexposed and blurry. Very bbllluurrryy.

But some of the pictures have a surreal swimming under water feel so I’m sharing them all online anyway.

So ..

• one successful photo of a ceiling light fitting (hmm)
• one underexposed random looking fence (I must have had my reasons at the time)
• a blurry meerkat with blurry meerkat baby in the middle of the frame (this could have be sooo good!)
• penguins at Twycross Zoo
• lots of blurry pics from the Lichfield Bower 2009 procession in May
• one blurry wedding picture

Ah well.

 

 

 

 

 

  

Larger version available on Flickr

Sloth – Work in Progress #9 (Painting)

The sloth is getting very close to being finished.

Here’s what it was like last time I blogged it:

So more lines painted in:

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Then some more lines painted in and the eye area painted out. Made a bit of a cock up with the lines in that area and wasn’t totally happy with the placement of the yes either so will redo so I’m happy with it:

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I think it’s just the eyes (with a small correction on the lines there) and the mouth and then it *should* be ready to sign. But these small details are so critical to the character they can take a bit of work to get them just right.

So pleased I managed to do a couple of short sessions this week and it’s only Tuesday!

Extracts from a Drawn Letter 11 June 2009

Extracts from a drawn letter. Ink and watercolour. Written/drawn 11 June 2009.

The real letter was handwritten alongside the drawing. The text on these scanned images explains a little about the drawings for public viewing.

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When I was little
I thought that
a tiny man
was kept
in our
radio.

I had a white fur bonnet
with pom poms on
that I really hated
but I probably
looked very
pretty.

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Most of the week I’ve looked
like this with my hood up
and my energy low.
Not as a nun.

Sometimes
the hood helps
my head not throb.
Mostly, it hides my hair.

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My husband might
take me cycling
with a special
wheelchair
bike.

There
will be many
flies in my teeth
if he goes really fast.

Sloth – Work in Progress #8 (Painting)

Work in progress on new commission of sloth.

Last time:

A little more done on the lines being painted back in and you can see it a little clearer as there’s less glare than the last photo:

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Acrylic on 40cm square box canvas.

Not far too go but progress in these final stages has been slow. I am at one with the sloth it seems!

IMPS Motorcycle Display Team (Drawings)

Drawings from a letter (and envelope) to a friend. Actually the drawings were the letter. 

These are the two parts of the display I managed to see from the IMPS Motorcycle Display Team at Lichfield Bower 2009.  The parts that were above the heads of the crowd (me in the wheelchair being able to see pretty much nothing from the arena otherwise).

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All the riders were aged between 5 and 16 years old and their discipline was even more spectular than their stunt skills.

“The Imps youth motorcycle display team is part of The Impstart Trust, a charitable organisation founded to help disadvantaged children by teaching them skills and discipline to take them through life.”

 http://impsonline.com/

I wish I’d found their site before I did the drawings and I would have remembered to draw in their belts.  My drawings were from memory alone.

The two main drawings are around A4 in size in ink and watercolour.

Action Sampler Photographs

This is my Action Sampler camera – now sadly broken after running just 2 films through it (I tried to “fix it” – oh well!).

Sports 35 Action Sampler

The camera has 4 lenses which fire sequentially to make 4 images, split seconds apart, on one 135 film frame.

The first film had lots of cat “action” shots and my husband running around the garden on my request.  Also a few images from a wheelie walk around Birmingham city centre one grey afternoon.

Football Kick

He Shoots He Scores

Kitty Tummy Action

 
Hoodie

Urban Walk

The second film came from a stash of expired 135 film given to me by friends after moving house and discovering lots of film along with cameras.  The first film from the batch I used in my Action Sampler turned out to already have a set of pictures on it from many years ago.  So I got some interesting double exposures.

Penguin Sky Grass

Lazy Running

 
Cat on Skyline

Prehistoric Giraffes

Ugland Giraffes

Zoo Rollercoaster

Super-Fly-Man (Drawing)

Super-Fly-Man

Drawing of my cat Flyman in his supercat pose. He’s somewhat slimmed down since he stsarted having thyroid trouble and he’s paws are almost getting too big for him now.

Ink and watercolour. A6 (approx 4″x6″)