Art in unexpected places

8.15 on a Friday morning, the tide of humanity sweeps through Moorgate Underground station, head down, bags gripped in sweaty palms. Clear objectives - get out of the station as quickly as possible, avoid the tourists, slow coaches and people dragging tripping devices on wheels. Except for one...

Spot the artist, phone in hand waiting for the seething mass to pass so she can take a photo of the torn and tatty posters glued to the tiles. There's art and story in those layers. Look deeper, journey inside, be pulled in.

I haven't done anything to these photos except to crop them. Each I believe is a work of art on its own worth hanging in the Tate Modern. I wonder how many others saw the lady in the blue dress dancing and leaping across the layers; the man about to burst out with joy and the unrequited lover watching her beau walk away again...

Layer love

I find something deeply satisfying in creating a piece of art made up from many layers, especially when some of those lying underneath didn't quite turn out as planned. It's a metaphor for persistence and knowing that most times, the more effort you put in, the better and more consistent the result.

There's something so much more interesting in peering deep into a project to investigate all the intricacies that hold the construction together - and how we learn from our mistakes!

I'm returning to my old love of portrait painting - Gritty Jane set up a challenge and naturally I am no more able to resist that than an open bar of chocolate. This is #3 inspired by the theme 'layers'. #1 and #2 below.

When will I know...

...when I am good enough?

I am going through a frenzy of painting over old canvases. Not much is safe and paintings I once adored are rapidly disappearing under a thick blanket of gesso as I wonder how I ever thought they were worth hanging on a wall.

Will the pieces I created fresh this week meet the same fate this time next year? Will I ever be satisfied?

Mind you, didn't many of the great Masters do the same thing? Aren't there instances of restorers finding older paintings hiding underneath those prized today? I wonder what lies beneath the Mona Lisa? I think it might be something saucy - which possibly accounts for that enigmatic expression she's been wearing for the last five centuries or so.

Maybe one day the experts will apply the digital thermal x-ray techno wotsits and see the large eye that resides beneath this mermaid. I'm pretty certain there's something else below that one too!

If you own a masterpiece and another is found underneath, does that make it twice as valuable? Imagine rubbing off Venus because you preferred the 'still life with old shoe' underneath! I wonder if there is a law against such things?

I am starting to talk nonsense now! You should really read yesterday's post where my philosophising was of a more intellectual nature - and I won't be painting over the art I share there either anytime soon (particularly as I no longer own it)!

It seems appropriate that this piece I am sharing for Paint Party Friday this week is very much a work in progress and, given the number of paintings underneath her, I assume she will remain so for many years to come!

Tune in next week for the next version!

Postscript: Carol just left me a comment mentioning the male figure behind the siren. Well, I thought for a moment she was seeing things, for I never painted a male figure. But then I looked again... and what do you know... there he is! How spooky is that?!! Thanks Carol. Namaste!

I'm a girl of many layers

Twice in the last week or so I've been asked what inspires me, so if anything called for a blog post and piece of art then this was it.

This piece is probably somewhere over the Atlantic right now. She resides in an artistic collaboration, a round robin of art journals travelling from one side of the ocean to another. Eight artists each adding their own part to the story. Steph asked that we share what gave heat to our inspirational flame. For me it's layers and words and the feminine and eyes and story and pattern and experimentation... and well, you name it, sometimes it's there!

There's something very special about painting over layers. It's like you're building a secret history for your painting. There are stories from the past that only the two of you have read, but if the observer looks closely enough they might find clues in the tiny elements that remain.

Layers are whispers and hints, they add texture and interest, they cover up the pieces we wish to hide from others, but are still intrinsically a part of us.

Somewhere in this post I stopped talking about art and moved onto myself... There are many layers to peel away today. Some are pretty and sparkling but others stick like glue and weigh me down with their tight weave of negativity. I keep reminding myself to believe in myself and my goals, to keep on doing ...

Oops! I nearly forgot. This post is also for Artists' Playroom and the prompt "What inspires you?"

Layers

My life right now is a series of layers. I'm an onion, although that sounds a bit tearful and smelly. Perhaps I'm a layer cake? Yes, I like that - much sweeter!

If you looked at my office desk now you would see some serious evidence of layering. What you get is a cross section of everything going on in my brain. I am having some seriously exciting business ideas as a result of taking Hello Soul. Hello Business with Kelly Rae Roberts and Beth Nicholls and around 300 inspiring women (interesting how we are all female!). I have paper scribbled with ideas and calculations, marketing plans, to do lists. It's mind mapping gone wild.

My diary is underneath my sketchbook and the log book from my new car. My diary has rather a long list of items that need ticking off for today. Strictly speaking writing a blog post should not be top of the agenda... but it is Saturday... and I so wanted to enter The Butterfly Challenge's Layers week. I am such a layer lover when it comes to paint. More on this in a moment.... Back to the desk...

So, there are at three paintings, a book of love poetry, a rose that is crying out to be sketched, a memory stick with items that require downloading, a pile of unopened letters (they looked boring), a cuddly snowman, post it notes, pens, a card from Amy, wireless headphones and assorted notebooks (plus a thin layer of dust).

The floor is covered in paper. There are notes stuck to the walls and piles of filing dotted around. It is complete and utter ORGANISED chaos! Honest!

Back to this painting. I rather love it I have to confess. It began life as some random red and brown scrapings and corrugated cardboard prints made using up palette paint. The brighter bands of colour were added with a brayer then a few splatterings and scatterings of this and that to add more interest.

Right, blog post done. Back to the mind mapping and business planning! I'm very excited!!! Watch this space...

Layers

Are you ever afraid to start again, to change your plans and goals? I was soaking up a blog post from Juliette Crane telling the story of one of her paintings. The final piece little resembled neither the original, nor presumably the intent but it was perfect.

My own style of painting too is slowly heading in this direction. I'm no longer so precious about sticking to an original plan or idea - I cringe less when I paint over paintstakingly crafted layers. I let the work flow and tell its own story. There's almost something comforting in knowing what's underneath the layers - parts of the process - beginnings, lessons learned and past history. When I'm brave and paint over my creation it's often a tough move. What am I thinking of? What am I destroying in trying to create something better? Inevitably though, just like Juliette, I find the results worth the pain and mental anguish.

It's life really. We set sail with a destination in mind, but the winds shift and off we go in a different direction. Should we panic and fret over what we thought should have been or embrace the adventure? I know what I prefer!