After a studio visit

 As a response to a studio visit I am sending mail art to each of the people I visit.  For the most part, I think these have been welcome thank yous.  I simply can't help myself.  When I get home after a visit there is so much to process and I find that doing something purely intuitive  helps me to internalise something about the experience. 

I visited Arthur Neal's studio last Friday and saw a bevy of the most wonderful paintings that he has made over the years and more recently. Arthur's work comprises, people, landscape, interiors and still life. It was the studio that I decided to respond to. My still life arrangements are chosen for the characters they create, their patterns, their colour.  Something I have noticed recently is that men and the 'canon' in general, choose different kinds of objects to place in their still life arrangements.  There are often busts and angular objects.   Colour is different too.

I approached my reply to Arthur by fusing two main colours: yellow and blue.  (We had talked about yellow as a colour in work). I layered the colours and used a lot of the balloons I had found on walks as I was dipping into my unsorted bin of plastic and I have many blue balloons at the moment. 

I like to work in series and I felt this theme had that potential.  My second 'in the studio' piece was also on a yellow ground. 

 It was mother's day and I thought I would send one out to our son and daughter at their newish homes. I began thinking about what they do: a doctor and a writer/artist thinker.  I experimented with using a blue ground this time.  Interestingly when it came to choose who got what, my son got the blue one.

In the end there are 8/8 in this series.  They are all postcard size.  I have sent one to a local charity event I was asked to contribute to.  I will probably keep at least two to show later at Open Studios.

And finally I made a little book of my recent monotypes to send to Arthur along with the fused plastic and stitch.