Blog Posts - sally jefferies art

More life and art

4/12/2018

A different female model in Life Painting. All these poses are tricky to get right – crossed legs, folded arms, cushions and drapery. I drew her first in white chalk on black sugar paper and then painted. Which was interesting – the paper (which is about the cheapest rough and ready) randomly absorbed the paint giving a stripy/blotchy effect which I quite liked. It took ages to get the feet right, ie one foot flat on the ground, the other in mid-air.

One of my paintings has been accepted for exhibition at the Pound Arts Centre in Corsham. I’m pleased, especially as it is one I like and is in a different style - the title emerged while I was playing with the paint and the image suddenly looked a bit retro.

Save the last dance

Blue leaves

28/11/2018

Another autumn painting in oils. I’m not sure about this one, it seems a bit flat. Still getting used to painting in oils. I’m not adding the latest life painting to this blog as it was beyond bad. I tried to capture the (male) model using a palette knife and acrylics. The paint dried in blobby ridges, partly because the art room is very warm and partly because I made such heavy weather of it. E did hers in collage which looked good.

Seated model

20/11/2018

Another life painting – it took half the time getting the drawing right (practically rubbed holes in the paper) but it did end up looking pretty much like the model (well, apart from the painting's blotchy skin tones). I find I am drawing in charcoal and then colouring in with paint which is feeling a bit repetitive. So next week, back to the male model, I will go straight to paint and see what happens.

Music in paint

18/11/2018

I painted this in a couple of hours whilst listening to “Killing the blues” on a continuous loop. In water-mixable oil. It’s not really the words or music in paint but just how it turned out. Not sure about it, I will probably have to call it something more amenable, like “Leaves were falling” if it goes into the exhibition.

Male model

14/11/2018

We have had a male model at Life Painting, often trickier to paint than female models. A few of us moved our easels to try to get a view that was slightly less beset by perspective issues. These two images are in sepia tones (the actual skin colour is starkly affected by the very bright arc lights in the studio). The lying-down pose, with arms wrapped around the body, was a challenge – we have this pose for another couple of sessions so I will have to go off-piste a bit, or abstract, or cubist, or…. You just have to accept what you get and make the best of it, and learn from it. I’m certainly doing that thing that art tutors keep telling you to do (which I’m fairly bad at): Observe.

Glass paintings

8/11/2018

Simon has put some more of my glass paintings in his shop window near Morrison’s. One has just sold – to someone from Belarus! Here are some of the others. They don't photograph very well because of the slight distortion of the glass when straightening the photo of the image. Hopefully these will sell by Christmas, I think I've done enough paintings on glass for a while.

RUH exhibition

30/10/2018

The five art trails in Bath are exhibiting paintings along the main corridor of the RUH in aid of the Art at the Heart hospital fund. One of my paintings, Coming Home, has sold. I will take another brightly coloured one, The Outsider, to fill the space. It’s a lovely exhibition, well displayed, and hopefully lifts people’s spirits a little as they walk along the corridor.

Coming home

One moment

The outsider

Life painting

21/10/2018

week 4

I have been going to Life Painting class with my daughter Ele. I thought I would be well out of my comfort zone but we are both enjoying it, despite early misgivings about having the same pose for three weeks! I got round that by being less authentic about colours and Ele experimented with dripping ink.

The fourth week we had a standing pose that involved the model holding onto ropes – looked pretty uncomfortable for her. Being newcomers to the class we had what seemed like less good views of the model but the people who had front views had a much harder task, especially in the reclining pose where you would have to tackle perspective and a knee or foot dominating the painting.

week 1

week 2

week 3

44AD

2/10/2015

Here are the paintings I'm exhibiting in Bath, at the 44AD gallery, October. I decided to include the cat one after all, having slightly redesigned the mouse! I've also included a selection of mounted cards. Andy has printed some photos for the browser and has included several pens.
Sunflower
The blue door and the peach tree
Breakfast with Vincent 2
Jug, limewood bowl, fruit

Floral eggs

9/9/2015

Here's a photo of my painted eggshell flowers. They are tied onto a miniature rose, in one of those very cheap plastic flower pots which I've painted in odds and ends of blue and turquoise. Have also painted a plastic dustbin in a similar style - it now has a clematis growing in it. I've decided I don't like the cat picture below and will wait to feel inspired.

Advanced Lull

2/9/2015

Click to enlarge

Really hard trying to be enthusiastic when you are so not. Am hoping for a Post-Lull awakening soon. I've committed to putting paintings into an exhibition next month. This painting is one I did a while ago but it hasn't had much of an airing. It's called "Breakfast for two" , it makes me smile! I've done a few in this style, maybe I'll have another go (if I can think of another cat-type joke - see an earlier painting "Breakfast with Vincent" on my Interiors page).

Bees, etc

28/8/2015

Busy doing nothing much. I am making insects and cards. Found a clipart bee, enlarged it, Andy cut it out in plywood and I painted it. It's stuck on a stick and in the garden. Not at all original but we like it! I am not inspired to paint. Instead I've been replenishing my stock of 5" square cards ready for exhibitions or a gallery or just to send for birthdays. The mini mounts are a bit awkward to cut out - Andy does them, being gadget man and more adept! Found some bits of coloured mountboard, most are made with white.

Café painting

10/8/2015

I did this painting in 2011 as an entry into the Bath Prize competition, exhibited at The Octagon in Bath. The café in Waterstone's was run by Costa Coffee with scrubbed pine tables and quirky chairs. Now it is run by Waterstone's and looks more modern but I prefer the old style. This painting has languished at home for four years. Today I took it to Waterstone's and gave it to them. I hope they find space on their wall to hang it!

