elaine phipps

simple





hidden

I was taking photos of the floor like you do - or maybe you are more normal than me and don't. I have rediscovered my old digital camera - the sort you can shove in a pocket and not risk getting mugged over. These are the platform edges of my local railway station. I love them - they are like little mini landscapes - such delicious textures.











And here's a little detail of something I made earler (as they say) ...

I've had a bit of an epiphany (which is as well as I'd got a bit bogged down in landscape). I was working and overworking and getting nowhere near the free-looking stuff I had in my sketchbook.

Mari had a great post about her work and process on her blog - and I thought that maybe I needed to go and play. I found a really useful texture reference and I've been mucking about with washing off layers of acrylic paint as they dry to get a broken effect (a dark art).

The splodging on of anti-bacterial hand gel, the application of emery boards and playing with acrylic gel mediums have been done. I even bought some remaindered plaster bandage - which I can't really make subtle enough for what I have in my head. Surgical spirit (because I cannot risk the purchase of cheapy vodka lol) and a heat gun (not together) next ...

Anyway I seem to have found the lightness of touch and texture I was looking for. I've still got some lace and crochet I think would work well in creating undergrowthy or churned soil - it has been really good to experiment.

I've used this new technique to revisit a couple of pieces that I felt were nearly but not quite.





I've shown these two before but I really think the additional texture has added depth.