Blog 1: what is an artist residency?

I’m just back from an artist residency at Brisons Veor, Cape Cornwall, West Cornwall from 6 -13 April 2024

Dedicated time away from the normal daily routines - what a privilege.

This was at short notice! Life had to be rearranged - but Deb and I did not want to miss out on the opportunity to have a week’s artist residency at Brison’s Veor, a house run by the Brison’s Veor Charitable Trust, at Cape Cornwall, close to St Just and Land’s End. We arrived last Saturday, 5 days ago having met up in Okehampton on Friday night. Well on the last small lap from St Just I took one wrong turn, thanks to satnav insisting I turned right! Ended up in a deeply muddy field and was relieved to get out without needing a tow! Found the road to Cape Cornwall and our home this week was at the end of it, before you fall into the Atlantic or get blown away.

It’s a 2 bedroomed house with downstairs bedrooms and studio, and a large living area and studio space upstairs, with a small kitchen attached. The windows all look out on the Atlantic, sea, rocks and tumultuous ocean. This week at least has been stormy and even when the sun shone, high winds mean that we still haven’t climbed to the top of the mound behind us. It is wonderful though we wondered what to do with ourselves. A trip to the beach and we met a lady who swims in the small seawater pool there every day of the year, found wonderful rocks and seaweeds and have sketched and taken dozens of photos. The sea is utterly mesmorizing – so powerful and beautiful. No sign of seals here, but today as the wind dropped, we have seen young seagulls and even a cormorant out fishing.

Because of the weather we both sketched looking though the windows on Sunday and then by lunchtime I wanted to paint – got 5 paintings started, which have all been revised since! It was too windy to stand up outside. What struck me was the power of the ocean, the patterns, rather like lace that emerge as the waters move in and around the rocks, and the difference the light makes. One moment it is black and threatening, and shortly after, turquoise green lace reappears and all calms down. Now as I write the mist has come in and even before it was dark, all is hidden around us.

In the past 4 days, I have painted 7 paintings of the ocean and surrounds and started another 2 – it did involve a quick trip to Penzance in heavy rain this morning for more materials! This will be a new series on show at Rochester Art Fair from 3 -5th May, in the Corn Exchange, so do please put the date in your diary.

So far, we have had 2 sessions sketching, visited the Kurt Jackson Foundation (famous living Cornish artist working in conservation) and been to the Geevor Tin Mine and Museum. The whole area is riddled with old mine shafts and ruins of the engine rooms etc. Fascinating and sad that the tin industry finally closed in 1986. It was a 3 hour visit – in and out of all the engine rooms, washing the rocks, well explained processes, up and down steps, and into The Dry, where the miners washed after shift and changed their clothes. Again we took dozens of photos, fascinated by the shapes and the history. At the end we had a 10 minute walk though a small section of the old mine, thankfully illuminated by electric light not candles. Made for small people back in the 1800s and the tea after very welcome!

We have been self-catering and got on really well together, always good. Deb works in watercolour and I in acrylic. Different styles but one aim - to improve our art and make best use of the time here. Tomorrow I am planning to paint as the morning is looking grey and damp, but if it dries up we will go out in the afternoon. I have some great seaweed and a few other treasures from the beach, so want to try using those with ink. Friday looks good, so we will go out again. More material gathered feeds into work at a later date, even though I can’t tell you how exactly. Sometimes folk wonder why our interests in art change, or style, but all our experiences feed into what we do as artists. The paintings from this week focus on the sea and surrounds, but I realised today how easy it is to produce a painting that is predictable – a seascape. Not what I want, rather to express the power and colour and majesty of the area around, and to paint freely and expressively– hence the revisions and redoing of three small pieces.

Day 5 was really interesting: too wet and windy to go out so we both worked in different media to our usual indoors and that was fun; for me charcoal, metallic inks and white acrylic paint on the huge roll of paper I brought with me – but had stayed in the car until now! Working flat on the table and from memory and intuition, I just sketched and scratched and applied the inks with a chunky seaweed stem, torn from it roots in the storm last weekend. Deb had questions about acrylics on canvas and showed me some mono-printing techniques, a good exchange. Then we went out as the rain stopped for a short walk, saw young seagulls down on the water for the first time, before a thick mist blew in shrouding everything around. We ate up nearly everything in the fridge after: eggs, bacon, mushrooms, sauteed potatoes, tomatoes… and some red wine! Self catering has been good – do ask for the menu - but art takes a lot of energy!

