What I’m Working on Now #5

Here’s the way I paint in acrylics..

Celestial Steed II (Before & After)

I find that making new artwork really gets my writing juices flowing. And the writing gets my drawing juices flowing! So it’s a win/win situation. Right now though, my priority is on writing, so the wee bits of artwork are like a refreshing short break.

My miniature mixed media paintings (about four inches square) have been selling nicely at the Art Exposure Gallery in Glasgow. As they recently sold the last one they had, I decided I would finish up the little flying horse that’s been sitting neglected in the studio. I thought you might be interested in seeing a before and after on this one. I work in acrylics on paper to start with. You can see on the top painting that I just slapped some bright wild texture down and painted a dark horse silhouette in Burnt Umber on top. With acrylics, you can work from dark to light, so I lightened up the horse to add mass and detail. Next, I very loosely brushed Cerulean Blue mixed with white over the red background, so that some still shows through.

I added some Naples Yellow into the Cerulean mix to give it a jade-like hue and worked some of that on top in places, kind of randomly. Then a bit more straight Cerulean in places…and then an even more yellow Cerulean/Naples mix in other places. On top of all that, I got some white into the golden-jade mix and scumbled that around the horse to make it glow. A couple of puffy white clouds appeared underneath to complete the scene.

Then came the fun, finger-painting part: with my fore finger, I dabbed and smeared gold wax gilt in places to make the whole painting sparkle.

I like working in layers and allowing the colour and texture of the underpainting to show through. The wax gilt catches onto the textures and highlights them, almost like raising fingerprints.

And, if you have been following this blog since I began it just over a year ago (!), you know that I love flying beasts, especially horses. But I will say goodbye to this horse and take him down to my friends at the Art Exposure Gallery, where you can pop in and have a look at him from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 12pm to 5pm.

What I’m Working On Now #4

A new odyssey.

The sun is out. The 48 hour squall that passed over us, dropping snow, sleet and rain has moved out. Back to spring dreams.

I am ensconced in the Next Book and feeling how far I have come since I started writing The Blackhope Enigma. The learning curve was very steep but the rewards immense. Now it’s on to a new project and I’m going into it with the same attitude I had before: have a go, write from the heart, get it down on paper, be open to improvements, polish it till it’s as perfect as can be.

I have learned an incredible amount about writing over the past few years. Alongside my practice, I read a lot about what’s happening in the publishing industry, what other authors are up to and what their writing tips are.

Last week the Bologna Children’s Book Fair took place in Italy, and though I couldn’t go this year, I followed people’s tweets about it and read their blog reports this week. I am really impressed by the time people took to write up their notes, especially Beth Peck, whose blog has some fascinating nuggets of info from publishing industry afficionados. This quote from Richard Peck’s talk made me laugh out loud (ruefully):


If you see an adverb, shoot it.

I used to have to “shoot” my adverbs with the big bad Delete button, but now I can spot them looming at twenty paces and body swerve them. Another step on the learning curve…

More personal views of the Bologna Book Fair come from author Ally Carter
and illustrator John Shelley. Mary Hoffman (aka Book Maven) wrote reports for all three days she was at Bologna. All these blogs (and the tweets I followed) gave me a pretty good flavour of the Fair.

So, suitably fired up by the overall feeling that this year was buoyant, I head back to my draft manuscript and cross over into the imaginary world of the Next Book.

Ideas Within Ideas Within Ideas…

Why my writing is a bit like a nesting Matryoshka doll.

I had a very funny ‘Aha!’ moment when I found the doll, because when I tell people about the stories I write, I often describe my plots as being like Matryoshka dolls. Just like my paintings, which I often build up with layers of pigment, I like to write stories within stories. The Blackhope Enigma is all about layered paint and stories hidden inside other stories. I am busy working on my next novel (with a top secret title) and it’s shaping up to be another nest of interlocked stories. I just can’t help myself! I like to write what I would want to read myself - and that means secrets, twists and things not quite turning out the way you thought they would!

So I find myself with a new two-inch tall ‘writing talisman’, or lucky charm. The little Matryoshka doll, with her half-smile and otherworldly half-eyes, is a powerful reminder to me of where I am going with my stories - and where I have come from. A few years ago I would never have imagined writing a novel, and yet here I am with my creative life transformed and a new moniker: author-illustrator.

WASPS Open Studios

On October 3 and 4, we’ll throw open our doors so you can see where we work and what we’ve been doing.

Shadows Into Dusk We Pass

I am also delighted to be able to give you a sneak preview - this weekend only - of the painting I am donating to the Art for Hearts auction before it goes on exhibition at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London next month.

My colleagues will be showing their paintings, sculptures, jewelry, glassware, ceramics, installations, videos and much more. This year we also have visiting artists from King Street and Dovehill Studios showing work in our gallery and project spaces. Click here for essential info.

And once again, I am making a Treasure Hunt for children and their families. Pick up a clue map at the entrance and work your way around the studios to find certain special objects, answer questions, figure out a puzzle or two and register for a free prize draw! This year’s mascot will be Grumpy Cat, who will help guide you around the building.

Any of my blog readers who come to my studio this weekend and ask me what my exciting news is will receive a free postcard!