R.D.S. Dublin Art Fair

The time has arrived for the R.D.S.Dublin Art Fair. For the first time I am taking part ,Site N4, I would dearly love to have people come and see my work in the flesh as it were, But mostly I would love to have people come to me and say Ive seen your work and I like it or dislike it , Feed back is such a desperatley important piece of information in the art game. Or we could just have a chat .
Really looking forward to it but with a touch of trepidation, fear of the unknown, I will thoroughly enjoy meeting new faces and  checking out all the differing styles and methods of art. Anyway will meet you there I hope I will give feed back probably after a week or two, need time to recoup and recharge the batteries.
Speak soon
Angela x

water colour work shops 2011

Well the time is here to start organising myself for next years workshops. How quickly life and time passes

I always feel a large sense of  intrepidation about the start of a new working calender because I'm working on next year when this year has not even finished. I used to work in the fashion industry and life was like that all the time we worked on fashions that would be two years getting in to the shops but now the industry has to be quick quick quick and they may be just a few months ahead sometimes not even that. I digress I think when I start working on next years workshops and classes I get a buzz ,things to push for, things to enjoy, new beginnings and all that. Some times to the detriment of my work for the rest of this year, but maybe now I have recognised this I can put things in action to motivate me in to keeping the spirit alive till the end of this working year. I know I will keep it alive I think its just the initial stages of working for the next year that make me think.

I am in the process of organising water colour work shops for 2011.
They will be held in county Mayo on the west coast of Ireland in a beautiful hotel right by lough conn.
proposed dated are Saturday  21st May  and Saturday 11th June  with only 9 people attending each course.
If you are interested in attending please leave me a message and Ill return with all the relevant information.

Thanks for reading and Ill speak soon.

Angela

Clear cut ideas

I have been working on a painting which when thought of, was to celabrate two special people and the time that we have with them as friends and cousins. I am talking about our dear friends  Mike and Dee. We meet  once sometimes twice a week. Sometimes we go out and about other times we just sit and have afternoon tea and cakes. We talk constantly and in all of the conversations of course we sort out the worlds problems. These are such easy times, no proving, no worrying and I would hope Mike and Dee feel the same ( or there are no more cream cakes!). I know it seems like Im off on a tangent but most of the ideas I have for paintings are from my life around me and as Mike and Dee are part of me and my life ideas come .
But, My ideas always seem so assured, so straight down the line. As with the idea for "afternoon tea with mike and dee ". I wanted to replicate the good times the laughter and the discussions.
As I set up my still life and visualised the scene in front of me and the amosphere I would like to create. I maticulously move objects, lights and anything else that gets in the way of my vision of what is to be. Am I happy with what I have captured? Fairly sure, so lets take some photographs. I prefer to take my own photographs. For still life set ups I take my photographs and check them over on the computer and pick out the one I want.
I seem to be going a long way around to get across the meaning behind this blog but if your willing, Ill carry on.

I usually have set in my mind what my painting would be like, the feelings it will create, the atmosphere and most of all the title,I know I can be a bit anal at times!.
Now Im getting to the point, for all the control, organising, visualising I have to go through, for all the images in my mind even as I paint on and on and a lot further down the line all this organising doesn't make this or any other painting I do just what my imagination wanted it to be. Something must take over, is it the head, the heart or the soul? or is it all three fighting for recognition and one wins over just that little bit to at least say,"well there's not much soul in this painting, methinks this painting was painted with her head or how much heart and soul can one put into a painting. I have obviously not quite figured out yet which part of this body  of mine is working me at which part of a painting . I am a determined kind and paint on regardless taking note of subtle differences that each stroke is appertaining to. The changes come so eliquently, slowly  my subconscious feeling for the piece and the way it draws me in to it's own world leaves me pondering at the end of a trying session. Have I given what was needed , have I tried too hard or not hard enough. These thoughts have the same effect in life, the effect of exhausting me and may be one day I'll be wise enought to just let go and fully enjoy.
The small point I wanted to make was that I always start off with this intensely strong idea on which way this painting will go. To then learn when the painting is finished that  the feelings and emotions I initially wanted to create have disipated and an inanimate stranger ( the painting) with differing emotion and feelings has appeared . These feelings, emotions have come from somewhere along the line, somewhere amongst the rush of mind, body and soul to draw out totally differing meanings from the intended.
This off course does not take anything away from the fabulous times Mike and I have with Mike and Dee and the fact that I will still look at this painting for it's real intentions of joy and fun. Thank you Mike and Mike and Dee for such good debates and darjeeling tea and cakes.

