ebb and flowing up the shoreline

I thought it was about time for an update. Here's what I've been working on over May/June:

 

 

Unsurprisingly, it's another shoreline inspired piece!

As is always the case, by the time we reach the end of May I get very little time to do any creative work as the gallery becomes busier with visitors but I've generally tried to make a bit of progress each week, even if it's just an hour first thing in the morning. Thankfully this tapestry is nowhere near as complicated as what I was working on this time last year!

The finishing line is in sight as I move into dry sand. All shall be revealed soon...

ripple tapestries

Following on from my tapestries last December and oil paintings in January/February, I continued exploring light, reflections and patterns of Orkney shorelines. In particular I've been fascinated with backwash, when the seas draws back after a wave has dispersed.

The following tapestries are explorations of line, capturing the fluidity of water pulling back over the sand and the rhythm of dispersed wave fragments. Research came from a few beaches around Orkney: Dingieshowe and Skaill beaches on the Orkney mainland and Sand O' Wright beach in Hoxa, South Ronaldsay. 

"receding ripples"

handwoven tapestry, set in a painted, wooden box frame.

size: 17cm square (inc. frame)

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.

 

(detail)

"reverse flow"

handwoven tapestry, set in a painted, wooden box frame.

size: 22.5 x 12cm (inc. frame)

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.

 

(detail)

As is becoming habit I took my work outdoors to photograph. I particularly enjoy taking my tapestries artworks outdoors to photograph as their low relief, textural surfaces really come to life in natural, moving light.

"reflect and retreat"

handwoven tapestry, set in a painted, wooden box frame.

size: 33.5cm square (inc. frame) 

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.

(detail)

The larger artwork of the three, "reflect and retreat", uses a combination of textural effects - single and double weft and knots - to really play with low relief surface. It also moves the ripple concept further, relating how sand ripples, created by water and air moving over the sand, reflect the gentle, undulating forms of the Orkney landscape. Ripples drawn from landscape silhouttes are layered with backwash ripples and sea froth fragments to play with this idea of interconnectedness. Colours, lines, forms and patterns echo one another, contributing to the natural rhythm and flow of Orkney's shorelines. 

 

new paintings

In the latter half of last year I had a quiet itch to return to oil painting but kept encountering a mental block with it. I couldn't tell if it was because the right inspiration hadn't presented itself yet, I wasn't in the right headspace or if it more nerve related as it had been quite a while since I last created a body of paintings (as opposed to sketchbook work leading to tapestries.)

Finally by December/January the mental block had shifted and I created the following artwork driven by light: how it's reflected and the colours, patterns and mood it creates.

 "echoed in the sand" *SOLD*

size: 35cm square (inc. frame)

oil on canvas, set in a painted, wooden box frame

"the cloud and the chapel"

size: 68.5 x 38cm (inc. frame)

oil on canvas, set in a painted, wooden box frame 

(The grassy mound at the Sand o'Wright beach in Hoxa is known locally as the "chapel", reportedly a pre-Reformation chapel established by a disciple of St. Columba circa 7th century.)

"echoed light"

size: 68.5 x 38cm (inc. frame)

oil on canvas, set in a painted, wooden box frame

It felt really good to make my own canvases again; it's a comforting, familiar process which reminds me of my art school days as a painting student. I find handmade/handstretched canvases are so much nicer to work on than shop bought canvases which can feel disconcertingly plastic. I enjoy the feeling of working on the raw canvas, having control of how I stretch and prime it. I also enjoy having control of the exact dimensions of the frame rather than having to make my compositions conform to standardised sizing. Basically I like having full control of the process, I'm fussy!

"Winter shimmer, Skaill I & II"

size: 53 x 23cm each

Oil on canvas board in painted, wooden box frames

*SOLD*

  "midsummer light, Quoyloo"

size: 72.5 x 34.5cm (inc. frame)

oil on ply, set in a painted, wooden box frame

(I had started this painting last summer but it got abandoned, so it was good to return and complete it, reminding myself of long, summer evenings during the short, winter days.)

A satisying row of oil paintings.

"Embers of light, Stenness"

size: 72 x 104cm

ink and chalk pastel on paper.

And lastly, my large ink painting "embers of light." This is a heavy brute of a piece because of the size of the glass! It took a while for me to decide on a suitable frame but I am really happy with my choice of this gold edged, dark grey frame. I'm generally not a gold-edged artwork kind of person, usually finding it a bit too "blingy", however I think it works really well with this painting. It pulls out the golden light, which I feel is important as the artwork is about that final glow of light at the end of a calm, winter's day.

new winter work

You'd be forgiven for thinking I had dropped off the face of the planet judging by my lack of activity on the gallery's social media over the last couple of months, but I've been quietly working away gathering new ideas.

By the end of the Summer I had come to the end of my last body of research and desperately needed to spend time outdoors gathering new inspiration - thinking, walking, sketching and taking photographs. October in Orkney was dominated by wet, windy weather which I didn't find particularly inspiring however there were many calm, beautiful days in November which more than made up for the dull ones and the increasing shorter hours of daylight.

