Caroline Ross

Drawing, Illustration, Ancient Materials, @foundandground

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ochre

Dark Mountain 13 Cover

I have been working on the DM13 cover with ochres on huge rocks in Portland. All the work will have washed away by now. More news when I can tell it.

rock materials

weares 02

February 14, 2018February 14, 2018 Caroline Ross Tagged Dark Mountain, drawing, ochre, rock painting Leave a comment

Birch bark painting

Today I have been working on images on birch bark, here’s a few images from the day’s work. Birch bark, ochre and cherry tree gum paint, sticks, oak gall ink, a feather brush. That’s all.

dm13 02

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dm13 08

dm13 04

January 23, 2018February 14, 2018 Caroline Ross Tagged birch bark, materials, ochre, painting Leave a comment

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What is better than collecting your first birch sap? Drinking it by moonlight with your nephew, spotting constellations on the way home in the hills. Few birch trees, but we did find a suitable one, it’s mainly rowan, ash, sycamore, oak and spruce in this glen. Many wild roses amongst the hawthorn. Shared ‘bread and butter’ (super-young hawthorn leaves). Also gathered masses of wild garlic and made 3 jars of pesto for us all to take home. The broadest-trunked birch tree I have ever seen in the UK is near my sister’s home, with a giant burl like a belly (very tall nephew shown only for scale) :) Loch trout from a neighbour for dinner. Best company, wee dram, woodlands and hills literally outside the back door. Thankyou. These flying visits are a delight. I love living in a river valley, but today I have hill envy. . . . #trees #birchtree #birchsap #treetapping #moon #burl #foraging #waterfall #treeroots #clackmannanshire #scotland

Grateful for nature’s gifts: wild garlic bulbs that I gave my hosts 10 years ago are now a carpet of peeping emerald blades. The fir tree under which I often teach. Bennachie with hundreds of wild swans in the fields (tiny white dots against the green, here!). The song of coal tits, this morning. . . #naturalworld #aberdeenshire #wildswans #bennachie #firtree #coaltit #birdsong #gratitude #naturesgifts #wildgarlic #earlyspring

The evening session will be taught by Master Cole. Cat, and catkins, and all good things to you this weekend. . . . #hiddenmaster #catsofinstagram #blackcat #catkins #hazel #curlyhazel

View from the T’ai Chi room today. Been working on something for 17 years that finally came together today. Maybe the gentle snow falling helped. Maybe the great work with the students. Perhaps it was just time for the work to ripen. Anyway, now I’m going to have a wee dram. ‘The push of no push’ exists. Sounds like a scene from a 1970s martial arts film... . . . #snow #studio #aberdeenshire #scotland #workview #ewe

Metalpoint on cassein-chalk ground mark-making test showing most of the objects used. Immensely good fun drawing with a half litre alu water bottle that has seen better days. May become my drawing tool of choice. . . . #metalpoint #silverpoint #drawing #alternativematerials #arttest #swatches #markmaking #whatif #notpencil

Experiments in metalpoint both for myself and for future sword-wielding women artists... an initial scribble page with pretty much every type of metal found on my and river man’s boats. Sadly no gold or platinum available. Scant bling on my mooring. Best marks came not from the professional Faber Castell silverpoint but from a vintage brass fish-hook disgorger and from my ancient alu water bottle. The ground is a bought cassein formula, but it compares well to my first homemade ones years ago, which were animal glue and marble dust, a bit too rough, perhaps. Next week I will investigate the gum arabic and chalk recipes I have heard about. I have chalk from the woods and gums from trees, so perhaps this will be enough. I have bought a small heavyweight ‘not’ watercolour paper sketchbook to trial the grounds and metals. Results soon. . . . If you like drawing and haven’t tried metalpoint you are missing out. Wonderful marks, pretty much indelible, which I like. Makes you bold. First thought, best thought. Helps you look and pay attention. This will be the link between writing and drawing on the page and starting work with the sword. I am not going to spoil the surprise yet. Time to try it all out first. Very long drawing implements may feature... Edwina Silverhands, perhaps. . . #arttests #metalpoint #silverpoint #copperpoint #brasspoint #swatches #art #drawing #markmaking #artgrounds #improvised #experimentation

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