In the window

24/7/2015

We changed the paintings in Simon's window in Bath. It's good to have them on show. I've entered the large abstract, top row in the centre, "Save the last dance", in the National Open Art competition. It took most of the morning to complete the entry form, hugely aggravating, I nearly gave up. It took ages to get the picture the right size and then you have to provide an Art CV and a 30 word Art Statement - here's my statement about this painting, and if you think this sounds mystifying you should read some of the others! An interpretation of the romantic song by the Drifters, combining an upbeat palette with a slight ambivalence in the abbreviated title, hoping the last dance is “for me”.

Revising

4/7/2015

In a bit of a lull. Sorted through old paintings and revised (hopefully improved) these three. The blue jug that was beginning to fragment is now whole (but breaking!) and has flowers cut out from the painting I did on gesso paper. The sunflower painting now has more depth - I repainted the sunflowers to the left of the picture so that they are facing backwards rather than full front. The blue pool - don't know, I just messed about with it!

Breaking blue. Mixed media

Sunflower. Mixed media

Secret pool. Acrylic

Getting back to abstract

26/6/2015

Still with flowers, I covered the paper with thick gesso and swirled it around to resemble petals and let it dry to a flexible surface. More tricky to paint the ridges and hollows. I tried highlighting with iridescent white paint which produced a silvery effect. Don't think I like it! It may be headed for the collage drawer. This photo was taken in my art class. The painting looks better in the photo - not sure about my hand but the brush is a favourite!

So to abstract. I know you are supposed to start with something rather concrete and work towards abstraction. This painting is not like that. It evolved from playing with shapes, to looking like music, to ending up being called "Save the last dance" (... for me" the lovely romantic song by The Drifters). I just know that this is what it looks like!

slightly watery

6/6/2015

water flowers

Here are some flowers, using slightly watered paint. I've started to outline them, a touch of Dufy. The flowers are loosely based on some fabric, sort of poppy/anemone. I used outlining quite a lot a few years ago, being such a fan of Dufy - here is my favourite, my workroom loosely based on his painting of his workroom. Wish I could do better... Will have another go.

On show

30/5/2015

Three of my recent flower paintings are in the shop window in Walcot Buildings, displayed by my art tutor, Simon Wright, with some of his pots. Every so often I think I’ll do something pale and watery and interesting but the paintings pretty well always end up bright, straight from the tube – water is just for washing brushes!

Breaking again

22/5/2015

Breaking glass (poppies)

I started this painting in art class, subject a study in red. It turned into another one on the theme of breaking. I based the picture on a collage I did years ago and have always liked - the original is collaged from photocopied charcoal rubbings of surfaces and textures and is looking a bit dog-eared now. I may try to make the images more abstract in another painting.

Original collage

More flowers...

11/4/2015

Anniversary. Acrylic

I love looking at flowers but I rarely buy them and am happy to wander round the flower stalls at supermarkets just looking! These flowers and jugs are all painted from memory. I tend to start by painting a jug, add some flowers, invent a background, wonder what else to put in to fill up the spaces - it does mean that some parts are heavily overpainted where things didn't quite work. This painting is part palette knife, part brush. I think I need to add more light, the flowers in particular are looking a bit solid.

Spring

27/3/2015

Spring. Acrylic

I don't know. Some days I like this painting, other days I wonder if it looks too much like the floral corner of the library!. It's another painting done with a palette knife, except for the background bookshelves which are loosely brushed in. The flowers are gifts from Mother's Day, the jugs and bowls are imagined. I may have overworked it, layering on the paint to get the direction of light and sense of perspective. It's imaginatively called Spring.

Our bookshelves really do look like this!

Blue jug and tulips

12/3/2015

Blue jug. Acrylic

Having painted a few neat and tidy sorts of pictures I decided to use a palette knife, a larger sheet of paper (20x16 inches), paint straight from the tube and just see what happened. I did a thin wash with a big brush for the background after I'd painted the rest of the picture. The paint is thick and chunky in places (briefly chanelling Van Gogh!). The horizon needs adjusting. So far I like the effect. Maybe I'll do another one.

More fruit

22/2/2015

Jug, limewood and fruit. Acrylic

The still life on the left started out as an exercise composition in art class but I really didn't like the orange sat on top of a blue covered box (right). It languished in a drawer for a while until I could see what, if anything to do with it. So I added my favourite jug, the wooden bowl and some grapes. I like it now!

Orange box!. Acrylic

Jug and bowl

10/2/2015

Lime wood pear jug. Acrylic

This is one of my favourite jugs. I've painted it a few times, also the wooden bowl carved by my father-in-law and inscribed "FWJ lime wood, 1976". Hopefully the wooden bowl looks like a chunk of carved tree, the jug looks ceramic and the fruit is recognisably lemons and limes. I'm experimenting with colour contrasts - originally the background was bright orange which didn't really work. This colour scheme gives it a cool look which I quite like. I'm working on another jug painting and then maybe I'll get back to abstracts.

More jugs

28/1/2015

Breaking. Acrylic

I like the painting on the left, called Breaking - I'm still trying to capture or abstract a sound or image of things breaking. You can just about see that these are jugs falling and spilling. I like how it looks like boats at sea! In The Found Jug, the jug is a collage of scraps of an old painting.

The Found Jug. Acrylic collage