27 July 08
New easel
The Tattersall’s is very close to the end. It’s at the stage when I go all over it (again) joining all the shapes together with shadows or whatever, tidying up the raw edges, adjusting the bits that are too light or dark and so on and so on. Repainting the sky. Takes ages.
The wrecked buildings also got a kick-start.
The chain-link wire photographs were immensely successful. The wire won’t work. Looked terrible. That has saved me a tremendous amount of fiddling around with patterns and wire and I think I can forget that idea forever.
The new easel arrived is utterly magnificent, a beautiful and solid thing made from Mountain Ash by Jeff Lacey at www.easelsgalore.com.au. All those blocks and pulleys at the back are a counterweight, so I can raise and lower it with a fingertip. It is a joy to use. Beautifully designed. Thankyou, Jeff.
12 July 08
Rut
Nothing has changed. The wrecked buildings died so I left them alone and got on with the Tattersalls entry, then went back and did a few bits to the buildings, which got that moving again and now plan to spend half a day on each.
The next painting has changed as well, and will now probably include the Port Adelaide horizon, mentioned below, and possibly a chain-link fence, which I have wanted to use for years, but I have never had the courage to finish a painting and then paint it over the top. Photographed a good one in front of a lot of pylons and power things.
With a bright blue (very cold and windy) sky behind the chain-link, I can now delete all the sky to transparency, then drop the semi-transparent layer containing just the wire over my working drawings and see if it works.