NEGATIVE IMAGES

I have been playing around with negative images on Paintshop.  I love the effect of it on these photographs - all the warm orangey-brown colours of the Atlas moth have turned into shades of blue/turquoise and the effect is ethereal and night-like - very suitable for the subject of moths!  I have used the top image as a background for some moth-based artwork, and I found that using a transfer gel creates a more elusive and a less dominant image.  

Page from sketch book using transfer gel and negative image photograph

                                                             

Steampunk art

I'd never heard of Steampunk art until I read an article on it recently - it's a genre that gained prominence in the 1980's, and inspiration from authors such as H.G Wells and Jules Verne. It involves a setting where steam power is still used, but includes elements of science fiction/fantasy - a Victorian vision of futuristic innovations.  I love the mix of the old and the new,  and the opposition of nature mixed with engineering.

I decided there and then I wanted to do a piece of Steampunk art work, or rather, my watered-down version of it!  I finally found a use for the bag of watch and clock bits I've been unable to part with for the last few years!  So....I got it out of my system and here's the result - not Steampunk art exactly but two pieces loosely inspired by Steampunk art.

'Mechanical Moth 1' - mixed media collage

 'Mechanical Moth 2' - mixed media collage

Blue and Green

My friend was having a clear-out and kindly gave me a bag of mixed green and blue beads.  I had forgotten how much I love this colour combination and decided to make an inspiration board from items around my studio.  


The jewellery is from a collection dating from around the 1920's, of real butterfly wings mounted under crystal and set in silver.  The wings are from the Blue Morpho - a very large butterfly that lives in tropical rainforests.  Their vivid iridescent blue is breathtaking - I have been unable to resist collecting it whenever I can.  There was a resurgence of butterfly wing jewellery in the 1950's but I think I prefer the style of the older stuff.    


I now have a few ideas for a new piece of artwork using these wonderful colours - it might involve butterflies! 

'Velvet Moths' Exhibition

 'Moth House 1'  Mixed media collage

'Moth House 2'  Mixed media collage

I just love moths. Well, moths, butterflies, bees, cicadas, birds - anything that flies really.  I have been putting together a body of work that encapsulates my love of moths.  The work explores the balance between the elusive, ethereal qualities of the creatures and the desire to capture and possess them.  

I have a large collection of dead things - or should I say things that were already dead when I found them: bees, may bugs, beetles, moths etc - and I use them as inspiration in my work.  I don't hold with killing creatures for the sake of it, but I totally understand why Victorians collected trays and trays of butterflies, moths, and insects. I'm glad they did, but I'm also glad that it is no longer acceptable as a hobby today. However, the desire to possess them is as enticing to me as looking in a jewellery shop window might be to others!  

I am exhibiting my work at Hangar Farm Arts Centre, Totton, Hampshire SO40 8FT, from September 14th to October 7th