Place Life Colour
art by Amanda Earlam
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This is the chaotic home of a colour-addicted and constantly learning artist. You are very welcome.
After some hard times with a family bereavement, Place Life Colour is back on track! I was fascinated by this travelling blacksmith at work in the market at Ida Ogourd. I am told he also works at Had Draa. Both are weekly markets in the Safi region of Morocco. It amazes me how little equipment he needs. The bucket he quenches his work in looks llike a huge baked bean can! But of course it’s a farmer’s market and farmers tend to need their tools mended and their donkeys re-shoed.
I have long wanted to make a series of small, brisk paintings on 15 cm square canvas. I have finally had the chance to start with these two pumpkin studies. I hope to carry on with them soon and add at least one more per week, preferably more.
The idea is to use a limited palette for these and for most projects in the future. Less really is more and gives a more unified feel to the work. You may be sure I shall choose different colours for each painting though!
I am working towards a series of plant paintings for July 2024.
For now I am building up a sketchbook of ideas in gouache, backed up with lots of gelli prints in green.
This series will have a lot of green. I love green though not all artists do. But I have not often used it in paintings. Now is the opportunity to mix a great many different greens!
This shows some hosta leaves. Pure torment for any gardener with slugs around.
For me, making art in a digital format is a very new venture. I have completed quite a few tutorials and they have emboldened me to strike out on my own. For the moment I have stuck with portraits but I expect more will happen in due course. Digital apps are like a whole new paintbox!
I have started with a selection of images from early on in the Pandemic, where I sat in my studio and finally gave in to my desire to capture my experience of Morocco on paper. You may have already seen these but who wants to scroll back through Instagram for four years?
For the first time on this site, I have also opened up the lightbox feature, for this page only. Goodness it's by no means perfect. I'll see if I can get it a bit prettier as time goes on. The pictures are great though and you can pick them out of the gallery and look at them one at a time.
