Estrella

 

Digital drawing for the Singing Tree series.

Quite a large canvas, so those individual blades of grass almost pushed me to the brink of insanity. I find digital line drawing to be quite a bit more difficult and time consuming than pencil drawing. I think that this is because the digital pen sort of glides across the tablet, so you don't seem to get as firm a purchase on it as you might with a pencil. Sometimes, when I begin a new Singing Tree picture I have to make sure that I'm in it for the long haul, haha. And so here we are. I love the pink and red tones. I've been wanting to create something with minimal tones for a while now, so I'm happy to have finally got stuck in. My most cherished element of all is the sky with its strange constellations.

The girl is supposed to be leaving home and attempting to 'move in with nature', which is central to the concept of the Singing Tree series over all. She discovers that nature might not be quite what she had imagined from the relative 'safety' of her comfortable human home. The size of the bird represents how vast this hitherto unknown world actually is to her - and I also like to imaine the bird as some sort of oracle which she is hoping to consult. Have a feeling he might be quite merciless though - and this goes on to remind me of the Erl King, which is a theme that I have been hoping to indulge in for years!

On the subject of the Erl King, for those of you who loved Angela Carter's version, you really must check out this contemporary collection of fairytales (I have featured it a dozen times before!), which features a new take on the Erl King story by the very wonderful Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum. I am reading the book oh so slowly (alongside three others, which is silly, I know), but have made my way through about three quarters of it so far - and not one story dissapoints. Here is the link to the Amazon UK version.

I may write more later, just so tired now and I didn't catch anywhere near enough sleep last night. Tomorrow evening I am supposed to be attending a psychic night with my friend at the local tavern. I don't wish to become involved, but am so intrigued by the whole thing. And tomorrow is the solstice...so make sure to be merry, and take care xxx

Individual pieces and parts :]

Dreamchord Luxe

Softly. Walking with you, a hundred years ago. Afternoon sun, the hay wagon driving us home. Swinging our legs, dust in your eyes. Heat haze and cool streams. An insect symphony. Blackbirds, frog spawn, picking up sticks. Daydream. Butterflies with milky wings. A sun child and a sun king. Walking. With you. Over the stone bridge and back again. Long socks, long ago, a faded shirt. Heart of the sun. Forever. Walking. With you.

Tidal, absolute. Wake into a dream where the forest opens out onto the ocean. You stand at the edge of the cliff alongside your sister, your mother. All of you staring out to sea, all eyes on the horizon. You have seen what lies ahead, beyond your time. You are deeply loved. All three of you smile. And then you walk away, back towards the forest, alone. You lie down on your belly in the long grass, crying softly for everything that has been and everything that ever will be. Faith, loss, renewal. And the universe has taken you to its heart. You will never be alone again.

 

Labyrinthine. These rooms, opening onto new passageways, leading to other rooms. Each one with whitewashed walls, filled with your grandparents antique furniture - those Hummel dolls, the white porcelain lady with her white haired dog, and the curious crystal pyramid. Everything's here, everything you once knew. Your brothers never got old, your playmates' laughter resounds behind closed doors. But you can't see them. Where are they? There's a room at the end of this corridor with dark velvet curtains instead of a door. You have to enter this room because it might mean the end of the world. So you push back the drapes and enter, cautiously, trying not to let your feet make a sound. Once inside the room you are surprised to discover your playmates at last. They are no longer laughing, if ever they were. There is no furniture in this room, only a collection of white metalwork cages, the sort of cages in which people might keep little birds, suspended from the ceiling by chains wrapped with a decorative trellis of make-believe vines. Each of your playmates sits within her own ornate little cage, pale faced, knees pressed together, knuckles clenched. Their mournful eyes follow you as you navigate the room, but nobody speaks. Not a sound. You wonder what could have happened to them, but are afraid to ask.

I found a dead sparrow here, beneath this tree, so I buried it. That same night I dreamed the sparrow sleeping beside me, thrusting its bony wing into my ribs. The next day, returning to the tree, I spied three little boys poking around the burial mound with sticks. Leave it alone, I said. The boys pretended not to hear me. Leave it alone, I said. The boys laughed, kicking up the earth. And then I began to feel funny, like a wind was blowing through my head. My sides hurt, and my fingers and toes felt numb. It felt as though my bones were stretching, cracking, there were too many colours, so many sounds...When suddenly all about me was light, wind and leaves. I was way up above them in the arms of my tree, feathered and weightless and free. I'm a bird, I cried, i'm a ghost in this tree! The three little boys had dropped their sticks and fled in terror. Come back, I cried. Oh please come back and play with me!

 And then I woke up.

New work for the Dreamchord Luxe series.

For the solstice.

xxx

Moon

My first ever 'detailed' photograph of the moon.

