I made these scarves  goodbye gifts for my department as I have retired from my art teaching job after a very long time. I enjoyed it, but it has taken me away from my ‘Solitary Figure’ investigations, and what with the retirement event and being tired am finding it difficult getting back into my own stuff. However, it is really all my stuff! I used older drawings and paintings as inspiration for the gifts. I stretched the silk scarves on a frame and drew the images with Gutta resist on my easel so the scarf was upright. Then I worked flat and  floated dyes on there. My friend Mo who I did Fine Art with at Leeds advised me as scarves are her speciality, and she has made me two beautiful ones. These ones I have made are one offs as I wanted to make gifts that incorporated my mark making and colour. Anyway, here are some shots. Don’t forget to click on them to enlarge and see things in more detail.

I made this study on paper in the early evening of Tuesday, my day off. I didn’t think I’d be able to paint as it was stifling in my little studio even with the window fully open. It got better later on, and with the lighter nights I was able to do this slightly smaller study of my man on the bench in Bruges. I wanted to make him a little more decipherable again, and move the composition over a little so there were fewer buildings suggested on the opposite side of the canal. I’m keeping the sweeping brushstrokes representing my movement behind the man and over the bridge as I looked back at him. Don’t forget to click on the images to enlarge. One is of the whole piece and one a crop, not two paintings.