Bury Art Festival 2013

I posted a sneak preview of this in progress a little while ago. This is the finished canvas...

 It's currently being exhibited at Bury Art Gallery, as part of this year's 
Bury Art Festival 
which continues until Sat 11th May.
I also have these 2 canvases in the exhibition...

I've used a vintage book cover (from a book found at a car boot sale) as the centerpiece for this one. The tiny envelope is hand-made from transparent scrapbook paper.

And this one was inspired by some words from a Pablo Neruda poem - "between the shadow and the soul". Those words are featured on the hearts.

30% from any artwork sold as part of this exhibition will go to Bury Hospice.

Round Robin Journal Number 2 - Maggie's Journal

The second journal that I received in our Round Robin project - Maggie's - was themed in

orange, yellow and grey .... a journal full of sunshine and showers!

It was a bit outside my comfort zone as I've been working a lot in whites and neutrals lately, but I enjoyed the change of scene! These are the pages I did ...

Paint, ink and oil pastel with paper collage - music, scrapbook paper and Shakespeare sonnets, a vintage bird image and butterflies.

And a vintage rose image on the other page...

And a tag to match...!

I had written down which order the journals were being sent but can't seem to find the list now. I quite like the extra excitement of not knowing what colour theme I'll be working in until the next journal arrives through my letterbox! 

Sneak peek...

A new mixed media canvas I'm working on ...

 I like the distressed look of the background (I wasn't sure at first but it's grown on me!)

I'm finding that I'm endlessly drawn to white and neutrals lately. Life's been a bit chaotic and I think maybe I'm craving some quiet and calm ... working with this colour palette seems to encourage reflection.

Do you find that the colours you're working with tend to reflect your mood?

Art journal round robin - Lisa's journal (blues)

The first journal I received to work in was Lisa's - handmade from a beautiful aged hymn book, it felt precious and full of secrets.

Lisa's chosen colour theme is blues ... tranquil, serene and spiritual.

These are the pages I worked on ...

 

Inspired by the cover of the journal, tied up with it's turquoise ribbon, I teamed my blues with rich chocolate brown and added some ochre tones.

I

As Lisa and I share a fascination with things hidden, I made a little envelope, and tucked inside a scrap of paper with music notes, a tiny piece of lace, and a blue paper rose. 

 I also used a slide mailer (bought ages ago just because I loved the look of them) painted and collaged with paper, film negative and a little red felt heart ... it opens to reveal an ornate key and a quote (although sadly my handwriting is nowhere near as beautiful as Lisa's!)