Jen Kirby

What a wonderful idea to have an art gallery as part of a pedestrian bridge!
https://www.dezeen.com/…/jishou-art-mus eum-atelier-fcjzs-…/…

I have started one new portrait this morning and it is in my workroom having the underpainting being fixed. This is new portrait number 2. It has been primed over the basic sketch so the pencil doesn’t make the paint dirty.

Jasper!

I took a holiday today to go and vote in the EU election. (I voted Green - you may have guessed that I care most about the environment.) I took Jasper and we took our time walking round the River Eden. I wish I had had my camera with me so I could have zoomed in on the horsechestnut flowers on the other bank framed by the curve of the oak branch. The second photo is of another horsechestnut tree on my side of the river.

I bought the silicone thingy to wash up. It is no good for getting tea and coffee stains off cups but it’s brilliant for cleaning #watermixableoilpaint off brushes and palettes. It makes #cleaningbrushes easy.

I am spending so much time sitting at my easel that I am having a hard time keeping up with my blog. But here is a quickie. https://jenkirbyartblog.blogspot.com/…/ doing-portrait-over.…

I used to have the drawers of #pastels behind my #easel where it was hard to get at them. I have swapped them with my drawers of #oilpaint tubes. They don’t have to stay open like the pastel ones do.

I have just been reading that a cupid has been found in the painting by Vermeer of the girl reading a letter. I always felt that it was an unsatisfactory composition because of the big blank space above the girl’s head. Now they have discovered that there was a cupid there that had been painted over after Vermeer. I tried to get the link for you but I can only get the link for Apple News, so if you have that do have a look.
https://apple.news/APpnvq8QBQjWd4mZFc3sy1 w

I got some photos of Jet #studiocat in the #catio from the outside. He seems to have worked out where the gate is!

I have just read a preview of a book about making (artists) oil paint and I think the author has it easy compared with the apprentices who worked in the studios of the great artists, grinding and mixing by hand. Of course they were only making enough paint for one studio not doing it in bulk. And I am very glad that I don’t have to do it! But still
https://edition.cnn.com/…/arti…/how-p aint-is-made/index.html

#catportrait I painted Bastet years ago. The portrait has been returned to me in the lady’s will because she wanted to make sure that the portrait was taken care of. The cat’s name is Heyli but she is so queenly that I referenced Bastet the Egyptian cat goddess in the portrait.

This morning’s work on #portraitpainting #workinprogress It is upside down because I painted the bottom edge of the canvas and it has to dry.

2 bored #studiopets I must go and play with them. They were so good while I was painting.

Not the most coherent post about painting Walter’s scarf on the portrait that I thought I had finished! But the photo is nice and sharp. I have a new camera app for my iPhone called Manual (which says it all). It gives control over everything and you can see what a good job it made of the focus
https://jenkirbyartblog.blogspot.com/…/ 05/walters-scarf.html

This is an interesting article about Leonardo da Vinci. It seems that his right hand became paralysed. I thought that he drew and wrote left handed so I was surprised that a problem with his right hand stopped him painting. Then I remembered. When I was young I was ambidextrous but at school they took the pencil out of my left hand and put it in my right. So then I became “right-handed”. But one day I was painting passionately in pastel when I looked down and saw that I was using my left hand! As soon as I saw that I couldn’t continue painting with my left hand any more! Anyway read the article and see what you think
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-4815110 5

This is where I buy my mechanical pencils, replacement leads, pens, ink, notebooks and sketchbooks, not to forget erasers, pencil sharpeners, pencil cases and coloured pencils. There’s probably a lot more than I have forgotten. I love them so much that I go to the website whenever I need cheering up. It works much better than chocolate or icecream!

The things that I do for the community. I was asked to decorate collection boxes with photos of the Christmas lights so I decided that the best way is to stick tape along the edges on each side and scan them to make a template. So far so good!

Last week was about immunisation. Next week is allergy awareness week (at least in the UK - I have only just found out) and I have something to say about it.
The big problem is that some people think that allergic just means “don’t like”. I still remember an occasion years ago when a lady offered a Japanese delicacy made of red beans, and my friend asked what it was made of because he was allergic to beans. The lady must have thought he meant that he “didn’t like” and claime...d that it was made of fish. Luckily I knew they were beans or he would have been seriously ill. I have met the same attitude but in my case it is more awkward because I am allergic to palm oil and its derivatives. I went to a party recently and I took food so I would have something safe to eat and explained that I couldn’t eat her food because I was allergic to palm oil and she said that she didn’t cook with palm oil. But I bet that she used a stock cube in the pasta sauce she made and nearly all stock cubes have palm oil in them. And that is just the start.
So I am supporting these people and if you have allergy problems check out this: @AllergyUK1’s FREE top tips for living more eco-friendly can help you make a difference to air quality and the lives of those living with allergy. Find out more and check out their other resources for #allergyawarenessweek www.allergyuk.org
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