Ideas for Art Pinboard : Small Boats

A collection of inspiring images on the theme of Small Boats from my Pinterest Pinboard collection.  I'm collecting ideas, and looking forward to adding distant sailing boats to my paintings... there's something magical about seeing a little boat sail off towards the horizon.

 

Please find the credits to the images used above and below here: Small Boats Pinterest Pinboard.

 

The paintings below are from my 365 Daily Painting Project which ran from April 2014 - 15.  They are small studies on handmade Indian paper, measuring 12 x 12 inches.

I'm an artist inspired by the coast of Cornwall, Scotland and Brittany - view all of my paintings at Melanie McDonald Gallery

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The Daylight Project for VELUX

(Rock, Cornwall - early morning walk along the pale sand.)

VELUX, the famous windows company, sponsors a fascinating website called The Daylight Project.  The site 'celebrates all things daylight; its benefits and influences that inspire and restore human life and the natural surroundings in which we exist'.  Insightful articles exploring the role of daylight in art, health, science and architecture, can be read online.  Last month, I was delighted to be asked to take part in a Q&A interview, to talk about how light influences my art, and my life!  The first part of the interview is featured below, hope you enjoy it ...

LIGHT BY THE SEA - Q&A with The Daylight Project

Melanie McDonald's beautiful paintings use light to explore the feeling of freedom we experience by the sea.  The Daylight Project caught up with her for a chat...

TDP: How did you get into painting?

MM: In 1999 I began a Fine Art Degree in painting at Falmouth in Cornwall, (it's my second degree - I studied print design before).  Initially, I painted figures, mostly of my young daughter and husband.  The beach paintings were a natural development, having lived most of my life near the fabulous beaches of Newquay.  It led me to think about how people spend their leisure time on the coast.  I try to capture a sense of happiness and freedom in my paintings, the feeling of being 'really alive'.  This sense of freedom is closely dependent upon, and translated through, the use of light in my art.

TDP: What inspires your work?

I'm very lucky to have connections with Cornwall, Brittany and Scotland.  These beautiful places are a continuing source of inspiration.  They are all Celtic regions, each with its own striking beauty and unique qualities.  These days, my life is divided between Cornwall and our renovation project - an 18th century farm - in northwest Brittany.

Read the entire interview here Light By The Sea

Changing Weather, Camel Estuary, Cornwall

I'm an artist inspired by the coast of Cornwall, Scotland and Brittany - view all of my paintings at Melanie McDonald Gallery

Join the chat with me on Twitter 

Other places to say hello Facebook  Pinterest Tumblr

Ideas for Art Pinboard : Herons, Egrets and Cranes

One of the really cool things about a Daily Painting Project, (I started mine on my birthday last April), is that I can experiment with new ideas on a small scale - ideas that I may never try in my larger paintings.  Having discovered a love for painting gulls, I've moved on to herons and egrets. Herons can often be seen from my studio window, gliding effortlessly on the breeze... scanning the river in the valley below.  

Please click to view my Herons, Egrets and Cranes Pinboard and find the credits to the images used above.

The paintings below are from my Daily Painting Project.

I'm an artist inspired by the coast of Cornwall, Scotland and Brittany - view my paintings at Melanie McDonald Gallery

Join the chat with me on Twitter 

Other places to say hello Facebook  Pinterest Tumblr

Inspiration is .... Angela Missoni and her gull seascape dress.

My latest coastal paintings feature solitary walkers and gulls, (.... gulls have become a bit of an obsession!).  I came across Missoni's gull seascape dress in March's Vogue UK magazine.  A world renown Italian brand, Missoni is famous for its kaleidoscope and zigzag style knits.  The Spring Summer '14 collection is designed by Angela Missoni, (the third child of Ottavio and Rosita Missoni who started the company over 50 years ago).  This season, Angela's designs are centered around the four natural elements - water, earth, fire and air.  Her standout gull dress, (pictured above), illustrates her coastal inspired theme of oversized, silhouetted flying gull shapes and choppy, chevron-esque waves.  These simple graphic elements have been re-imagined, (enlarged, simplified, recoloured), and printed onto various fabrics such as silk, cotton and chiffon, or knitted into patterns. I've posted some of my favourites below, but it's really worth taking a look at Angela Missoni's entire collection for SS14 here - her clothes are like good art, they are astonishing, exciting and intrinsically beautiful.

It's inspiring for me to see how one idea - gulls and waves - has sparked designs for the entire collection, a lesson I'm taking with me into the studio today ....

Images via and with thanks to Fashionisers.com

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You can take a look at all my paintings at - Melanie McDonald Gallery

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Ideas for Art Pinboard : Gulls

It's taken me by surprise .... I've found myself captivated by gulls.  

I grew up with gulls - living on the coast in Cornwall they dominate the sea views and rooftops, (but I can't say that I've ever really thought about them).  Today, I'm sitting outside my farmhouse on the hill in Brittany watching gulls soar on thermals. This morning, down at the shore, I watched herring gulls diving for fish, and trailing a fishing boat .... they circle my thoughts and have started to appear in my paintings ....  it's a new obsession.

P.s. and I'm not the only one, the image below is from June's issue of Spanish Vogue via Sketch42, (gull top by Obey).

I made the collages from my Seagulls (and other birds) Pinboard, (please click thru for photo credits).

If you like this post, please subscribe by email using the 'WEEKLY NEWS INTO YOUR INBOX' Form near the top of the page.

You can take a look at all my paintings at - Melanie McDonald Gallery

Or come and say Hello, ask a question (love to hear from you!), and chat with me on Twitter
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Ideas for Art Pinboard : Solitary Figures

Here are some of the images on my Solitary Figures Pinboard.  They have a beautiful, slightly melancholy atmosphere .... and directly inspired my current painting project, (but more on that later!).  

Over the past year, I've grown to LOVE Pinterest!  During my morning coffee, in that early morning dreamlike state, you'll find me pinning, (I pin ANYTHING that resonates in some way!).  Later, I'll take a closer look at the images I've added to my boards, to figure out why I find them so appealing .... and then I let the new ideas fill my sketchbook.

Please click thru to my Solitary Figures Pinboard and find the credits to the images used above.

You can take a look at my paintings in - Melanie McDonald Gallery

Or come and say Hello, ask a question (love to hear from you!), and chat with me on Twitter
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(Pinterest and pictures on Tumblr)