Deep Peace ~ Personalised Remembrance Calligraphy Canvas

The symbolism of the tree & water are popular elements on the remembrance canvasses I write…. the tree… the tree of life… a winter tree for when life comes to a close….  roots in earth and branches in air… the body, left behind on earth and the spirit moving on. Water…. cleansing…. A vast ocean with hidden depths…. a river…. flowing… life flows… continuity yet continually changing….

They have different meanings for different people, and never ever look quite the same…. colours, photographs, words & arrangements change, but this combination of creams & browns with blue & silver is without doubt the most popular. They're calming colours… respectful but not sombre… neutral but not dull…. colours that whisper words of comfort. Biblical quotations are always popular & many people find comfort in them, but any words can be used.

There's a gentleness about this one… a tenderness… and it actually took several attempts to ensure that the name was the best shade & size to harmonise with whole piece. That one word took as long to sit comfortably as all the rest put together… from too big, to too small, to too bold, to too pale…. but I couldn't let it go until it was just right for this particular young man. It often feels that they are there with me, nudging me to make small changes because it 'feels' necessary, that at another time may seem ok.

It feels a privilege to create something that can bring some comfort to those suffering a bereavement & it can take a good few emails to get the sense of what to do for a particular person. That conversation is often as much a part of the grieving process for a client as it is for me to decide on what to do…. but very necessary & welcome.

If this is something you may like, I can be contacted at suziscribbles@yahoo.co.uk.

Poppies, for Remembrance.... on canvas

The couple who commissioned this canvas, requested another for their father.... something a little more 'traditional' looking.... with poppies please! Poppies were their mum's favourite; luckily I had plenty of photographs I've taken myself to choose from.

I often like to layer gesso onto the canvas first to create some additional 

texture in the background, plus it's a great surface to write on.

Something like this doesn't have to be for a memorial... 

any photo with any words would make a special, personalised gift at any time, wouldn't it? 

Custom Favourite Song Remembrance Canvas

I'm getting quite regular requests for a canvas in memory of someone.... this time with a favourite song & an owl photograph because "she always loved owls". We decided on layers of lettering, quite a neutral look, with one main phrase standing out.

I have found that applying a layer of gesso to the canvas is easier to write on, but have only recently discovered that sanding it down a little gives a lovely surface.... I can get much sharper lettering now. For this one I kept adding layers of colour, sanding, more colour... a few lines of the song.... sanding... more lettering... sanding.... colour... lettering etc etc. I love the distressed effect....

I didn't get the photograph til  much later, & tho we loved the background, 

we didn't feel the photo was quite right with it for where it was to go....

... until I converted to sepia and added the final touches!

It's quite a touching tribute, combining their mother's favourite song 

and a photo of something she loved... 

Personalised Engagement Photo Canvas with Calligraphy

My daughter wanted a canvas for her friend's engagement... something to do with New York as they got engaged on holiday there.... a love quote.... neutral colours.... a splashy heart?... or maybe something with words repeated in the background... new york, love, forever, etc...? As I looked at  photographs of New York scenes & skylines, I thought of "borrowing" some of their holiday photos ... black & white... printed on canvas & collaged onto a canvas that I could write a quote on... still with words in the background.... or maybe not... keep the background white... mmm, maybe red writing...

So the conversation went, & as usual I couldn't explain what was in my head or how to work in K's ideas... & she just wasn't sure how what I suggested would look. To be honest, I didn't really know myself at that point.

As soon as I started I went for a grey background... with darker streaks & wisps of white. K hadn't been sure about frayed edges to the photos so I trimmed them straight & 'scattered' them across an 8 x 19.5 inches ( 20 x 50cm). I do like the longer, narrower dimensions & loved this layout, but wasn't sure about the red lettering even before I wrote. It's ok.... but I wanted white...

I'd already painted a few canvasses (I rarely ever do just one) & had played with some photo collages previously, so the final version came together in no time.

Love does not consist of gazing at each other,

but looking forward in the same direction.

 I have pages of quotations typed out & this is the one K chose... Quite appropriate for them as they look forward to marriage & spending their lives together isn't it? The photo was printed onto canvas & I frayed the edges to soften the look... (yes, she did like them frayed when she actually saw them). The canvas is 10 x 12 inches & the image approx 6 x 4 inches.

I believe the bridge is where he proposed.... and they loved their gift!

Angel Wings 2

When I did the "On Angel Wings" canvas I worked on a second canvas at the same time... it served as somewhere to test ideas, which is quite a good job, as the gorgeous earthy ink i sprayed on was decidedly pink, and even more so when i washed it off... quite a happy accident though, it looks great for a different piece of work!

8 x 19.5 inches / 20 x 50 cm

I found some copyright free images of angel statues that suit these colours really well. I had thought the 2nd canvas could be left as it is.... maybe...  but as you see from the photograph, the words 'disappear' and will need darkening up, and as I look at it now I have an idea of adding a bit more to balance it up a bit.

