New Life to Old Ideas!

Long long ago...in a galaxy far far away...(just kidding)...but waaaaay back in 2001, I found a greeting card among my hoard of art clippings from newspapers and magazines. On it was a pretty painting called "Baba and Billy" (The artist's younger daughter, Vivian) from 1920 by Scottish artist John Duncan (1866-1945). 

"Baba and Billy" (The artist's younger daughter, Vivian) - John Duncan (1866-1945). 

Well, this little beauty inspired me that year to paint my own version as a sort of practice with soft pastels. 

Little Redhead & Cat (2001)

To personalize my version of the painting a bit more, I changed the black cat (as seen in the original painting) for my sweet black and white fur baby at the time, "Boeta".

"Little Redhead & Cat" has been my favorite piece ever since then, even though it technically isn't 100% original, being a sort of copy and all.

Some years after that, I had a desire to make an artwork in the same style and the idea came to me to update Little Redhead & Cat and paint the little girl as a young woman all grown up. But I kinda lost my mojo, if you will, 'cause it didn't turn out so good.

I was so disappointed about my failure that I filed the attempt away with the rest of the castaways in the back of a cupboard, because I just couldn't look at it. It stayed there, hidden from my sight...for a decade.

Then last year I started sorting through all my old art & drawings in order to document them (by photographing or scanning each one) before chucking most of them. The main goal being to get rid of the old to make space for the new. Declutter and simplify and all that. It sounds simple, but if you have a bit of a hoarder in you, it's easier said than done. Going through each item just ignited the desire to revive those old failed ideas. I thought to myself: "Well, I've grown as an artist since the time I worked on those ideas, maybe I have it in me now to actually make something out of them, or at least finish the unfinished, which would feel like an accomplishment in itself." 

So coming upon my failed attempt of a grown-up version of the little redhead, I tackled it as a test. I had nothing to loose, if I failed again it would just make it easier to get rid of the thing. But if it worked out, boy would I be pleased!

And I am glad to report...I am well pleased with the grown-up version of the little redhead. Everything came together this time. The old idea had a bit of a rest and at the right time was brought back to glorious life! (A bit melodramatic...but anyway...) 

"Pure Bride" (2015)

Let me tell you, I had a lot of fun doing this and can't wait to give new life to a few of the other "failures" waiting in the wings.

      

Pen Drawing Delight

The weather outside is frightful...

As I'm typing away here, my poor feeties are sooo-o cold

even though I have a warm blanket tucked around me,

won't even mention the frosty fingers.

I hope those Capetonians are happy...

leaving the back windows open like that and letting the cold

seep into the rest of the country...shucks!

 

Anyhoo...I've been doing a bit of drawing and thought I'd share.

 

Flourish Heart - Pigment Ink Pen Drawing (A4)

 

 

Available in PDF format in your choice of colours @ R50 per colour and in sizes A4, A3 & A2.

 

South African citizens can order prints by emailing me

at suritaDOTbrinkATgmailDOTcom.

 

I'm not set up for international orders yet, sorry:(

 

 

My warm cosy bed is beckoning...sleep tight everyone! 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Character Sketch

"Magdelize" - Mixed Media on Canvas, commissioned by Annalize Burger (all the way from Namibia) as a character sketch.

 

 

I met Annalize on an art group on FB, Kom Ons Skilder, and she asked me to do a little experiment with her after seeing the painting "Rosie" that I shared. The experiment would be this: she would give me a character description and I would use it to paint a portrait of that character. I did figure out that it was a description of her beautiful young daughter, but she didn't want a portrait of the real Magdelize. She wanted me to stick to our experiment. Her description of the character "Magdelize" was very detailed and made the job of painting her not overly difficult. The result is a picture of a strong young woman, looking to the future with determination, standing on a solid foundation of faith, family, patriotism & tradition and showing her deep love for the land she was raised on and the animals she cares for. I'm proud of this one...it will be inspiring future paintings.
 

 

 

 

Love & Blessings!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mixed Media Painting - Always A Rough Start



I love Mixed Media art! I'd like to think that this way of making art has freed me from my perfectionistic tendencies and given me the gift of freely expressing myself through my art. Maybe not entirely though...

 

Although some pressure to work precisely has been lifted from my hunched over shoulders as I snip and tear and glue and paint away, there is always that moment when I stop...really look...and think - what is this mess in front of me? Blessedly those feelings of inadequacy and thoughts of "I really don't know what I'm doing right now", does eventually go away....

 

...as long as something worthy of being called art starts to emerge on the canvas...

  



 

...and I can look at what I've done and know the struggle to get there was worth it.

 



 

 

 

 

"Rosie" - 8 x 8 inch Mixed Media painting on Canvas

 

Like a butterfly struggling to get free from her cocoon, "Rosie" did eventually emerge from the rough beginnings of torn paper and pen scribbles, all pretty in pink at that!

 

There is beauty in imperfection. Our Creator looks past the obvious flaws in us, His creation, and our rough beginnings, and still loves us and sees our great potential. According to Him we were fearfully and wonderfully made. 

