Trina New Work: May 2009

Thursday, 28 May 2009

Buttons / Badges

I got these produced by the Vancouver based company www.sixcentpress.com last month for my US agent (www.lillarogers.com) to handout at Surtex - a trade fair in New York. It meant I had them all sent directly to Lilla and I haven't yet seen them in the real. So lovely surprise when I found this photo of them on Six Cent Press website - thank you.

I'd never heard of the word "button" for these until last year. Growing up in the North of Scotland it was "badges" people pinned to their school bags. Buttons were to be found in this jar (I now use it for jam) and on rainy days my mum would let me sort through and admire them.

I still get great pleasure from looking at my own collection of buttons - rainy day or not. :-)

Wednesday, 27 May 2009

Giant Anteater

Until a few weeks ago I had a year's pass to London Zoo. On the week it was running out I went twice to say goodbye to this Giant Anteater. Below are some photos of him, a sketch and a rubbing and a couple of prints I did of him. It had been along time since I'd had my printing inks out and I felt like a play.

His inside home looks a bit drab but he had an anteater companion and a huge, quite private garden though I think he must dream a lot about his relatives in Latin America.

I found some information on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Anteater
which says that "The giant anteater does not sleep in any fixed place, instead curling up in abandoned burrows and hollows. It covers its body with its long, bushy tail to sleep." so perhaps this is why the zoo hasn't made much effort with his home - he is a wanderer by nature?

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Sewing project Illustrations

These three illustrations I did for a presentation for a book publisher. It was to be a book on sewing but sadly (for me!) their client wished to go with a different illustration style.

However I really loved doing them and it got me thinking about how often it's the "rejected" work or the roughs and ideas that get left behind that on a personal level sometimes contribute most to work "moving on" and developing.

Friday, 22 May 2009

Egg Tempera Paintings

I love this technique. You need alot of time though.... days....it's very painstaking. Thin layers of pigment mixed with egg yolk and a little water built up over time - each layer ought to be dry before applying another.

I first did it at a course at the CityLit in London in about 1995. We mixed up all the ingredients (rabbitskin glue(!), french chalk over muslin...I think I remember) and made and prepared the board. Though I've more recently worked on ready prepared boards which is much quicker.

I remember a long time ago (when writing my college thesis on the Bloomsbury Group) reading about Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant going into Lewes in Sussex in the 1920s to buy rabbit skin glue when they were decorating Charleston farmhouse (www.charleston.org.uk). There seemed something very earthy yet romantic about this - poor rabbits though! :-(

Some Work Featured in Painting Book

New Portfolios

I created these books a couple of months ago using the site www.blurb.com. It was my US agent's (www.lillarogers.com) idea that all her artists showing at the New York trade fair Surtex produce these books as a fresh alternative to traditional portfolios.

I think it is always hard creating your own portfolio - it's so much easier editing work you haven't produced! But I really enjoyed putting the books together and I was impressed with the print quality and wrap around cover.

If you click on the link below you can see a preview of the first 15 pages of each book. I'm also going to post above some of the work featured on the other pages.