Ripples, reflections and low, golden light from these still days feature heavily in my research at the moment and have resulted in two smaller handwoven tapestries in the past month. Both are for sale and can be found on the gallery's website.

 

"winter twilight, Skaill" *SOLD*
Handwoven tapestry by Jo Thomson
Size: 25.5cm square (including painted wooden box frame.)
Materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 10 warps per inch.
 

This tapestry was inspired by late afternoons up at the Bay of Skaill (at Skara Brae) watching the sun cast a shimmering, warm glow across the shore before the sun set.

I often find there's an assumption that Orkney must have cool toned light in winter due to its northern location but this is not the case at all. There is so much warmth in our winter light: dusky, warm toned oranges which move into softer, duskier pinks further into winter.

 

 (detail)

 

(detail)

 

 

"wave memory, Skaill"

Handwoven tapestry by Jo Thomson
Size: 25.5cm square  (including painted wooden box frame)
Materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 10 warps per inch
 

Tidal cycles are a constant source of inspiration for me and "Wave memory" is a study of sea froth left behind on the shore at Skaill, below Skara Brae. Traced wave edges are like fingerprints: each ripple, froth or outline is similar yet unique each day. They reveal evidence of waves which have dispersed on the shore and the quality of the weather and tide that particular day.

As "wave memory" was a simpler piece to create it's priced lower accordingly. Both tapestries were woven on 10 warps per inch - slightly finer than my usual 8 warps per inch for a bit more detail and fluidity in line.

 

 

The shiny blue thread used in both tapestries (a viscose rayon) really shimmers and catches the light. It is difficult to convey in a photograph though! I also used a mixture of single and doubled weft in both artworks (and also knots in "winter twilight") which subtly play with depth in different light.

 

 

I had a surprising amount of bother deciding how I wanted to treat the wooden frames for these tapestries as I generally like to treat them as an extension to the artwork, pulling out a colour or tone in the artwork so the frame feels connected to it. After much deliberation I settled on painting the frames a dark, sandy toned grey with a bright blue wash rubbed into the wood grain which echoes the texture of the tapestries and highlights the shiny blue thread running through both artworks. From a distance the blue isn't obvious but I feel it's a lovely detail on closer inspection.

 

 "winter twilight" at Skaill beach

 

"wave memory" at Skaill beach

 

If possible I enjoy photographing my artwork within the landscape which inspired it, so last Tuesday I took the tapestries out on an adventure to Skaill beach to photograph in the twilight. Sadly it was fairly overcast so I didn't quite get the golden orange/pink light I had hoped for, but it was still beautiful and always satisfying to see my artworks connect with their inspiration source.

 

Skaill beach, 12th November 2023.

Inganess ebb studies

I don't always feel the need to create studies, for painting or tapestry, but occasionally I feel they're needed if there are techniques I want to explore or any uncertainties I want to address before beginning the final artwork. There were many things I felt unsure about with "Inganess ebb" (as mentioned in my previous post I avoided starting this piece for a good two years) so my best way to push through the uncertainty was to make full use of studies.

As a happy surprise, not only have my studies been useful, they've also ended up as interesting, exploratory artworks in their own right. Now that I no longer need them for reference I'm happy to set them free into the world, rather just shoving them away in a sketchbook.

 "sky ripples, II" Inganess study

handwoven tapestry

size: 18cm square (inc. limewaxed box frame)

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch

 (detail)

"Sky ripples, II" is (unsurprisingly) my second sky study for "Inganess ebb." The rippled effect is much more subtle than in the first study, which I shared back in April (see here) and I also slightly changed how I wove it. This one is closer to what I ended up doing in my final tapestry. 

"Inganess hues", study *SOLD*

handwoven tapestry

size: 17.5 x 22.5cm (inc. limewaxed box frame)

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch.

 

(detail)

"Inganess hues" is an overall colour study for "Inganess ebb." It helped to figure out the overall "feel" for the final tapestry, how I wanted to use textures and also confirmed that I needed to purchase a few new shades of green to achieve the effect I wanted for the seaweed ebb area. 

Even though the purpose of "Inganess hues" (and studies in general) was to give me a feel for my colour palette, my choices generally do change slightly as I work on the final artwork. For this reason I often warp up a separate narrow strip on the loom next to the large tapestry, usually 2 inches (5cm) wide, which allows me space to test colour gradations or blends to see how they look before committing to it on the final artwork.

The following two studies are a result of this paint palette strip and I absolutely love how they have turned out now that they're framed, especially photographed against the larger "Inganess ebb" tapestry. 

