‘hulk’, Powell River. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 48”. I drew less detail onto the canvas this time, I just drew the essential lines. Well see how it goes from here. I like it so far.
The photograph I took. I amplified the colours, as always.
'hulk', a bit of green and rust.
About three-quarters finished. Some parts still have only one layer of paint. I like the colours.
Hand & Lock embroidery kit from England.
Close-up of the beads.
Gibsons Public Market, Art & Words Festival, August 2024.
Books and small whale collages.
‘moby dick’ whale collage, and Tanya Hill’s poem, and video link to ‘YouTube whale sounds #5’.
‘two dead trees’ painting. Acrylic on mounted board. 24 x 48” unfinished. This is from a photograph of two dead trees by the side of the road in Langdale. I’m trying to do a thick layer of mixed colour instead of my usual thin layers of blended colour. So far so good.
Did a little more work on the tree painting. I’m using two or three colours on my brush at the same time. I’m trying to layer it on thicker than I usually do. I like the way it blends on the board. It will still need another layer. This layer is me trying to figure out what colours go where.
The base coat done.
‘two dead trees’, several layers later.
I think it’s finished. I still have to varnish it. I like the colours. I’m going to do one of the ‘hulks’ next, from the breakwater by the old mill in Powell River.
I wrote a poem called ‘two dead trees beside the road in Langdale’.
Two dead trees stand guard,
frozen in the moment between dream
and logic.
One is the Omen and one is the Ghost,
rattling chains by the roadside,
haunting the bones.
verses one and two.
SOLD
This is the ‘moby dick’ painting/collage for the Art & Writer’s Festival in Gibsons, in late August this year. It’s made with acrylic paint, modelling paste, paper collage, waxed thread from a spool of thread that was my mother’s from the 1970’s, bones, metal, found objects, skull beads. There’s more to go with this. Tanya Hill, from the Peak newspaper in Powell River has done the writing to go with this painting for the Festival. She’s done a video to go with it, which is fantastic. I’ll post it if I can, or add the link at some point in the future if it’s o.k. to post it.
‘whale song 5’ video on YouTube by Tanya Hill, ‘moby dick’ collage/painting by Jo Forrest, for the Art & Words Festival in Gibsons in August. Gorgeous images and cool whale sounds, and text by Tanya.
Bookmark for the Art & Words Festival, Gibsons, B.C. in August.
‘moby dick’ collage, Jo, Crucible Gallery, Powell River, B.C. This is going to the Art & Words Festival in Gibsons in August. 22 - 25th, Gibsons Public Market.
I’m making some small ‘moby dick’ collages to take to Gibsons for the Art & Words Festival. This one is called ‘the pink whale’. Acrylic paint and drywall mud on canvas board. Plastic netting, glitter, gloss varnish for the eye, bead.
‘moby dick’ series. White whale on black background, acrylic on canvas board, drywall mud, bead, paint, netting. I’ve done about a dozen of these so far. They’re fun to do.
‘moby dick’ series. Red whale, eye detail.
‘moby dick’ series, white whale, eye detail.
The poster for my show at the Crucible Gallery, in the Townsite Public Market, in June. ‘three dead trees’ painting.
‘salmon’ painting. Acrylic on masonite. 20 x 40” My first salmon.
‘reflection’ painting, acrylic on masonite, 24 x 30”. From a photo of the mill’s reflection in the water.
Peak Newspaper article. Lifestyle section. Tanya Hill, writer.
11 small collages in progress for the show. I’ll probably take them with me and work on them in the gallery (Crucible Gallery, Townsite, Powell River). If I can resist them.
‘burning chair’, the next painting. I’m going to start it and take it with me to work on if I don’t get it finished, which I probably won’t.
The original photograph. I made assemblages out of the swivels that came from the ashes.
‘chair swivel’ assemblage.
We started hanging my show at the Crucible Gallery. Needs some more adjusting, and tags, but I like the way it looks. It’s such a nice clean white bright space.