 

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion!  You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe. Every day was recorded in your book!"

Psalm 139:13-16 Living Bible

 

 

Love & Blessings
 

 

 

 

 

First Painting of the Year 2012

At the beginning of this year I promised myself that I would paint a lot more in 2012. So when opportunity came a knocking…I grabbed onto it with both hands.

The story goes like this…when my dad’s computer “blew up” at the technicians’ workshop where it was being repaired; his eldest brother and his wife were very generous and bought him a brand new computer. At 72 my dad isn’t one of those fuddy duddies that sits on the front stoop all day listening to the birdies sing. He’s our families’ genealogy buff and spends most days online in his “man-shack”, researching families and connecting with “long lost” and “never-knew-existed” members. He doesn’t just research our line (the Brink family), but all the little branches running from it. So imagine his distress when the main tool of his trade saw the end of its days. To tell the truth, he actually took it pretty well. I was so proud of him because something like that would really upset me a lot. He stayed so calm and told all of us that he was just going to remain at peace about it and trust God. That trust paid off because a few days later my uncle and aunt stepped up and bought him a new desktop computer.

We are so grateful to them because dad has never had a new computer to work on before. He’s always been using second hand stuff that eventually leaves him in the lurch. His brother is his greatest supporter and since last year has given him a new printer and a portable hard drive for backing up his family genealogy program. That brings me to the subject of painting again. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a painting for my aunt and uncle as a thank you gift, but didn’t know what they would like. Then we heard about a framed photograph of my dad’s grandfather that belonged to my uncle and that was damaged when it fell from the wall in his son's house. It was sent to me to see if I could restore it, but that’s not really my thing. I was too afraid anyway that I would mess it up completely and cause a family feud or something, so I decided that I would rather do a completely new painting of the old guy for his grandson. I think it’s very special seeing as my uncle has his grandfathers’ names. On the one hand I was rather looking forward to making some art again, but I haven’t done any drawing or painting in a long while. Staring at a blank canvas or paper after so long can be very disconcerting. But I had a mission and decided to just plunge in.

So here’s how the painting of my great grandfather Daniel Stephanus Brink progressed. I think it turned out quite good despite the rusty artist.

Left: the damaged picture; Middle: the original photograph; Right: Daniel Staphanus Brink's portrait done in soft pastels.

In the olden days they used to take photographs and colorize and paint on them… My dad remember as a sixteen year old boy (1955) seeing this framed photograph of his grandfather hanging in his Ouma Marja’s house (838 Fitzgerald street, Belfast, Mpumalanga, South Africa ) in the sitting room. By then his grandfather had already passed away years before in 1947, so my dad dates the picture at 1945/6. The shabby chic chick in me really wanted to give that old frame a sparkling coat or two of white paint....but they'll never let me do it:(

The process...at certain points I really felt like a fraud, but the end result isn't too shabby.

Hey there great grand pappy! My dad is so thrilled with this painting that he wants a copy. Here's hoping my uncle feels the same...

Blessings!
Surita

Better late than never...

This is my very first post! Yeah! I wanted to start blogging on the 1st of January, but life happens and then some...so here I am, better late than never. I'm still not sure I like the look of my blog but it will have to do for now. Hopefully in the days and weeks and months to come I will fill this blog with all the lovely & beautiful things I plan to make this year. Not forgetting lots and lots of lovely inspirational pictures I find on the net...I'm a serious serial image googler:)

So to start off with, I'm in love with 'shabby chic' and have been using up my internet bytes googling shabby chic blogs and downloading loads and loads of chicness to inspire me for making everything from jewelry to recycled 'tin food can lanterns'. There is just sooooooo many ideas out there. I've also been hoarding a mountain of 'junk' to up cycle and turn into art...food cans, soda cans, glass jars, egg cartons, plastic milk jugs, those bread-bag-tie-thingies, etc. In the last week though I've been re-learning to crochet...so imagine the big bulging file of free patterns that's been downloaded, everything from basic crochet stitches and easy crochet flowers for beginners to things I've never heard of...cowls & cloches...which turned out to be a kind of scarf and a hat. Learning new things all the time people!

So here goes some inspiration:

Beautiful art...Portrait Of A Lady As Evelina by John Hoppner

Hearts....I can never get enough of them!

...see:)

Lovely jewelry...mmmm...I've made a few nice pieces in the past few weeks and will be posting pictures of them soon...

Glorious Lavender!!!

Roses in vintage blue jars...just perfect.

Burlap and lace.

White paint! I dream of a room like this...

Have white paint and old frame...will be making a notice board like this before the year is out.

Love the fabric, love the flower, lover everything...

 Paper roses...

Lanterns...how am I going to cut heart shapes out of them so neatly?

Faux mercury glass...very chic.

Irish Lace Scarf...downloaded a free pattern from http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/80771AD.html

I can't wait to get all the goodies to make this one...it's too perfect!

Will soon be posting my version of this crochet necklace. So stylish...

I think that's enough for my first post. Next time look for lots of pics of my own projects. I can't wait...