ART from Norfolk
I decided to try this composition/subject out using water-mixable oils on paper, the underpainting was in acrylics. The paper I used is Daler-Rowney Heavyweight Finegrain 200gsm and was A2 or 59x42cm The actual painting is 57×39.5cm (there is a small border around it). This is the final result:
Did a painting over the Easter holidays, inspired by life at the barn where we were a year ago. I am also fascinated by hedgerow life and conservation. I used acrylics for this piece on stretched canvas. To make the marks, I didn’t use any brushes but potatos cut up to stamp the paint with, as well as cotton buds, cotton wool balls, sticks, pieces of wood and cardboard, even tin foil. I was pleased with the final result and it has received a lot of compliments on Facebook.
‘Hedgerow and Barn’
Acrylics on stretched canvas. Ready to hang – does not need a frame.
22″ x 18″ x 3/4″ or 56cm x 45.5cm x 2cm
Pictures below to show detail and reverse. 
Hey, I hope all of you who celebrate Christmas have a joyous one, filled with everything you need – like happiness, love, family and good friends.
Christmas is not about the gifts, or the tree or the baubles and garish lights festooning so many houses at this time of year but you wouldn’t think otherwise if you visited this planet from somewhere else. As an extra-terrestrial, I wonder if you’d find it all a bit strange when you look around, peer into the crack and see all those many lost people? The people who don’t have anyone to spend the holidays with, the people who are lonely or just alone in a crowd, the people who don’t have any food or place to live and there are many homeless people in this country and all over the world – what a sin that is! In this so-called age of enlightenment, that there are still so many people who have nowhere to live, no prospects, no food, relying on hand outs and hand-me-downs just to keep body and soul together. I wonder if your extra-terrestrial self would stop and think about that while you imbibe the ‘Christmas cheer’ and tuck into the turkey.
I’m not preaching, I’m as guilty as the next when it comes to over-indulging – both in the food and drink and the gift buying. I just hope that the people in my family who have had a right crap year, manage to glean happiness and warmth over this holiday season – we’ll be seeing one of them on Boxing Day.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR CELEBRATION
I hope 2019 is a great year for you all.
‘Monkey’s Wedding’
A4. Water-soluble oil pastels on Bockingford watercolour paper.
Something different (for me, at any rate). Got a bit tired of one of my larger canvasses last week, so decided to jazz it up somewhat. I don’t do this ‘pointilist’ type of work normally, so it was something strange to begin with but after a while I enjoyed the freedom.
‘What do you see?’
Acrylics on pre-textured stretched canvas.
120cm x 100cm x 4cm
Close up:
I have been working with water-soluble oil pastels most of the rest of the time and hope to have something half-way decent to post up here soon!
I got me some Caran D’Ache ws oil pastels the other day and some really wonderful Bockingford Hot Pressed Watercolour Paper – A3 size – I took 20 sheets. What a difference good ground paper makes! It is really sturdy and quite stiff but takes a lot of manhandling with liquid and paint. I have been wanting to get stuck into water soluble oil pastels for a while now and decided on the Swiss made ones as they do seem to be at the top of everyone’s recommendation lists. And they are fantastic! Deeply pigmented, wonderful to work with both off the paper (i.e. mixing as on a palette) and on the paper. I have tried some layering in this picture, which was basically to test the vibrancy of the colours. I intend to do a series of paintings using this Bockingford paper of impressions of the Scottish HIghlands … so who knows hey? Anyhow, this is the result of today’s faffing about …
‘Boadicca’s tree’
Water-soluble Oil Pastels (Caran D’Ache) on A3 Bockingford Hot pressed 300gms watercolour paper.
Close ups of detail
There are many things influencing my outlook on life at the moment – some very positive (like moving to our own house very soon – yay, no more renting!) and others not quite as positive (like waiting to find out if we will be able to permanently care for my baby granddaughter – we will only know the answer to that one at end of July). My youngest son is also now seriously making plans to move over to the UK to be with us all – so that thought is very much at top of mind all the time and I was thinking about that a lot when I started painting this abstract. It was great to get back to canvas and something larger than the work I’ve been doing lately.