‘burning chair’, finished. It needs to be varnished, and framed, but it’s signed, so it must be finished.
Background for small ‘nosferatu’ collage. Masonite, drywall compound, acrylic paint.
I did the collage in the computer, then printed the black and white image, then painted it.
Then I cut around the image, and paint the edges black to hide the raw edge of the paper. I notice a lot of collage artists don’t do this, and I find the white line of the paper distracting.
Then I glue the image onto the background. I’ll let it dry, add a bit of glitter or some jewels maybe, then varnish it. They’re fun to do, and they don’t take a long time, which I like.
‘clouds one’ painting. Still working on layer two. ‘the painted word’ exhibit on until Saturday June 29th at the Crucible Gallery, Townsite.
Rose, at the Crucible Gallery. The show is over, folks. Nothing to see here, move along.
'eye see you', 'the magician's hand', 'glass heart', 'the burning chair' and 'shark/puppet/barbie-doll' painting. At the Crucible Gallery September 2024.
‘burning roots’ painting, acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30”
The drawing, and the photographs for the ‘burning roots’ painting. From a photo I took at at a friend’s house. It’s a dead orchid, I think, thrown onto the fire. I like the colour of the roots and the high contrast with the flames and the burning wood.
The original photograph.
I painted the first layer of paint on the flames, and the roots, now I can do the background.
Working on the background. Maybe I’ll get it finished today? Tomorrow?
‘Dorothy’s pink watering can’ painting, acrylic on masonite. 18 x 24”.
From a photograph of a friend’s watering can. I liked the rounded shapes, and the bright pink colour.
‘venus de milo in a hat’ painted collage, paper on masonite. Layer one of many.
The finished collage, not cropped. ‘Dorothy’s pink watering can’ painting behind.
The photograph I took of the reflection of the mill in Powell River for the next painting.
Layer one, not finished. This is going to take a few layers. We’ll see how it goes. I did a layer of drywall mud in two undulating wave shapes on the masonite to give the surface a wave-like feeling.
It wasn’t working, so I did this instead. Not quite finished.
‘salmon’ painting, just begun.
Photograph of the salmon. Great colour.
Working on it. It reminds me of a Mary Pratt painting. Not intentionally. Love the red.
Slowly working on the guts. They need another layer of a lighter pink. I’m just trying to get mostly the right colour, in mostly the right places. The drawing might be a little too detailed. It does seem to be working though.
The finished painting. I still have to sign it and varnish it, and frame it, but otherwise…
Postcards for the show at the Crucible Gallery in June. Powell River, B.C.
‘burning bookcase’ painting, day one. From a photograph I took when my friends burned the old bookcases out of the workshop.
Layer one done, working on the branches at the bottom of the painting for layer two now.
The first Powell River painting, based on a photo of three dead trees north of town. This is layer one of two or three. I like it so far. There’s a poem to go with it, of course. I’m having a show at the Crucible Gallery in June, for the month. I want to do a few local paintings. I’m going to do a painting on masonite next, to see how I like working on a firmer surface.
I finished the first layer of the background, now I’m working on the second layer of paint. I like it so far.
Burning bookcase.
I think it’s finished. For the show at the Crucible Gallery, in Powell River in June 2024.
‘stone fish head’, door-stop weight for the barbecue mat.
And the other side. Cement base to make him stand up, acrylic and glitter paint, clear spray varnish. He’s going outside to keep the barbecue mat from flipping up when the wind blows. I’m going to make another one, just for fun. I could see a whole bunch of them, out in the garden, holding things down.
Measuring the height. 10”.
Out on the deck, holding down the bbq mat.
Tiger skull rock. Rock, paint. I like him. He needs to be varnished still. Natural shaped stone,
acrylic paint.
‘tiger skull’ painted stone. Acrylic paint, stone, spray varnish.
Side view.