My dad gave me a telephoto lens this evening, so, clearly, I had to seek out the moon! It doens't matter whether this is perfect, or crystal clear, or Nasa quality, you know? Because I'm literally reeling with joy at this moment. This is magical (anything related to the moon, the cosmos has profound spiritual resonance for me). Never mind that it was taken without a tripod, prior experience, and shot through a double glazed window : There's nothing quite as uplifting as having discovered something wondrous for the very first time.

xxx

Luna

Digital painting/illustration with collaged flowers. For the Imagined Portraits series.

Something light, fresh and hopeful......I haven't created a painted portrait for quite a while, or so it seems. So, I am a little startled by Luna, for she began as yet another exercise in darkness, which swiftly shifted over to the light. Sometimes it is as though they design themselves. I am quite sure she isn't human, and if so, only partly. I see her bathing in starlight, alone. If a human dared to touch her, she would shatter into a trillion tiny crystals of light. I wanted to bestow a more fitting name on her, but couldn't think of one. Perhaps I will alter it tomorrow :]

Sleep beckons..

xxx

Georgie watch the stars

Georgie, my rabbit doll (pipos).

I have been meaning to work with georgie for so long now, he has been in hiding since late 2008.

Georgie is one of my few remaining ball jointed dolls. And such a charming model, I have no idea why I always seem to forget about him. He's really quite fond of the camera.

xxx

Amaranth

Celeste

Amaranth (version1)

Amaranth (version2)

I now have two slightly different copies of Amaranth and still cannot decide which to go with. I prefer the lighter, detailed version1, yet can't seem to reject the more spacious, darker velvety quality of version2. So here we have both :]

They are concerned with transformation, alchemy.....perhaps even death as a symbol of new life.....in the metaphorical sense. Something about them reminds me of the ocean at night, slightly chilling, yet they are certainly supposed to represent feminine strength, mystery, magic. The mirrors signify both divination and self reflection.

Amaranth: (the following paragraph taken from the Dictionary of Symbols by Jack Tresidder)

"A long lasting flowering plant depicted on Greek tombs and sculptures as a symbol of immortality. Amaranth was linked with Artemis and credited with healing properties. In China, its flowers were offered to the lunar hare at the moon festival as a token of immortality."

For the Celestial Children series.

xxx

hex

 

Hexagram.

Digital illustration for the Specters and Dreams series.

This doesn't seem to have transferred to the web very well. No idea why. I will look into it later.

For weird siblings everywhere.

xxx

New Prints

A selection of recent, brand new prints have just arrived at the Art+Ghosts shop.

Little Apparition and the circular style Red Muses are my favourites :]

So frustrated with Facebook this morning. My status has been stuck at Monday since Monday evening. Basically, my posts won't update, and I have been really enjoying my mornings catching up with friends over there. On a positive note, I have just this moment re-activated my somewhat neglected Tumblr blog, which contains random images and inspirations from across the web. I may have mentioned in the past how Tumblr actually scares me, but how can I deny something oh so visually alluring? If only it was possible at least 3 times out of 10 to locate the actual source of an image.

I am nibbling fair trade double choc chip cookies. Drinking earl grey.

Also excited about a new pair of tights which arrived in the post this morning from Oregon's Sock Dreams. They are ludicrously 'Wonderlandian', diamond patterned tights. I doubt that I shall be hopping around Tesco in them, but they will certainly come in handy for creative photoshoots.

And don't forget that the competition to win one of the limited Art+Ghosts booklets is still going strong. Entries will close on Sunday afternoon, so lots of time yet..

xxx

Feathered dark in thought

Red Haired Girls

 Red Muses

Islands of the Mad

Digital illustration.

I wanted to present them as large as possible, so please forgive the intrusive watermarks.

Title inspired by the colleced poems of Sylvia Plath.

Especially:

"....In faith

we shall board our imagined ship and wildly sail

among sacred islands of the mad till death

shatters the fabulous stars and makes us real."

(Tale of a Tub)

"There is a panther stalks me down:

One day I'll have my death of him;

His greed has set the woods aflame,

He prowls more lordly than the sun.

Most soft, most suavely glides that step,

Advancing always at my back;

From gaunt hemlock, rooks croak havoc:

The hunt is on, and sprung the trap."

(Pursuit)

"...Feathered dark in thought, I stalk like a rook,

brooding as the winter night comes on."

(Winter Landscape, With Rook)

xxx

Celestial Children

Celestial Children

Lily of the Spheres

Little Apparition

Photomontage.

My old dolls. Celestial child souls. Winged and ethereal. Long lost friends return.

Lily and Little Apparition are actually much older works, possibly as far back as 2006 (when I first began to sell prints of my art work online). I have entirely remade them here, at a much higher resolution. The dolls and dollshouse featured are no longer with me, but it's nice to be able to keep working with them still :]

I haven't decided whether to place these new works in the Specters and Dreams gallery, or else create a new one for them. I am still thinking of compilling a series titled 'The Poltergeist Rooms,' although 'Celestial Chidren' might have to become a project in itself. We shall see!

x