Very fishy fish

I'm pretty fed up with my camera now. There is obviously a major problem, rather than me being stupid about the settings. Time for a new one me thinks. So I apologise for the poor quality of the photos.

I can't get into gear today. My head is still full of Libya and I can't empty it sufficiently to allow myself to paint. The temptation to pack a small bag and jump on the first plane back to Tripoli is massive.... Itchy feet.

I recently finished my Marrakech inspired painting and I'm pretty happy with it. The colours are much more vibrant than the pic indicates. I like the carpet quality of the collaged door and the man scuttling out of sight.

One February I spent a few days in Marrakech, it was pouring with rain, the torrential down pour bounced of the steamy streets. I didn't mind as I sat in a smokey cafe drinking coffee, watching the men rushing through the streets, holding up their long hooded coats trying not to get their fine leather babouches wet. It was a glorious sight.

I wanted to do some paintings that are inspired by my trip....but I don't know where to start. There is so much to chose from and I really need to get everything into order in my head before I attempt it.

So for this weeks painting, I made a start on an idea I had a while back. I'm not sure I like it at the moment. It has too much of a cartoon look. The fish are collaged with newspaper. I then painted some white household emulsion of the top to knock them back a bit.I like to use ordinary emulsion because it sand papers off quite nicely, leaving a chalky appearance. I use gold metalic acrylic paint quite a lot too. It lifts the surface of the painting and catches the light beautifully. Inspired, I have to say, by Grayson Perry's beautiful ceramics, which are heavy with gold leaf. It makes them look special.

I'm letting this dry now and will look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.

Works in progress

Here's a couple of paintings I'm working on, could be three. I never quite know when to stop. I get to a point when I'm painting that either I get bored and think that's enough, or don't like what I've done and discard it until a later date and I can tackle it again with renewed vigour. The moment I think I'm done I quickly have to slap a layer of varnish on to stop me from fiddling with it.

I stood and looked at these boards for some time, wondering what to do. I rarely have a detailed plan in my head. I may have an image of a subject, but no idea where to start. In fact the first few marks on a new canvas terrify me. Don't know what to do, I'll make a mess, it'll be rubbish etc etc.

Having trained as a textile designer my artworks quite often have a paterny quality, or I find a repeating patern emerges! It's half the reason why I took sculpture and printmaking courses...to try and break the neatness.

Now I throw stuff at the canvas in a very rushed and haphazard way. Or rather it feels that way. frenzied is probably more acurate. It takes ages. I use my fingers to smear paint straight from the tubes. I find if I use a brush I try to be too neat.

The boards above made me think of doors and then beautiful doorways in Marrakech. I have done a collage similar to this before but thought I would re visit the theme again. The North African, pink, medieval city has a special place in my heart. I hold an image in my head, a black eyed man wearing a dark red hooded djellaba. He holds out a suntanned hand offering walnuts to me. Such a magical place.

This one below, I knew I wanted to do an image of this bowl. I have a post card of the original, made by Lucie Rie. It is held in the Sainsbury centre for visual arts in Norwich. The vertical lines are tiny tiny words, written I don't know how, and impossible to read. But give a beautiful depth to the piece. I'm trying give an expression of that using torn French franc notes and newspaper. Not sure how this is going to end up!