And a humpback whale rock. Just started it. I had to add cement to the bottom to make it stable, so it could stand up on its own. Gesso, acrylic paint. Not finished.
‘woman juggler’, sun added to the top of the painting/collage. Not quite finished yet.
‘nosferatu - woman juggler’ collage on canvas, just the beginning of the process.
I did a bit more work on the ‘juggler’ collage. I print the parts I want to use, then paint a black line around them, then cut them out. I’m still thinking about the background. These are fun to do. There’s a verse that goes with this.
‘Your lips were as red
as a vampire rose,
you’ll miss the unbearable moon,
when it goes’.
‘predictable dreams’ #866 v:35
A previous collage, showing the process.
Working on the background, layer one of two or three. I wanted it to have a ‘funhouse’ feeling.
The background has the first layer of paint, now I’m painting the skirt, and I’ve started painting the heart. The paint reacts in an interesting way on the ink. It feels smooth and the paper absorbs the paint differently than the canvas does. It makes it easier to blend the colours. I see the heart as a strawberry now.
Still painting the background, the collage isn’t glued down yet.
Skeleton assistant, bottom left-hand corner, not glued down yet. I’m still painting the skirt, and that’s easier to do before I glue everything down.
A closer look. He’ll be glued down, then painted over.
I added a top to the dress, and a collar. I still have to do the hands, and her hat and hair, then I can glue her down. It’s easier to work on her this way, rather than having to move the entire canvas, which is heavy, and my arm hurts. It’s getting there.
I added some polka-dots to her top. I still have to do the hands and cuffs, and spheres.
Detail of the skeleton clown in the bottom left of the painting. I still have to finish painting his arm. They’re glued down now.
‘woman juggler’, and skeleton clown. Glued to the canvas, mostly painted. I still have other elements to add.
I added the moon and the skeleton clown to the upper left-hand side. I feel like it’s not finished, but I haven’t decided what to add yet.
Added some more flames to the burning hoops, and some more spheres and shadows. I added more small dots to the dress to tie it into the bodice. It’s getting there.
‘Crows are fastidious,
dangerous birds,
you spoke to their wildness,
wasting the words’.
‘pearls before swine’ #865 v:24
‘burning chair’.
Burned mechanisms from the fire.
One of five rescued mechanisms. Just laying out the possibilities at the moment.
Mechanism number two. Some previously made objects, made from recycled watch parts, and an eye, made from a plastic eye, and a squished bottle top I found on the road.
‘Towering inferno’, photograph of burning cupboards from the garage, an image for a painting?
‘hu yu’? Assemblage of chair swivel, rescued from the fire. Scrap wood base. Not quite finished, but I like the antlers, left for me by the house’s previous owner.
‘snafu’ assemblage, deer antlers added. Not quite finished.
‘nosferatu - the vampire’s circus’. I hung the paintings and collages up in my new studio. I’m going to invite a few people over for a small Halloween-themed show, on Sunday Oct 29th from 1 - 4. I’m going to hang a few paintings up in the empty guest room too, for fun, since it’s unoccupied at the moment. I still need to paint it, but that will have to wait.
Capt’n Jack, my Fortune Teller Pirate mannequin. I still have to find my crystal ball.
I found the crystal ball, and a few other skulls and things. I want to make a sign now.
Capt’n Jack. I’ve made a ‘fortune teller’ sign to go behind him. I painted it on a large sheet of cardboard I had left over from the move. I’m gluing a backing to it to make it hang flat. I can’t wait to see it up.
Capt’n Jack, with the fortune teller sign. I like him a lot now. He’s not creepy anymore.
I’d like to give him a hat, and long dark hair, but I haven’t found a pirate hat or a wig yet. I might have to make a hat.
‘war and truce’
‘There’s war’, said the man with the pale apparition,
‘and truce’, said the man with the fists,
‘peace is a concept so foreign to power,
that we’re not even sure it exists’.
‘war and truce’ poem #858 v:18 October 2023 c jo forrest 2023