There's a bit of an uncomfortable space under 'soar'... i knew as soon as i wrote the first couple of words on the next line that i'd misjudged where to start! Once over I may have lost heart in it there & then & painted the whole lot out, but I've learned that it is nearly always possible to rescue any piece of work. What I'll do is add something else on the right, which will also add some 'weight at that side to balance with the image.... of course as soon as i darken the lettering the whole thing will look different again. Hmm.... decisions, decisions...

On Angel Wings

Another request for a memorial canvas came my way... this time from somebody wanting something special for a friend, in memory of her father. I don't suppose either of us had any idea how this would look as we exchanged emails... I never know exactly until I actually do it, even though I may think I have fairly clear ideas... and explaining what I'm really thinking by email is pretty hard, and it takes so long to write & describe, I'm not much better verbally, lol!

(photograph reproduced with permission)

Commissioned work involves a huge element of trust. A client has to trust me to interpret their ideas in a way that they find acceptable... I have to trust that they can accept my interpretation... and trust my own instincts & feelings about what they tell me. At times I have produced something very different from what I know is expected. 

 However, at some point, the necessary trust was established. K was happy to furnish me with several  snippets of information and allow me to "pick and choose what you as the artist think will work." Just the kind of words I like to hear. Plenty of information helps to build a picture... to create a resonance between the person it is for & the work, but  put too much in & things would look messy. Also, I'm not an 'illustrator' so any artwork is suggestive rather than literal.

K came up with an extract from "In Her Eyes" by Michelle W Emerson, a poem about the love shared between father & daughter,

'Upon angel wings you soar; your sparkling golden halo glows

Whenever she's with you, it's Heaven in her eyes that shows.

Her eyes hold a song so beautiful you'd think it was Heaven's melody.

It's the music of love's symphony composed by each precious memory.

The love known is the love you've shown from sunset to sunrise.

The depth of your love will forever show in your daughter's eyes.'

together with a biblical extract,

"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, 

that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." 

 John 3:16

The main colours were sepia tones, to tie in with the photograph, also K suggested earthy would be good. The main 'memory' that we wanted to include was the love of fishing together... right from the start i visualised the blues & browns together, but it took several layers of paint to get the textures & depth of colour how & where I wanted! I also had a strong feeling about adding a silver fish right from the start... in the end it served as an anchor point for the whole thing, pulling it all together!

I have heard that L is over the moon to receive her gift & I felt quite teary myself when i read K's note of thanks... it really was an honour to work on something that means so much to someone...

canvas size ~ 10 x 14 x 1.5 inches (25 x 36 x 3.5 cm)

I looked for an alternative image to use in case L wasn't comfortable with 'her dad's' canvas on show... I really like this statue of an angel & the colours tie in perfectly... looks like i will be doing some more angel-y ideas soon!

Memorial Canvas

I've been looking into these twinkly eyes a fair bit this past couple of weeks & it's just dawned on me that I don't even know his name! That may seem strange, but it hasn't been important until now... I've been more concerned with the 'feel' of this man... his energy. I know him as 'Inghinn's Dad' and he recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge to the Summerlands. Ing wanted a canvas with his photo & a quote from 'Le Petit Prince' by Antoine de Saint Exupery in remembrance of her dad.

To begin with I just couldn't 'get' what I needed to do with this. Inghinn told me her Dad was a farmer who loved nature and she asked for dark green lettering. She would have let me change that if I wanted, but the photo background definitely lent itself to greens.

It took me a while just sitting with the photograph... connecting & feeling the energy. After a little while I had more ideas than enough. I printed the photo onto canvas and frayed the edges for a raggedy effect.... i didn't want any hard lines. The lettering too was a quite loose italic, done with a draftsman's ruling pen.

 

Wenn du bei Nacht den Himmel anschaust

Wird dir sein, als leuchten alle Sterne

Weil ich auf einem von ihnen wohne

Weil ich auf einem von ihnen lache

(Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

It's from The Little Prince, and roughly translated it means, when you look at the sky at night, it will be as if all the stars shine brightly, because on one of them I'm alive, because on on one them I am laughing.

the canvas size is 10 x 14 inches...

 small enough to be personal & large enough to have a visual impact

Once i started, everything came together. By then I had an idea of how it should look.... the format, the colours... and a tree. For some reason I felt that a tree was important, and Ing confirmed that her Dad had trained as a tree surgeon in his youth. How I represented the tree was important too...

The bare branches with just a few leaves suggest the end of autumn, moving into winter... which is how I see the end of our life... more like a change of season, a time of withdrawal, returning to earth, preparing for the next stage of growth. The spirals suggest that continuity too,  the cyclical nature of life and ancient connections...

It was one of those jobs that from start to finish felt special, and was an honour to do... I hope that it gives some comfort when you think of your dad, Ing xo