rust and totems …

Posted on 31/07/2014 by mari french

I am finding industrial landscapes, objects and interiors as potentially a rich source of inspiration for my abstract artworks as rural landscapes. In fact I can see a kind of landscape in some of my photos here.

The rich patina of marks, scuffs, rust, paint and general usage all bear witness to an intriguing, sometimes forgotten, history, whilst their shapes, colours and textures will undoubtedly haunt my future work.

A quiet beauty… a totemic presence…

Some people are a little bemused by my new love, others see it as a natural progression of my artwork and love it enough to buy it, for which I am very grateful.

These are a just a few of my own photos of humble places and objects, which I find I keep coming back to, so I thought I’d share them.

grinding mill 1. digital photo. Mari French 2014

grinding mill 3. digital photo. Mari French 2014

grinding mill 2. digital photo. Mari French 2014

grinding mill 4. digital photo. Mari French 2014

Rusting ladder, Newlyn. digital photo. Mari French 2014

Whelk shed. digital photo. Mari French 2014

Chain & rope. digital photo. Mari French 2014

Hayloft nail. digital photo. Mari French 2014

chasing the light …

Posted on 12/08/2013 by mari french

Two new artworks from my current series ‘Towards the Light’…

See previous posts Towards the Light and Shadow & Light which explain the inspiration for these.

I’m still thinking up a title for the first one below, which I only finished today. That glorious plum colour in the shadows is a glaze using an Inktense block I bought a few days ago, the first time I’ve used them (although I do use the Inktense pencils for sketching).

Untitled, Mari French 2013

I’ve entered the first two of this series (Flight, shown below, and Towards the Light, shown on earlier post) into the National Open Art Competition, so fingers crossed! If they don’t get through I’ll be trying them in other open competitions – I think they’re some of my strongest works.

These are a bit of a departure from my usual landscape work, as regular visitors to my blog and followers of my work will realise. I’m enjoying working on them.

All Acrylic/ink/mixed media on watercolour board, approx 20 x 30 inches.