Graeme Skinner » crap

This is why…

Graeme — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:07:20 +0000

…I don’t paint digitally

Recently I started a painting of Rivendell after the Elves had gone on their merry way. My initial sketch made me think I need to plan the painting properly and so the idea came why not try and do it digitally instead of in watercolours. This was really a big mistake, I like using watercolours, I don’t understand them but I do get some sort of physical feedback as I paint. When I was trying to create this digital piece it did not feel ‘real’ to me, it’s not something I can explain very well but there was no sense of connection between me and the image that was appearing on screen. Now, after far too many hours on this ‘thing’ I need to get the watercolours out and play for a while.

So, here is my first, and probably last, digital painting of Rivendell (to show how it came about I’ll start with the pencil sketch )

And the completed piece…

Here’s a couple of close up images…

Thanks for the crap

Graeme — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:01:38 +0000

This morning we went for a wander around Long Meg and her daughters in the Eden Valley. It was quite pleasant until we saw the amount of crap people leave behind.

For such an ancient site which holds a great deal of meaning for so many it’s sad that people feel the need to adorn the site with various pieces of crap they are too lazy to take away with them. I’m not talking about leaving litter behind – though there is plenty of evidence of that. I’m talking about the things people have tied to a tree next to one of the parking places. Supposedly these pieces of crap are offerings, though who they are offering their crap to is unclear, it’s also doubtful that any spirits or Gods that inhabit the area would really want this crap anyway. It does amuse me in some strange sort of way that often those who decide to leave an offering claim to be ‘in tune’ with nature, if this is the case why do they leave plastics behind that will be around for years to come…

why do they leave metal objects to rust away and fall in fragments to the ground just to stick in the first passing animals foot…

or items with metal ties that can snag anything brushing by…

and whilst some of the crap may pose nicely for arty photographs…

do we really need such pollution at our historic sites?

Fido says no, we don’t…

Anyway, I did take a couple of ‘stone’ photographs

and this one I’ve named forkintree…

The run around…

Graeme — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:23:14 +0000

I’m on the run around, every day gets shorter as the list of things I try to fit into the day gets longer and longer. When the night shifts appear, working suddenly takes up more than 50% of the day, with 12 hours spent actually working and nearly an hours travel either side adds up to no time at all to do what I really want to. Thankfully the end of nights is in sight and I’ve some leave scheduled which may give me time to stretch some paper and actually paint something which is really what I want to do right now. In reality the run around will likely continue in ever decreasing circles to a point where I’ll look like a dog chasing it’s own tail.

So I hope very soon to have time to paint and perhaps a little time to write something – when I say write something I don’t mean a paragraph or two here, I mean a chapter or two of something new

I love the smell of crap in a morning….

Graeme — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:40:33 +0000

…or do I? Well no to be honest with you. It’s one of the few downsides of living out of town, around this time of year the tractors arrive and start spreading the crap all over the fields; it used to be they’d apply one layer and go away – now they spread layer after layer until even when you are shut inside and have the windows shut you can almost taste the smell.

Other than that studying is now the priority this morning (having watched England lose to New Zealand by ten wickets, been for a walk, taken some photographs, and set up this site).