Teatime - 81

I've spent today finishing the second tree, the sky ..aspects of the viaduct, and blending the hair, face and clothing of that remarkably handsome chap! In other news, my running continues to be a regular feature of my week. In the last 7 days, I've run 5 sessions of 5 1/2 miles each time...that means I've done a marathon in a week!..I'm hoping to increase my distance to include  a 6 mile run in the next week.

Three Graces - finished!

Three Graces 2010

61.2 x 45.5 cm

335 hours 5 Mins!

Well here we are, begun earlier this year in April, the finished three Graces is ready to be framed. This is probably my most personal piece yet with many hidden messages and meanings. If you'd like a written explanation, I might prepare an email that I can send you, let me know if you're interested!

 My current exhibition is now at it's end.It's been a relatively quite week and has been part of a learning experience. Once again people are more interested in my more surreal pictures of which there are no prints available. I have therefore once again failed to break even with my finances.

I shall return to the gallery tomorrow to take my work down, then enjoy a couple of days relaxing.I need to seek inspiration for the next piece. I have a handful of ideas all jostling for first place, but so far I am not fully convinced of the one I want to commit time to. One thing I am sure of is that i'll stick to a smaller sized composition next! I'll write more about the ideas I have next time. until then, thank you for your continued patience these last few months...and I'd like to mention how important all your comments have been in keeping me focused on completion.

Below are a few closer shots of the finished 'Three Graces' all the images are copyright to me and are not to be reproduced for any reason without my written consent.

Three Graces - 88 Exhibition day 5

Still not finished. spent a good amount of time talking to some very interesting visitors. It is a great privilege sometimes to talk to individuals who are not only interested in my work but are also knowledgeable about art in general. One such couple were so encouraging and interested, I'll hopefully be keeping in touch with as they left me feeling understood and valued.

Above you can see me nearing the end. The last act of any picture I create is to dot around my pencil signed autograph, then when I've reached the finish, I erase the pencil leaving the signature clearly visible. I still want to add more texture to the lamb's fleece. I will also work on Tennis girl's hair and hair band. Then I'll be just about done. This will happen tomorrow which will also be my last full day of exhibition this year!

Three Graces - 87 Exhibition day 4

You can see a close up here of me working on the final stages of the grave stones. It felt odd to be working on this side of the page again, I've not done so for a couple of months!

 Here you can see the nearly completed area of work today...I've done additional work on the grassy area and included some shadow to show the base of the tree trunk. Of course once i've added in one shadow, it soon becomes apparent that it should continue to other parts of the picture. Pretty soon after I'm reworking the entire lower section of the picture.

It is entirely possible that i will finish the picture tomorrow...at the latest it will be Thursday.

Three Graces - 86 Exhibition day 3

The drive to the gallery today was wonderful. Mist clung to many of the valleys. I have a 17 mile drive up through the Derwent Valley..trees are beginning to turn golden, yellow and red and it's frustrating that it's so difficult to stop safely to take some photos. I'll try to do this if I can leave early one morning. I have a very lovely place to sit and work in the gallery where I can greet visitors , talk about my work and demonstrate the technique. I actually only had only 15 visitors and sold one small print...but as always some stimulating conversations.

Three Graces - 85 Exhibition day 2

The rain poured, and it poured and it carried on until mid afternoon. I began to think no one would turn up. but they did, and it was great to see so many visitors. It also was good to meet Ex-Scotland International /Birmingham City/Notts Forest/Derby footballer Kenny Burns too. I was able to spend nearly six hours working on the lower part of the space Shuttle which is enshrouded in mist...it's a case of constant reassessment and development as I gauge the correct density of the mist..i'm hoping to introduce shading to emphasise strata's of mist stretching across the scene...that will have to wait until tomorrow now!

Three Graces - 84

It looks like the ground is sloping here, but it's just the photographer that's sloping! I'm fairly pleased with the way the graves fade into the mist..and I should be able to complete the Space Shuttle tomorrow if all goes well.. Was nice to see my friend Alison and her son Josh today at the Mill..thanks for your custom and it made my day to have you there.

For some reason I look rather senile in this photo...but don't worry. Later on I was wheeled away, put into a disposable nappy and fed gloop before being put to bed by a very kind nurse.Hopefully they'll let me out again tomorrow!

Three Graces - 83

started work on the gravestones today. I'm purposefully hanging back on finishing this too soon because I'm exhibiting all next week and I usually demonstrate what I do whilst I'm there.Meanwhile, I'll also be working on sketches for the idea I had whilst walking the other week!

Three Graces - 83

I'm now moving into the final few days of work on this. today I penciled in the details for the Space Shuttle's wings which I will finish once I've added in the gravestones. I added more detail to the maids face and costume and developed shades on the centre Grace.

On the kitten front: both surviving kittens are feeding well.

Three Graces - 82

Back to work on the grass and Lamb today...I'm hanging my next exhibition on Friday which will last a week. I have a distinct feeling that I'll be finishing this by then if not sooner. Today I passed the 300 hour mark!

Three Graces - 81

I grew up thinking I was an anomaly.

Three Graces - 80

Three Graces - 79

Today I've worked on the skull...it was interesting working out how the skull would look partially obscured by blades of grass. Tomorrow I will also begin work on the lamb.

Three Graces - 78

So I've sorted the skull and started work on filling in the grass which if you look closely is really styllised but I like the effect.I want the lamb to look healthy and happy...

Three Graces - 77

Back to work today on Graces. I've been wondering how to fill the space you see above.The answer you can see is a two headed lamb and a skull.(the skull needs some work before dotting begins...it's the wrong shape) You might be puzzled as to why I'm including the two headed lamb.Basically it symbolises how anomalies are, although unusual in the eyes of the man on the street,  actually (as far as this anomaly is concerned) quite common. More about it relevance to the composition another time.

Three Graces - 76

Completed the grassy area shown above ( by the way,the little boy is me! )..and you can see it in context for the rest of the picture below.( I'm going to use the above image as the basis for a poster advertising my coming exhibition.)

The yawning gap to the left is where I'm going to turn my attention to next.

Three Graces - 75

Once again it's been a day of grass and flowers..I started darkening the areas around the Grace's feet and carried on to the rest of the grass etc...I have yet to finish the area to the extreme right of the picture then carry the work left of the Maid.I've managed to slowly increase the time spent during each day this week.I usually aim to do 5 - 6 hours a day...I managed just over 4 today. I'm aiming to complete the piece by the end of the month, currently I've spent 283 hours and 25 mins on it !

Three Graces - 74

Here you go Tys !...more legs! I've been working on the detailing for the grass and flowers again today...lots more of that yet to come! I'm also constantly aware that the centre Grace's legs are rather insipid...more work needed there too!

Three Graces - 73

Maid's legs nearing completion!

Three Graces - 72.

Blurred for some reason...I worked for a little while on the Maid's legs today.But I aways go through a 'come down' after an exhibition no matter how short it is. The wonderfully encouraging comments seem a million miles now that the dish washer needs emptying , the garden is massively over grown and there is a hole in the bathroom floor.Feeling very tired and in need of inactivity I did just that..It was also my daughter's 10th birthday. When she got back from school we all went for a celebratory meal.