Gaia Art by Lesley Crawford

UKCPS Exhibition, Westminster Gallery, London

2011-08-26T11:44:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased that both the pictures I entered for this exhibition have been accepted.
'Gatekeeper'

Gatekeeper - this is for the pure coloured pencil section. This picture is about the gateway to the next world, based on Celtic mythology. The knotwork symbolises eternity, and the little boat is the soul travelling to the Blessed lands in the west. The oak and the raven are symbols of death and eternity, and the hare is for the moon. The salmon has the pearl of knowledge in his mouth.

'Moonhare'

Moonhare - this is for the mixed media section, being watercolour and coloured pencil. If you look at the full moon you can see the image of the hare , and the hare is associated with the moon in many mythologies.

Sea Lace

2011-05-19T15:43:00.001+01:00

Mostly Unison pastels on pastelmat. Have long wanted to tackle a close up seascape, and I'm pleased with the result. 13.5 x 11.5 inches. All it needs now is smellyvision!

Stac Pollaidh

2011-04-30T12:28:00.003+01:00

This is Stac Pollaidh, a very well-known mountain in Wester Ross. It was a lovely bright breezy day when I was there last summer. The single track winding road leads on to Achiltibuie and the beautiful Summer Isles.

Autumn Serenity

2011-04-18T17:44:00.001+01:00

Loved painting the beautiful autumn colours and magical reflections. The trees and undergrowth were a challenge, but I enjoyed every minute. Many and various pastels on Pastelmat.

Highland Stream

2011-03-18T14:28:00.000Z

Latest pic, pastels on Pastelmat, 16.5 x 12.5 inches

Smile

2011-03-07T17:45:00.000Z

Couldn't resist this lovely little girl, Patti Patterson. Thanks to Li Newton for the photo. Pastels on pastelmat.

Cuillins Sunset

2011-01-17T17:53:00.000Z

Another picture of the lovely Cuillins, this time at sunset. The view from Elgol is truly awesome, and one I'll revisit at some stage. Pastels on Pastelmat, 21x9.5 inches. The picture is a bit dark, there is more detail in the distant mountains.

Sharbat Gula, pastel portrait

2010-12-02T11:50:00.000Z

In the summer I took up my pastels again after experimenting on the wonderful new paper Pastelmat. This paper is really marvellous, it solves all the problems that made me give up pastels years ago. There is no texture to detract from the painting, and the paper grips the pastels enabling the build up of lots of layers, and none of it falls off. So I treated myself to the Portrait set of Unison pastels, and this was my first experiment. This is the photo of the refugee Afghan girl by Steve McCurry, made famous in National Geographic magazine. Steve has very kindly given me permission to upload this picture of my painting to share with my friends - thank you Steve!. It isn't for sale, and copyrightof the photo remains with Steve. You can see more of his wonderful photos at http://www.stevemccurry.com/. I have his book of Portraits, if you can get a copy it is inspirational.
Unfortunately I'm not such a good photographer as Steve, and my photo of the painting is a little dark and has lost some of the detail in the hair, but it's there! 16x12 inches.
I have been using the Unison pastels and the Pastelmat paper quite a bit this summer, on portraits and landscapes, more coming soon!

Sad News

2010-10-28T16:02:00.000+01:00

Going to be a break in the painting for a while, as my Mum died on Sunday. Lots to do, funeral and things. Guess the previous painting suits my mood.

Bealach na Ba finished

2010-10-23T15:30:00.002+01:00

Well, it's been a while since posting, due to my mother being seriously ill and having to go down to stay in England for more than two weeks, with no internet access. I had laid the picture aside, because it had gone slightly awry. I wanted to paint the pale mist over the dark sky and blend it, but I thought it would maybe stay cleaner if I sprayed the sky with fixative first. Big mistake! Don't know if the fixative was old, but a dark spray of speckles all over the sky was the result. So I had redo the sky when I got back, and have now finished the foreground. It is rather different from the reference, but an improvement on the photo I think. I kind of lost the impetus with the long and stressful break, so it's not my best work.

Still, onwards and upwards! Have started on an altogether different picture, a sunset over the Cuillins, so lots of lovely colour and cheerfulness.

Bealach na Ba stage 2

2010-09-07T10:08:00.000+01:00

I've done some more work on this, but the approaching North East Open Studios event is taking up time. Hanging pictures, sorting prints, cards, organising publicity etc.is cutting down painting time. However, when it starts on Saturday I shall be in the studio all day every day, so hopefully will get this finished in between visitors!

Bealach na ba stage 2

Bealach na Ba

2010-09-02T14:11:00.003+01:00

This is a dramatic landscape of a drive we went on on our recent visit to the northwest highlands. The road into the remote peninsula of Applecross goes over this pass, Bealach na Ba, which is Gaelic for the Pass of the Cattle. It is the highest road in Scotland, and is quite hair-raising, with switchbacks and sheer drops. It was a gloomy grey day, and we were so high we were in the clouds. Once through the pass the views over the sea to Skye and Raasay were amazing. I wanted to paint these huge looming mountains, and add a more dramatic sky.

Bealach na Ba

I've started on light grey Pastelmat. Mostly Unison pastels, I lay in the dramatic clouds, which I have taken from sketches and other photos which I took on this holiday. I have lots of reference photos of skies. Later I shall add some drifting mist over the mountains.

UKCPS 2010 Annual Exhibition

2010-08-24T16:42:00.003+01:00

I am delighted that my painting of 'Summer Hare' has been accepted for the UKCPS 2010 Annual Exhibition. I had a lot of trouble scanning this one because of the pale washy background, which persisted in looking like an awful acidic green instead of a soft yellow! It's still not quite a perfect scan, but here it is anyway. Derwent Inktense and Artist pencils

Highland Landscapes

2010-08-23T12:17:00.001+01:00

Back from our holiday in the Northwest Highlands, rested and refreshed (apart from the midge bites!). Taken lots of photos of magnificent mountains and lochs for some landscape paintings, can't wait to get started. Here's a taster, of the Cuillins from Elgol, a wonderful place on the Isle of Skye. Pastel on Pastelmat.

'Cloud Over the Cuillins'