Last full day here and it’s the best day weather wise. Deb has gone back to Botallack mines to sketch and paint, and I have been up to the monument above the house to see the views. I intended to sketch but couldn’t find a rock to sit on with the view I wanted, so just took loads of photos and made a quick live video up there. It’s on my face book page if you want to see it (www.facebook.com/ElaineAlmondArt). Reception is better than in house – where we leave our phones propped up in the window until something downloads! Did I say no TV for a week, we watched videos in the evening and went to bed early – I think its all the fresh air!

I made some moves on my last painting on return, but am also beginning to clear up and think about the week overall. What do you gain from designated art time like this? It isn’t free, but with less frills and an art studio attached is much easier to work, given the variable weather on this Atlantic shore.

What have I gained from this experience? I have discovered that I really don’t need or want to collage my sketches on the way to a painting, unless it is specifically about shapes: the rocks here with their mineral strata would be a good example of this. I sketch with charcoal, chalks or paint pens and woodies on paper or in a book, which ever I fancy on the day and depending on size. I don’t enjoy the small sketch books that many artists use, it feels very restrictive but in this wind a book is better than anything else. Generally I carry some slightly larger sketch pads, typically 12 x 16inches or similar, that will just fit into my large rucksack along with charcoal, pens and water/ food if needed. I also takes dozens of photos and just sit and observe and that helps to imprint the scene in my mind, so that some paintings, or even the ink and charcoal drawings seem to come from nowhere – in reality my brain!

 I have loved just having the time to paint, to experiment with paper in a more leisurely way than at home, and I will definitely be doing more mono-printing. Time and to think about things too. I haven’t been that well this week with another chest infection, and there are other issues to deal with at home, so it has offered a break and refreshment. Hubby has been quite happy there and we have spoken every evening. He’s off to a concert in London tonight. What I have l earned is that I can achieve more than I think in a short concentrated period of time with no distractions. For me that may be a way to work in the future.

I hope the freedom will show in my work, and that this will continue in future paintings. My peers on the Fine Art Professional development course in Sevenoaks will help to keep me on track! I am planning to write a blog once a month and I will be interested in your comments, especially as this is the first one – honest, but constructive please!

Art is part of my life journey just as many other things are. It’s both a privilege and exciting being here. Let me know how you find it keeping space in your life for all that matters? Any tips welcome! Planning? Negotiating with a significant other person? Time management? Time out?

Time to sign off. The sun is still out so I’m off for a last walk now.

Thank you for reading

Elaine

Written in situ & completed: 12.04 2024

Dates for your diary:

3 -5 May: Rochester Art Fair, at the Corn Exchange, near the Cathedral Rochester, Kent.

Let me know if you would like to attend the private view on Friday evening 3rd May, 5 -9pm

Open Sat & Sun 10 – 4pm

10 – 12 May Wrotham Arts Festival, in St George’s Church, Wrotham, Kent

1 -29 June: South East Open Studios. This year I will be exhibiting in Hadlow on 3 weekends. More details nearer the time (1/2, 15/16, 22/23rd)

6 – 15 June ‘Only Connect’ Exhibition of the Fine Art Professional Development Group, about 30 of us, Sevenoaks Kaleidoscope Gallery in the public library, 1st Floor

For updates:

Facebook: @ElaineAlmondArt

Instagram: @elainealmondart

Email:  etalmond@gmail.com

WEBSITE:  www.elainealmondart.com

Blog 2: Where has the Summer Gone?

Subtitled, what do artists do in the summer holidays?

Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you are having a good summer and that you may find peace and refreshment. Its very hot here in Kent and a deterrent to many exertions! Suddenly I am aware that the summer is nearly over - schools go back next week and many of the things I planned to do remain outstanding. People say, as does the ancient book of Ecclesiastes, that there is a time for everything, so what have I been up to?

