{"id":11917,"date":"2022-07-18T11:59:25","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T11:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenochkabcreative.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/18\/summer-cocktail-and-what-inspired-my-return-to-relief-artwork-on-wood\/"},"modified":"2024-02-28T11:43:52","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T09:43:52","slug":"summer-cocktail-and-what-inspired-my-return-to-relief-artwork-on-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenochkabcreative.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/18\/summer-cocktail-and-what-inspired-my-return-to-relief-artwork-on-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Cocktail and what inspired my return to relief artwork on wood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This bold, bright and colourful artwork marks a return to my creating mixed media relief artwork on wood. Following a break of about two years, during which I researched and explored other techniques and a variety of painting skills and media I was -quite unexpectedly- inspired by some ceramic sculptural plant pots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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While researching reference photos to practice my watercolour and gouache skills I came across some gorgeous ceramic plant pots by Jud Gliddon<\/a>, a UK based ceramicist. Apart from their very sculptured, almost architectural, style and their eye-popping colours, he presents and enhances them extremely well with the flowers he selects to show them off. Needless to say, they caught my attention instantly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The image I chose at the time to practice my watercolour painting skills was the red pot with the leafy plant, as seen below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I LOVED painting the pot, but the plant was challenging. I couldn\u2019t quite get the texture of the leaves as I wanted. Probably because I wasn\u2019t sure how I wanted to depict them. I became so frustrated with the plant I painted the whole thing quite a few times! Despite my efforts I don\u2019t think I even shared this one on my instagram<\/a>, which looking back on it now is not so bad!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, it continued to haunt me. So much so I took a step back to reflect and think about why<\/strong> I had become so obsessed with it. I considered my recent creative activity and efforts, the online courses and tutorials I\u2019d been following [since the outbreak of covid] and the direction I was trying to steer my artwork in, and the fact that it had become a kind of uphill -not altogether a \u2018struggle\u2019 but albeit a considerable- effort to create the kind of artwork I thought would be more commercial and well, well-received\/acceptable\/sellable. Bang. That was the problem. In my effort to do so I had lost myself on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an effort to produce more likeable, acceptable and commercial work I had lost myself, my expression and and innat<\/sub><\/i><\/sup>e <\/sub><\/sup><\/em>creativity on the way.<\/sub><\/i><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I took a step back and paused to reflect on what exactly and why I was attracted to painting this lovely plant pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n