"sea", colour study *SOLD*

handwoven tapestry

size: approx. 21 x 7cm (inc. limewaxed box frame)

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch

"sky", colour study

handwoven tapestry

size: approx. 22 x 7cm (inc. limewaxed box frame)

materials: cotton, linen, rayon and wool; woven on 8 warps per inch

Now it's back to the drawing board. I've come to the end of my last body of research so I desperately need time outdoors to walk, think and draw and then time in my studio to think, draw, paint and develop! I've also coincidentally come to the end of my last sketchbook. A new sketchbook always feels fresh with possibilities so let's hope I put my new one to good use over the coming months.

Inganess ebb

Myself with my artwork, "Inganess ebb"

Size: approx. 3ft square

Handwoven tapestry

Materials: cotton, linen, rayon, wool; woven on 8 warps per inch, cotton warp.

(currently nfs)

  

It's finished. Finally. This piece has been quite a battle, for various reasons, but I'm glad I pushed through to resolve it. 

This artwork is inspired by an oil pastel drawing from my sketchbook of Inganess beach, just outside Kirkwall on mainland Orkney. It was a Spring day of intense colours and I loved the vibrancy of the sea blues and turquoises against the almost luminous greens of the stones and seaweed in the ebb.

 

As always I keep my sketch close to hand when I'm weaving, both  for colour reference and capturing subtle nuances which can't easily be noted on the linear compositional sketch I have tied behind the loom whilst I'm working.

The main reason I delayed starting this tapestry for at least two years is because I couldn't decide how I wanted to translate and weave the sky. I really liked the vdirectional mark making I had created with the pastels but was aware it would read differently when scaled up. I felt it needed to be present in the final tapestry as the sky would look too blank without it but I didn't want it to read as zebra stripes either. After a few experimentations on smaller studies at the beginning of the year I eventually got there. It's a subtle, rippled cloud effect, gently grading in colour.

 

The other reason for the delay was knowing that it would be similarly complicated to weave as "Eynhallow, disappearing island" (the sketches for both pieces were created at roughly the same time.) It has taken a while to recover from that one! By the end of last year it was niggling me that this drawing was still languishing in my sketchbook, waiting to be developed further. I'm glad it's finally out my system!

As noted above in the artwork description, this piece is currently not for sale. Last year I decided to mark my last two big tapestries, "Eynhallow, disappearing island" and "Echoes of the shore", as not for sale in order to start building up a body of tapestry artwork to represent myself here at the gallery. Mum is no longer here and going forward I don't want to run a gallery where there's a lot of her work and very little of my own.

Mum opened the gallery in 1996 with 10 -15 years worth of tapestry artworks. She sold at least three big pieces in that first summer and quickly realised she wouldn't be able to create quick enough to replace what was sold whilst also running a gallery. In order to not have a partially empty gallery she decided to hold onto the remaining pieces, some of which belonged to the family in the first place so were never intended to sell. This left her with a strong, cohesive body of work on permanent display for people to see when visiting the gallery. Anything else she produced from then on was sold.

My artistic practice has been different in that I've always sold my work as I produced it, even when I was still studying at art school. This has been good financially, however I've often felt my work and display space lacks impact and cohesion, largely to due it being made up from bits and pieces left over from larger bodies of work which have sold and disappeared. Quite often by mid to late summer I don't have many original artworks left for sale and I don't have the time to produce many new things whilst running the gallery. The vast majority of my work is produced over the winter months when the gallery is closed.

My solution and aim going forward is to produce one bigger piece a year, which I will hold onto either indefinitely or for a few years until I have enough work to start letting some go again, alongside smaller pieces which I can sell throughout the year. I'm hoping this will create a better balance between mine and my Mum's work within the gallery and also having a solid body of work to show people as well as work to sell.

Speaking of smaller pieces to sell, I have a few more studies relating to "Inganess ebb" which will be for sale soon now that they are no longer needed for reference. They will pop up on our social media or the gallery's website in the next week or so (and eventually here!)

rippling up that sky

I've got "finishing fever", the end is in sight. What started as tentatively thinking "I could be finished by the end of August" has turned into "I *WILL* be finished by the end of August." To be honest I'm pretty fed up with this tapestry, it's been on the loom far longer than intended, and I want to shove it over the finishing line so I can work on new ideas. If I can't get near it during the day while the gallery is open then I'll have to put in the hours elsewhere. Either way, I'm determined to get this finished in the next couple of weeks.

The first colour mix for the sky felt crucial as it needed to set off the horizon and create a sense of distance and after many "not-quite-right" attempts in early July I abandoned the tapestry to work on some sketching and painting instead. The change of pace and scenery must have done me the world of good as when I returned I immediately found the "right" blend. Once I figured out how I wanted to treat the sky section I've been making good progress. Other the first inch or so above the horizon the majority of the sky has been woven in the last two weeks.

The day I discovered I colour matched my work-in-progress.

Subtle colour gradation + subtle ripples = a lot of bobbins in very close shades.

Playing with fun camera angles. I love how shooting from below brings out the texture of the doubled up weft in the foreground.

Subtle sky ripples.

Hopefully my next post will be a "ta-da, finished!" reveal.