I tried to resist, but a Blue Madonna seems determined to get herself painted, so I've given in. I seem to have a fixation with the image of mother and child. It goes back a long way so I shouldn't be too surprised. More progress next time.
After a few days of making speedy small format drawings, today I began a large abstract painting on gallery wrapped canvas, which will take several days. It's good to be back to wet pigment and especially on such a large scale, 40x40 inches (100x100cm). 
SOMETHING TOGETHER, NOTHING APART 
SUMMER DAZE
IN DISGUISE
It was inspired by an evening I spent with friends in old Limassol town a few weeks ago. One friend who's a teacher took us along to see an exhibition of her school's A Level Art work at the Morphi Gallery. All those beautiful young people with so much talent and so seemingly unaware of how blessed they are to be at the beginning of the adventure. I was so impressed and so envious ... left me depressed for days!
In this first work in progress image I've begun to lay down the structure/architecture on the 28 x 20 inch canvas.
ALL FOUR ONE
A blue mood today and another abstract. This is on a really chunky deep-sided 8 inch square box canvas. I began the background with layers of blue acrylic paint and added small square motifs using textured medium. Whilst it was drying I gave one of my handpainted tiles it's first layer of paint ... deep Indanthrene Blue. I'll complete it in the next session.
I'm in town tomorrow to meet a friend and also for new canvases, so in the meantime, today I used the final canvas of this size for another mixed media.
Another of the handmade clay tiles this time together with paper, paint and thick pearly medium.
The studio is in total chaos just now, with hardly a square inch of useable surface left ... but I'm on a roll so tidying up with have to wait.I've been playing with clay and now have lots of small tiles, which I plan to use collectively or individually in mixed media paintings. The pic shows them in their naked unpainted state. Many of them will get altered out of all recognition, but I do like the way some of them look now and have chosen four of the more simple ones to use for a 4 canvas minimal contemporary piece.
I've started on 3 of them, then realised that I must have
got the fourth from a different supplier because the weave of the canvas is slightly different. So it's off to town this week for more of the same.
Signs of spring today. Looks like we may be colonised by some house martins looking for a suitable nest building site. They're surveying the under-roofed area by the side of the kitchen. I'll take some pics if they slow down long enough. Hope they decide to stay as they are very much more welcome than one of yesterday's visitorS. H surprised a blunt-nosed viper on the drive ... actually there was more than a little shock both ways. Unfortunately it shot down a gap at the bottom of the wall and as the venom is dangerous to humans and pets, sadly we couldn't allow him to stay. Don't ask ... it was horrible!
8x8ins (20x20cms)approx
Country Quadrille
