Friday 30 October 2015

Autumn Love.....

I've never really liked Autumn.
I'm a true fan of Summer..... sunshine, sea, sand, shells....all those s words bring joy to my heart.
But I'm mellowing with age I guess and I'm learning to appreciate the pleasures that Autumn can bring....and I do genuinely love a bright, blue-sky Autumn day.
Above is a digital collage I created last year but didn't put on my blog. The supplies are by Anna Aspnes......I love her stuff.   It's a photo of Dale Abbey; a village not too far away from us and one of our favourite places for walking. We have others; Calke Abbey in Derbyshire, Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, Shipley Woods near Ilkeston, Curbar Edge in Derbyshire, the Chatsworth estate....... to name but a few. We intend to do more walking and Brian and I have both just bought new Berghaus walking boots...
Their first outing was on Monday ....walking to the top of Beacon Hill in Charnwood Forest.
No blisters yet!

Well, the end of this week couldn't be more different from the beginning.....today is rather dull and wet, but that means I can work in my artroom upstairs.

On the left is a pile of prints from my Instagram gallery that I've just had done at Lalalab (an iPhone app). I'm so pleased with them; the colours are perfect. I used two of them for my latest collages that you can see on the table. Trouble is, they are glossy....which isn't ideal for my work.....I found I was getting smudges on them and bits of glue (I'm a messy worker ;-). So I tried an experiment.

I always coat my collages with acrylic wax when they are completed....it gives a lovely finish and protects the paper and fabrics. It isn't really like wax; its more like a cross between a matt varnish and pva glue.....but it does a great job. So, I plucked up the courage to coat the glossy photo with it....thinking it might possibly remove or smudge the ink and be a total disaster......but no; it was perfect!
Below you can see the before and after......on the left is a photo without the wax.....on the right is the completed one. The photo is now more flexible and has a nice matt finish.
Result!
As you can see, I get my acrylic wax from Art Van Go. Good stuff!


This one isn't quite finished; a few more seed stitches and tiny brass sequins to go. 

That's it for now.....time to learn more about Lightroom  (I'm working through the Lightroom Begin workshop by Kim Klassen....see sidebar)  I'm getting there.....
I'll leave you with one of my Instagram images.....




14 comments:

Julie said...

Love the boots, not heard of that name before I don't think. Beautiful artwork xx

Heather said...

Nice comfy boots. Your images and collages are gorgeous - I never tire of seeing them.

Jan said...

Acrylic wax, I'll have to remember that. Love the new collages and I hope the boots serve you well. I just ordered a new pair of Mucks for my muddy rainy walks.

Sandies' Patch said...

Wonderful images!
Dale Abbey, Stanton by Dale and the the Windmill, my childood/teen-age years where spent walking/cycling/horse Riding around those villages. Never quite got up the courage to go in the 'Hermits' Hole/Cave. Would be extra spooky to go there today, especially with the mists!

Thank you for sowing your lovely art. xxx

~*~Patty S said...

You wood nymph you embracing autumn literally and so sweetly too :-)
Thank you for sending me in lots of fun directions with your info and endless inspiration...
off I go to find Art Van Go
LaLaLab ing along.
Always special to visit with you.
Happy end of October and we'll always have Calke Abbey ♥
oxo
hugs to your dear Mr!

Sarah Huizenga said...

Love your work here. I need to print some of my stuff more often.

Nancy said...

I've got to remember about Acrylic Wax....sounds like the perfect thing to seal your work...and by the way, I love your work...You are so talented...I too am not good about having my stuff printed. I really need to work on that....

Unknown said...

Your work alway delights and inspires me - absolute gorgeousness!

Judy S. said...

Lovely photos, Linda. It's so good to see you posting again!

Zoe Louise Hooley said...

Great post Mrs Vincent! I love that you brought bright pink socks to match your jacket! How very coordinated:) Your boots are lovely, can't beat a good pair of Comfy walking boots ;) Thank you for sharing some of your methods, it's always great to learn new things. Beautiful artwork and photos, I very much like the one of you behind the leaves xx

Petra Pavlátková said...

Beautiful images, Linda. I love especially that opening image, it makes the place special.

Lynn said...

Lovely bright images , love them all. I am so glad your wax saved your collage, they look wonderful !!!! I can't believe you have that needle book I made you on your table:)

Emma said...

Your collage are just beautiful, that wax really works. Autumn is certainly something that needs to be embraced, it does give a good contrast to the summer. Good to get out in it in your lovely new boots!

Diana said...

Beautiful art, lovely blog. Visiting from Kim Klassen's My Still Sunday Class!

Be filled with Wonder and Peace.....and Cosiness

I hope you're managing to embrace this change of season. I'm so much better at accepting the end of summer than I used to be. I&...