Water colour painting classes

Cheese and olives

After breakfast

Willow pattern jugs

Well the time has come to start  thinking about my watercolour classes. dates and times have been sorted out and I'm in the process of devising my scheme of work. A lot of my students have progressed so well over the last year or two that it is going to be a challenging project for me to work out  but I'll get there.

The art groups have worked so hard on water colour techniques that I feel it really is time to have some fun and to take this a bit further. I think we could have time playing about with colour. mmmmmmmmm  me thinks Ive got my first few classes Just need to work out the main details.

Details for classes are as follows

• Starting Tuesday the 28th September @ 7.30pm to 9.30pm Evenings In the Curam centre, Clarmorris, County Mayo. running for 8 week. Payment is €80 for the 8 sessions to be payed on the night of registration. All are welcome as my course is plyable. Intrested? please e mail me @a.emsenwest@gmail.com

• Starting Friday the 1st October @ 10 am to 12 am morning In the Curam centre, Claremorris, County Mayo. Running for 8 weeks. Registration and payment to be made at the Curam Centre ( I would suggest phoning and putting your name on the list for this class as it does become full very quickly)
• Looking forward to seeing you all there.

I have posted a few of my latest paintings for you to view, I am still following the theme of seeing and painting  the every day objects around me. What beauty there is, sometimes I am astonished, when I set up a piece of work and most probably really look at an object for the first time I see:- Tone, light , contrasts, shapes ,textures, shadows folds, crisp creases, laces, thick wollens I could go on.

It excites me when I decide to paint that object with this contrasting fabric, flower or background,checking if the light is right, if the composition sits with me, if It all flows. I'm going on!!!, the process of setting up a still life is a very crucial part of what I do.I have difficulty with my eye site and can not manage to paint from life any more so I photograph my staged still life so I really need to get it right. Ill talk more on this point soon.

I really hope you like the few paintings I've posted and would love to her from you .

Thanks for taking the time .

Keep safe 

Angela x

thought for the day(or the rest of my life!)

I have been seriously debating what it is that I paint, not how I paint. My artistic development has been slow but progressive and if im honest I do like what Im producing and how my work is moving forward. The problem is when work is produced for galleries or to "please" do I, as an artist, want to bow to what sells and have enought money to suvive but not be as satisfied artistically or do I carry on regardless.
Thinking about this point of bending to "please" brought me to the same question about life, don't worry Im not going to get too deep, as we are growing up and developing as people human nature is to try and please i.e.a daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend and Im fairly sure that the same rule applies to men. So, does this mean that I can carry on the trend of pleasing by giving the galleries what  they ask for? or is it time for change. There is something deep and personal about putting paint on to a piece of paper and showing every body the way that you see the world.
Certainly if I paint to please others I recieve reward in payment and my ego is boosted by the realms of how beautiful that piece of work is and how it is perfect for that particular spot on their living room wall.
Does this ego boost complete the circle,am I,as an artist, still content with pleasing or as I get older am I realizing that the person who started painting all those years ago is most definitely not the person who is painting today.
There has definitely been a medative development in my art, an awarness of how I see the world (or not see it as the case may be). Sometimes when I set up a still life with regular objects from my home it comes to me how little I have seen. I am an artist, always have been and have taken pride on seeing the world as it is. Maybe what I have seen is possibly what I wanted to see?.
I take an art group once a week, when finished the students hang their work around the room so we can have a critique. Then each person in turn makes a comment about their own work  and each comment has to be a positive one. The amount of students who find this exercise difficult is unbelievable. The point being the painting as a whole would most probably be acceptable to an onlooker , as we are as people to strangers, but as we take time to get to know the painting / person we find the problem is we accentuate the points that we do not care for instead of looking for the good. We tend to look at the bad bits and conclude that we would never make it to the finish or to the end product because there is so much or so many mistakes to rectify.This brings me to thinking that maybe I need to accept, accept the good in my paintings and accept the bad in my paintings, accept the good in me and accept the bad in me, to see things as a whole  without segregation and enjoy all the many facets of a piece of work and of myself.

A new beginning!!

From facebook to blogging all in the space of one month!! Maybe this will increase the profile of my paintings a little further.The website http://artmayo.net/ is doing quite well but obviously the more help the better. Click on this link for my artist face book page.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Angela-Emsen-West-Artist/105420772821596?ref=mf
I'm new to all of this please somebody answer this then at least Ill know that i'm pressing the right buttons.