I used a lot of layers in this work, using inks mixed with structure gel and acrylics mixed with gloss gels and other medium. It was a cathartic experience, no matter what happens in life, family are the most important – at least they are to me. And sometimes family comprise people who are not your blood relatives. I hold them all close to my heart, they give me light …
‘DIVE’
Acrylics, inks, gels, structure gel on stretched canvas.
69cm x 59cm or 27″ x 23″
View of the work on one of my easels:
Texture close ups (lots of texture!):
This work is available to purchase.
I’ve titled this one, ‘On her way’ – it is inspired by the devastating mental health struggles my youngest daughter is currently experiencing after the birth of her baby almost three months ago. These last few months have been extremely traumatic for all of us but last night, when I went to visit her with her older sister, it was like she was back to her old self again. There is still a lot more work needs to be done but it was the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel I saw last night, as she walked away from us down the corridor to her room. She seemed to be surrounded by a golden glow and that’s what I wanted to get across in this painting.
“On her way”
Acrylics, inks, soft pastels on Daler Rowney system 3 acid free acrylic paper.
16 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ (not for sale)
‘Little Field’
Acrylic inks, oil bars and oil paints on gesso-ed multi_media paper.
This small painting is available to purchase here
I am using this post to test out connection to my existing blog community on WordPress. I am not certain that my website is visible to you all and I’d appreciate comment if you can or can’t see the website via this post.
My website address is: http://www.janiceheatherscott.com
Apologies for such a long time in posting any arty updates – been lots of family things to sort out lately, I’m quite exhausted by all of that, so let’s get on with it hey?
I discovered Winsor & Newton Oil Bars quite by accident and only have a small selection at this stage. But boy am I enjoying this new found freedom. I am still doing fiddly small things while I get used to manipulating the oil bars on different surfaces. These are some of the more recent things I did over the weekend.
‘Patchwork landscape with blue’
14.5″ x 10″ or 37cm x 25cm – actual painting size.
Acrylic inks, oil bars and oil paints on acrylic art pad.
Surface worked with sgraffito technique
‘Poppy field’
9.5″ x 6.5″ or 24.5cm x 16 cm
Acrylic inks, Oil bars and oil paints on Daler Rowney acrylic paper
Surface worked with sgraffito technique
‘Poppy field with buildings’
7″ x 5″ or 18cm x 12cm
Acrylic inks, oil bars and oil paint on mixed media paper.
Surface worked with sgraffito technique
I am also working on a largre canvas piece, as well as a larger landscape piece but these aren’t ready to put up here yet.
Hope you enjoy!
“Woodland Light”
14 ¼” x 10 ¼” Soft pastels on paper
Footnote: I got hold of this with the Galeria gloss medium – the idea was to see if this medium would be compatible and protect the pastels better than a fixative spray. What seems to have happened is the tones have darkened – the painting is still interesting, I think and perhaps more atmospheric. I have matted and mounted it behind cellophane – photo just to show difference in tonality.
“Driftwood”
51cm x 41cm x 2cm
20″ x 16″ x 3/4″ (approx)
This is a heavily textured piece and a lot of reworking went into its creation. There are many layers of material that I have sculpted. The layers were made from caulk, modelling paste, fabric, threads (metallic and cotton), sand and paint. I used acrylics, as well as metal effect paints and the base is a stretched canvas.
This image taken in reflected natural daylight with tripod.
Anyway, hope you like.
Textural detail:
47″ x 39″
Mixed media on stretched canvas, gallery wrap 3″ deep
Textural detail:
On the wall Close up of texture
Small stretched canvas – 8″ square.
Materials: Pébéo special effects paints, irridescent acrylic medium, recycled plastic (heat-formed and painted then applied to canvas).
I would appreciate comment, if you have the time, on any of the posts that you like.
Memories of Fly fishing in Perth, Drakensberg Mountains.
Janice Heather Scott 