Art that doesn't cost the Earth

 As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I have been experimenting with various products in order to make my art environmentally-friendly. 

I am now using Natural Coloured Earth Pigments from Celtic Sustainables and mixing them with walnut oil to create my own eco oil paints. 

I learnt that it is necessary to use glass and a muller to properly mix the paints. Here you can see that I have poured out some of the brown pigment on to a sheet of glass and I am adding some of the walnut oil.

At first, it is necessary to use a palette knife to mix the powder and oil together.

I then use a glass muller to properly grind the pigment into the oil.

    

Once I am happy with the consistency of the paint, I scoop it into a jam jar for storage.

Instead of using the usual cotton canvases, I have decided to opt instead for linen which is more sustainable. 

So far, I have painted a few mini eco canvases on linen and have found it a lovely material to work with. To prepare the canvas for painting, it is necessary to cover it in a layer of clear gesso so that that the paint does not damage the linen fibres. Luckily, naturalearthpaint.com make an eco-friendly gesso, which I have found very effective. 

I used Eco Solve to thin my paint and clean my brushes between colours. However, I have recently discovered that it is possible to simply use more of the walnut oil to thin the paint and just use a different brush for each colour, removing the need to rinse brushes between colours. To wash my brushes after finishing a painting session, I use The Masters Artist Soap, which is also environmentally-friendly.

I have used driftwood to frame my eco paintings and I attach the pieces using environmentally-friendly glue. I prefer to leave the picture without any glass in front of it.

Next, I am going to experiment with painting directly on to wood.

Dorset Otters

This summer, I was lucky enough to have my first close encounter in England with the elusive otter. Their numbers were in huge decline in the 60s and 70s due to habitat loss, pesticide use and persecution. Since the 90s, there has been a huge effort to improve the health of the UK's rivers and, finally, in the last 10 years, this has paid off. Otters are once again found in every county in England, something which hasn't been the case for decades.

During a week away in Dorset, I spent some time walking along the River Stour, looking for signs of otters. I didn't find any footprints on the river banks but did see evidence of spraint (otter poo) on various logs and rocks, so I knew they were around. I spent two mornings from dawn until about 11am walking up and down the stretch of river where I had seen spraint, looking for movement or large ripples. I saw herons, kingfishers and swans, as well as lots of other lovely birds, but spotting an otter was tricky!

It was a beautiful stretch of river and so peaceful at dawn. Once other people started to arrive, including dog walkers and joggers, I thought my chances of seeing an otter were very slim. However, luck was with me on the first morning as I spotted a mother and three cubs swimming together down the river. They were very fast moving and I had to almost run along the riverbank to keep up with them. Every now and then they would stop to fish or play and I would try to capture some photos. They were completely unbothered by my presence and seemed used to noisy dogs and people. I followed them for a long time and had some lovely views, but struggled to get any good photos. 

On the second day, it wasn't until 10am that I saw any sign of the otters. This time, I heard them before seeing them. They were squeaking away at each other and I only caught sight of the mother and two cubs. As I waited by an old tree that created a lagoon with its long, dangling branches, one of the cubs (quite a mature cub) popped up right in front of me within this patch of calm water and rolled around on its back, looking up at me full of curiosity. It was a magical moment that I will never forget and I was lucky enough to capture a shot. 

I would have loved to spend more time in Dorset watching these otters but, sadly, I had to return home to my county of  West Sussex. I hope to go back next spring.