I had two weeks in beautiful Dorset at the beginning of July, and have been taking it a bit easier since. Saying that, I had a massive clear out and rearrangement of my studio, so I have more room to work on larger paintings on the back wall and to experiment with mono-printing. Because of the heat – a few weeks ago the studio reached 35C, and today 25th August is at 28C! – it took me over 2 weeks to complete. Now I am beginning to get used to the new space. Same size (14 x 12ft) but with an extra trolley for paints and other kit, move a cupboard and table, and room to paint again. Physical space also mirrors our mental and spiritual space - room to breathe and perhaps why many of us love being outdoors. What do you think?

Deborah showed me the basics of mono-printing in Cornwall and I decided to continue. So I have bought a book on printing and am playing around – different methods give such a new result in relief. Its what appeals to an abstract artist. I never could predict results as a therapist of course, and there would often be surprises, both encouraging and more challenging, same in art. I’ve also taken predominately inks and pastels out with the plein-air (outdoor) painting group on a Wednesday as its lighter and doesn’t stress my neck so much. The sketches can also act as inspiration for larger paintings -there are now two on the back wall in the early stages - see first photo on the left above.

It is all part of keeping the creative spark alive. I was listening to the actor Michael Sheen talking to a young female actor about her training. He went to Drama School and she learned on the job, but still has a Bafta. Whereas her friends were taught to analyse their every move and intonation, she has acted instinctively since she began age 7! I wonder if a similar situation might be observed in art colleges? The discussion roamed around the fact that the work we do includes our life experiences, the people we meet, the art we love, and who we are past and present. Having grown up in a loving, but quite strict home, I value my freedom immensely - to think, to believe, to create and express myself - to name a few. What freedoms or other qualities are important to you? you can reply here

The summer also brought checkups. Mine stable, my husband’s problematic, but its not clear what is happening at the moment. I can’t say too much now, but he has seen a consultant and is due further assessments for us to have a fuller picture. What it does do is shift priorities, and give the awareness of our need to enjoy things whilst we both can together. I am not painting any the less, but may not be able to plan as far ahead, or do as many exhibitions as in the past. I imagine some of you may relate to this from your own experience, and it doesn’t help me to think too much about the future -better to live each moment to the full.

So what am I up to!? In addition to time in Dorset and a few days out, we have been to several art exhibitions! No surprise there then.

Tate Modern for the Expressionists: Kandinsky, Munter and the Blue Rider: early abstract painters, many from Germany beginning a movement that has continued to be both loved and challenged. Its on until 20 October 2024.

Wells Art Contemporary: an annual exhibition during August, held in the Cathedral with some very thoughtful sculptures ‘Hear no evil…’ 3 sculptures for see, hear and speak no evil -timely given our current situation. Also 24 small books made in clay with inscriptions from the cathedral, testament to the thousand of visitors and worshippers since it was built in the 13th century, as well as 2D artwork in the cloisters. We stayed over for 2 nights and enjoyed wandering around England’s smallest city and the fabulous gardens of the Bishop’s Palace. I will post a few photos below.

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition: every year, in the news, know some folk who had work in this year, always interesting.

I have also been to a couple of Art Societies, in Cranleigh and Ansty, to demo abstract painting, and working with inks. We had a lot of fun. Two more bookings for next month. You can book me for a group through Art Profile here.

Next week, I will start back at the Fine Art Professional Development group in Sevenoaks - fortnightly in a peer group of 12 artists, run at postgrad level -a place to discuss, encourage challenge and otherwise support each other in art. Last year was great, this year I will be working a a new series of abstracts.

For another week, I have 2 paintings in Chatham at the Halpern Gallery. I have been longlisted in two national/international competitions this year. Am waiting for the shortlist of the Visual Arts Open 2024 to be published soon.

So time to relax, time to think and have a clear out, holiday, exhibitions and now back to painting and some writing this autumn. How was your summer?

Let me know what you think about blog no 2. Thank you, Elaine

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.