Greece, doughnuts & cheese pies

Lovely hot Greece, with your ancient ruins, modern cities, doughnut sellers on the beach and let us not forget your wonderful cheese pies! Oh and I dare not forget to mention the not to be missed cold chocolate drinks. Memorable moments. As always, mostly around food and drink! And the time when looking out over the water of Nafplio, watching the yachts go by, my friend spilling wine all over herself when we were all laughing at a joke. Nafplio had little alley ways, where al fresco dining spilled over into the walkways and shops selling paintings on found wood and miniature sculptures of ships and bikes in metal. I bought a little boat made of red metal, deliberating between the tug boat which was more bold and solid and the one I finally chose which was slighter in build but taller. I also bought a painting of a little boat with a background of a warm brown sky at a found wood store. The artist also painted icons on found shutters and twisted branches of trees. He said the icons weren't painted with egg tempera but egg and I think pigment. As my Greek is very minimal we couldn't quite communicate what the difference was. The icons I would have loved to have purchased but they were too big for my bag. 

On a very hot day in Athens we tried in vain to find the National Art Gallery, which we found had turned into a construction site and had been temporarily relocated to the suburbs. We stumbled instead across the Byzantine and Christian Museum, which if we had more time I think I would have explored further, and then we wandered along the streets to the city gardens. On the way we saw the changing of the guard, with pom poms on their shoes and their flamingo like dance as they walked in a focused manner on the pavement, their moustaches still and faces serious.

In our walking and in the search for sweet treats, we stumbled across these street art pieces. I love that the entire wall of this house has been made into a separate world and that the flying creature looks as if it is just about to launch into the blue sky above. And of course, I love these fish - the sad and happy ones and the scraggly tags in between.

Athens Street Art 1 - Photograph K Fisher (2017)

Athens Street Art 2 - Photograph K Fisher (2017)

On another day we visited the ruins of Ancient Corinth and the museum there, with its beautiful pottery from around 450BC. The painting on the pottery is still magnificent after all this time. The owl - symbol of the Goddess Athena and good fortune. I can almost see the scene on this vase as wall art itself.  

Ancient Corinth Museum Pottery - Photograph K Fisher (2017)

Sink City

Well it has taken 2 months to complete my exercise and final project for Sebastian's Under the Sink City. Still so much to learn - particularly about tonal values with watercolour and how to integrate watercolour effectively with ink. I am always worried about going in too hard with block colour and making things too flat, but I think in the final piece I probably held back too much and the colour wasn't bright and bold enough. Maybe the trick is to go full swing for the next piece, learn how far I can push it and make a mess and then back off a bit for the one after that. I enjoyed this project - and thanks to the wasp who landed in my bath a couple of months ago which inspired me to make lots of little wasps. I also learnt not to include text in the actual body of the work due to translation issues - but I am glad that I made that mistake now in a course, rather than later on. I also need to keep up to date with what subjects, styles and themes that are currently being covered by major publishers in the field of children's illustration. That is my to do list - what is yours?! Over the next 2 months, I am going to be focusing on the illustrations in my collaboration project. I can't wait to see what happens from there.

K Fisher, 2017, CBIC Exercise 2, Ink on Cartridge Paper

K Fisher, 2017, CBIC Project 2, Ink and Watercolour on watercolour paper

Under the Sink

Time seems to be flying. I think I missed my 10 year blog anniversary! Congratulations to me! I don't seem to be pushing on enough with my art as I would like to, so I am currently trying to re-navigate ways to do this. The prospect is a bit frightening, but maybe it is time to grow up and follow what I should be doing.

I've just started Project 2 of the Children's Book Illustration Course with the London Art College. My first project was pretty shocking I admit. I have been looking at the newsletter with other students work and getting inspiration and get up and go to do a better job this time around. Here are my initial doodlings.

The wasp landed in my bath this weekend and initially I was too freaked out to take it outside, but finally got the courage to do so. There was something immensely beautiful about it. After I took it outside I think it ended up dying. Rest in Peace dear Wasp.

