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"

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.