My Artistic Creations
I'm no artist, but I'd like to think I'm artistic. I would categorize myself a "copy and paste" creator.
As a teenager I remember purposefully not taking Art GCSE (they were actually called O'Levels at the time). I could only choose two practical skills courses and Computing/IT was guarantied to be one of them. I just couldn't see any practical future realistic employment skills in it...so I took woodwork. Anyway, I still loved to draw so ended up producing a number of pencil works that a friend submitted as his own coursework... I think he got a 'B+'
My Banksy Copies
Banksy's work is has always resonated with me, especially in its duality and use of a natural canvases. It's simple and yet very thought provoking.
My new home has a large garden and some dated structures. A perfect place for my first Banksy copy I thought one dry winters day.
So I dug out my stencil creator (a fantastic piece of kit to have by the way), found the best quality photo of "Girl with Balloon" and created a stencil file. Unfortunately, if you like creating large pieces of art you have to be a little creative. As you can see there quite a few A4 sheets taped together to make the full image.
Hey..that worked! (Ok I had to move the balloon closer and shorten the string, but I was happy with the result).
I have seen a number of recreations of this piece of work, and most miss what I consider a key part. If you look at the unpainted (white) parts of the girl you can see a skeletal figure (make sure you're looking at the original work).
It's funny how unplanned coincidences can add to artwork.
A few days later I was at the top of my garden where there is a security light. Remember that tree in the first photo? Well it seems to be in perfect alignment to produce a crisp shadow on dark winter evenings...Bonus!
One for indoors this time...
About a year later both my sons were back living at home and now young men. Constantly telling them "do this, pick up that..." just doesn't seem to work so I wanted to get my message across with less effort.
Positioned at the bottom of the stairs, hopefully it will be seen daily as they still have to exit their bedrooms for uberEats deliveries.
Oh, the duality in this one? Simply speak the text in a positive eager way and not just like a stroppy teenager.
Here we go again. "Hmmm, that wall needs something... white-washing? No.. Something else."
After spending two years working on garden projects I created (and by that I mean copied and pasted) my latest Banksy.
The troubles in Gaza/Israel had recently started up again and so the aptly "Flower Thrower" was chosen.
So far so good, but there's a bit more colour needed in this one...
Remembering that my son had a collection of Warhammer paints I dug out the more colourful ones. Fortunately, with the model figurines being small and war like, the bright colour pots still had plenty of content.
Not being able to find a clear picture on the internet of the flowers I had nothing to copy from this time.
Fortunately, I do have some skills and I think managed to do a good job. Perhaps that's enough Banksy's for now...
When the mood takes you...Paint
Creativity seems to arrive when it wants to. I have learnt that it's best to stop any chore you may be doing at the time and make use of it.
Often when I need to plan or make big decisions like "should I get a new job?" I find painting helps me. So back in 2007 I set about re-decorating our downstairs toilet.
The first image was inspired by Robert Indiana's sculpture "Love". Mixed in with my love of 1970s artwork, disco, and the Beatles.
I'd like to think that guests to my home hopefully had an improved experience when visiting the loo.
Creativity for Kids
It's very important to do creative stuff with your children, and making art is a fantastic choice. Here is some of the artwork I remembered to photograph...(mobile phones make it so much easier now)
However, be careful giving your children a choice of what they would like painted on their bedroom walls... The StarWars characters were fairly easy to do, but when your youngest son chooses a picture from a book and says "On the whole wall" it takes a little bit longer. 😫
If you have a paved patio area and bored kids I urge you to go out and buy a box of chalks. Not only does artwork wash off in the rain, but the grid pattern of slabs will help with copying pictures that look good when finished. All you have to do is draw a grid on top of a printed picture and then redraw the content of each grid square onto each slab.
Or you can just freestyle draw.
Finally, when creating, don't forget to encourage that inner child...even if it makes you late for work.
Other forms of art
Woodworking
After having a tree trimmed (overhanging branch), large odd shaped logs were left over. At the same time my mother-in-law was collecting animal ornaments for the garden and happened to have brought one over. I asked if she could leave it with me for a couple of days.
I scored quite a few brownie points that month for my "Mouse House" creation.
Writing (children's book)
When my son's were young and at the age when they were starting to read, my current job meant that I often had to stay away a couple of nights a week. Often, in the evenings I would find myself in the hotel room watching some rubbish on TV.
I decided that I would have a go at writing a book for them, after all I was quite good at making up stories whilst out on walks. How hard can it be?
OK, it is not as easy as I thought. But I stuck at it and thanks to the developing internet companies at the time I managed to have it printed for them to read.
If you are interested, here's a PDF copy of Gemstonia by David Marubbi