K Fisher (2017), Doodlings 1 - Project 2 Children's Book Illustration

K Fisher (2017), Doodlings 2 - Project 2 Children's Book Illustration

Inner Cicadas

P J Fisher Final Instar

Recently I travelled to Devon with my friend Sarah and as I was reading a book that talked about your "Inner Cicadas", those bugs that chirp within when there is silence, we had a conversation about how to pronounce Cicadas. Her's was a posher way of saying than my Australian version! Interestingly enough, my mum and dad a week or so later came across some large cicadas in Victoria in Australia and my dad was inspired to make some digital art about these bugs. He sent them in an email to me (they are also on his website https://fortieschild.com) and I loved them so much I wanted to share them on my blog, together with a couple of his other pieces of work which I think are great. I haven't done much art myself lately with the festive season, but back into it today determined to finish my latest silver point piece. Also very excitingly, Rosemary and I had our first meeting today about our book collaboration. I am so looking forward to seeing what emerges!

P J Fisher Drummer Cicada

P J Fisher Nymph

P J Fisher Autumn Sky

P J Fisher Elijah and Elisha

The lion is not safe

K Fisher (2016), Program Cover design, Generation Edinburgh Dance Show [A5]

My Asiatic lion. My grumpy lion who turned his back and face to me for 3 hours. But then, his lioness started looking at me. His interest was piqued. I could see him begin to turn his shaggy maned face my way. At first, a little bit of a profile, then a huge yawn with his tongue lolling out, then a full turning of the head and direct eye to eye contact. Got you! I knew after 3 hours or more of lying down, he was going to have to get up and walk. I waited. Hoping, hoping, hoping. Just his face was not going to be enough. Up he gets, yes! And then I follow him with my camera, snapping every shot, not wanting to miss a movement. He's now in the shelter. I can just see his tail flaring about in the other room. Barely make out that he is rolling about on his back on the straw. Come on, stop hiding. Please come out. And then suddenly his big, perfectly made, furry face is staring straight out at me. Through the glass. I snap another shot. He immediately exits the shelter, he's roaring. So loud, such an incredibly deep roar, that when I dash out to the viewing platform, his roar is vibrating through the floor boards. I can see him through the cracks in the wooden boards under my feet. This lion is not safe. His power, the danger. I am safe only because of these boards, this fence, this glass. Majestic, glorious, beautiful, good even, but not safe. I get the message.

Pushing Out

Here is the work that I have submitted for the 119th Annual Exhibition of the Society of Scottish Artists 2016. It would be great to get shortlisted for the exhibition, but if I don't succeed, I will continue to work hard and try again next year!

My new project is a short-term one and is to design a cover for the year end show of my friend's dance school. Excellent excuse to be trawling youtube for videos of the world's best dancers, particularly break and robot.

K Fisher (2016) Pushing Out Egg tempera on canvas [100 x 100 cm]

K Fisher (2016) (Detail of) Pushing Out Egg tempera on canvas

Ever get the feeling someone is trying to tell you something?

On the way back from Glasgow on the train. Why does it always rain when I visit Glasgow? This is the first time I have blogged on mobile and the font looks massive on the screen so let's hope this works out.

The submission deadline for this painting is looming. I've got work to do on the final elements on the painting. I'm not even sure it will hold together in the end. This is the last bit of the medieval inspired elements. I feel slightly guilty that this was the first thing I found but it was also exactly what I wanted.

The other question I have, besides why does it always rain when I visit Glasgow, is do you ever think someone is trying to tell you something but you can't figure out exactly what they are trying to say? Or am I being too stubborn to admit I know what it means and I don't want to do what I'm told?

You know how the past couple of blogs I've been talking about boats and fish and images of Jesus calling the fishermen to follow him. And then I went to my dear friend Sarah's pop up create a sculpture event, which I think she did fabulous at, and I was looking around St Peter's church in Lutton Place and lo and behold I looked up and saw this.

Mmm, what am I meant to do with this recurring theme? Maybe in time my painting will tell me what this is about. Hopefully my next blog post you'll actually get to see it and you can tell me what you think!