Off the grid and out of the box , Barbara & Joel cut loose...

Woe Barbara's on the grid ! new look at New York...

Out of the cupboard , a box of Barbara's Dad's old glasses ...

We like , going kitch ... first try old method of painting on small squares of paper using water colour ....Nah its way too dull

So get them on one big sheet with marker pens , off the grid , draw outline only , try and keep pen on paper, then swap sides and go again...keeping it random

They're lovin it

One too many  ! FANTASTIC !

Now Joel chooses another classic shape ..the pepperpot  Its another winner !
Quite alot of smirks and giggling at the random shapes produced....Pepper-pot -porn 

Barbara gets Dubuffet out and has a notion to do some background colour

Using soft flowing black lines to use as fill in sections

Joel chooses a blue and Barbara mixes it ...off they go colouring in time

Mmmm  very exciting , definately out of the box and off the grid, time for just one more...

Joel goes for the Espresso pot ... Barbara not sure she's ready for it , but as ever rises to the challenge

Much more angular object so use angular lines for background colour areas

Entering another off the grid zone and lovin it ! Have an idea for an exhibition of this work next spring at Winter's Moon , discuss with Julia and taking Joel over to see the space next week ....http://www.wintersmoon.bigcartel.com/

Bring on the Aubergine !

Looking at marks and old sketches

Start to over paint in aubergine squares

 Once the canvas is covered in aubergine squares  out come the oil pastels

Getting pink pastel on

Joel chose a test pot from Barbara's  Mum's collection and put it on the stool and they took it in turns to scratch one in a random square

Barbara making a few adjustments to something she's working on, while Joel fills a square

Barbara's turn to scratch the pot image on the grid

preparing the larger grid canvas adding more layers

Da daaa !Got to say they look bit like selection of odd pants !

Recycling a canvas from last project

Really loving the aubergine colour

Barbara and Joel covered all the original gourd drawings till there was only a faint image coming through the purple ...almost Rothko...Made a really good start today, three canvases on the go !

Pippa's Show at Longford Farm House ,Bodenham

Pippa and Joel looking at the W.Dean paintings

Georgina's paintings

It was such a gloriously bright sunny day Joel and I drove to Bodenham just south of Sailsbury and found Longford Farm House where Pippa and Georgie where holding their exhibition . Pippa had a good cross section of work there ranging from, some of her light boxes to a selection of the paintings  she had done at West Dean when she was Artist in Residence , based on stills from the film of Le Grande Meaulnes . A wonderful book, which I read , like Pippa, in my late teens and its stayed with me to this day.  All round Nice Day  !

Embark on a fresh project with Barbara

Joel and I went to Barbara's to throw a few ideas around and see what happened , we looked at Barbara's work and at Barry Holt's extraordinary paintings for inspiration. Barbara having recently returned from India and has begun a large green painting made up of different greens on a grid recycling an old canvas , and letting some of the red come through. Joel also enjoys working in a grid format so we came up with a plan to paint using a grid base and layering colour in squares before then doing a simple line drawing , maybe scratching through or using paint ; of an every day domestic object ie a cup , or and apple... viewed from differing angles.

An old painting of Barbara's which she is going to paint over , recycling the canvas

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Green painting in the back ground is the one Barbara  started  on her return from India

One of Barry Holt's wonderful Black on Black grid paintings ,

Another Barry Holt , reminds us of an old indian bus/train ticket. Really interesting technique , painted on board.

Looking back at the first Lilly-pad painting Joel and Barbara did together

Talking about the use of line and space

Getting down to it !

So we got started on an old canvas of Barbara's and Barbara drew the grid in oil pastel , mixed up some purple paint and away they went !