Sophie Ploeg

A new year, new plans, cleaning up, sorting out... As soon as the new year starts I usually get the bug and can’t wait to throw out the Christmas decorations, tidy up and go for minimalist instead of cozy and full. I have been researching a new easel for a long time now and although not totally decided or ordered I wanted to make more space in my small studio. So out with the big (-ish) old desk and in with a new smaller one! A few shelves and a new desk chair (still to be covered with some nice fabric) and some re-organising later I am very happy with a new, more organised, space saving corner in my studio.  I used  Pinterest  for some interior design ideas...  There is more space to set up models and still lives, more space to hold Open Studios and most importantly there is space for the longed for big easel. But that is another story. Ten Best Facebook Pages on Art The New Year was off to a good start by a post by the Making a Mark Blog about the 10 ...

As usual....I am painting lace...in a box...

Small detail of a small painting I am working on...

Work in progress...lace textures...

It looks like I’ve gone cubist, but honestly this is just an underpainting..... Work in progress....

This is a small detail of a work in progress (@8x5"). The left hand is only blocked in, the right one has had a bit more work, but both are far from finished.

My paintings for the BP Travel Award are inspired by the many portraits of women from the early 17th century as painted by Larkin, Gheeraerts and Verspronck and many others. They painted wealthy upper class women. Although their wealth gave us the opportunity to see their faces and their dress, they were women who must have shared many things with modern-day women: they were mothers, daughters, wives and grandmothers. They loved fashion and beautiful things or perhaps not so much. They had to battle the challenges from life as a wife or a mother and a head of a household.They were hugely restricted in their freedom but no doubt found ways to exercise some power over their own lives. They were painted in elaborate clothes, often richly decorated with lace. The lace would have been made by many more women of whom we do not have portraits. They were invisible women who were also mothers, wives and daughters. The incredible refinement and beauty in the lace is something we cannot reproduce...

Just some pictures of work in progress....for your to enjoy...and to wonder what it is all going to lead  to since I cannot show you any complete paintings....yet..... A small 2 inch detail of a work in progress. I love painting silk! This is the underpainting stage.... with a small brush I add texture to turn the silk into taffeta silk Detail of a painting in progress.... Some reproduction goodies to be used in my costumes...

My palette is starting to look rather, eh, creative... A thorough clean with a paint scraper and ready for an underpainting! Colours laid out for the next stage.

Detail (about 2 inches wide) of a portrait in progress...Flemish lace. Am afraid I can't show you much more at the moment....

Preparing for paintings, making collars....I look like a seamstress but honestly this will lead to painting!!

I finally decided how to finish this painting! Wings, oil, 60x50cm This is a work in progress, currently on the easel and being slightly ignored as I am too busy preparing for the Open Studio Days! detail of work in progress And the local newspaper, the Gazette, wrote a lovely piece about my inclusion in the BP Portrait Award: http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/10387278.Thornbury_artist_s_self_portrait_to_be_exhibited_at_the_National_Portrait_Gallery/ I hope to see lots of visitors this Bank-Holiday weekend during my Open Studio Days! photo: S. Portal

Working on new painting, working on new ideas..... painting, sewing, thinking

I've been fairly busy with creating small drawings for my greeting cards, and making small reproductions of my paintings. The initial cause of this was my upcoming Open Studio Days (where cards are always popular) but I have now opened an Etsy online shop where you can buy cards, prints and other goodies (see in the right side bar). Of course you can still get those direct from me as well. For my Open Studio (5,6 and 12 May) I enjoy the preparations of providing something new, something affordable and something enjoyable for visitors, besides my paintings of course! I am making all sorts of little goodies for lace lovers and art lovers alike. Can't possibly show them all here - it will have to remain a bit of a surprise until the Open Days. Suffice to say it is all lace related. I am really diving into the history and variety of antique lace at the moment. Browsing the internet, reading books etc. Victorian and Edwardian lace is still very much around these days, but the...

Here are some progress Pictures of my current (huge) painting. The painting will be 28x48" / 71x121cm. This is just a detail of the final painting. I've been sharing the progress of it on my facebook profile . It is not finished yet, but I thought it would be nice to share the progress in one go, since I am nearing the end and there are now long periods of drying time. I am using an antique tambour lace veil with appliqué floral motifs, probably from the late 19th century. The lace is simply painted as a tiny square pattern, interrupted here and there by a floral motif. The pattern is painted over a darker background so that the fabric is visible. I try to vary the tonal value of the pattern to indicated folds and shading, something I will enhance later (after it has dried) with adding glazing and scumbling and even repaint areas that need more punch. The whole painting will be revealed to visitors to my Open Studio Days in May (drop me a line if you are thinking of comi...

Another self portrait.... Self Portrait Looking Down oil on panel, 18x24cm There's a lot of 'me' in the studio. A big ego trip? Time to go back to painting lace! On my facebook friends page I am posting the progress of my largest work ever, in the main header image. You don't need to be my friend to see it, but in case you want to follow.... Have a look here . Every time I work on it I will update this image (which is just a detail of the larger painting). This is the latest instalment, painted yesterday.

A detail of a giant canvas I am working on. Just initial drawing/underpainting. Haven't done much recently as trying to recover from a nasty chest infection. But I hope to show you more progress on this piece soon.

A detail of a painting that is currently on the easel....

I have been sharing my progress pictures on this next painting and thought I wanted to show it here too. This is currently on the easel. Underpainting stage. Just burnt umber (=brown) paint on white canvas (oil primed which is the base I prefer to work on). It takes a while at this stage as I want to get the 'feel' right, the line of the neck is vital. The sepia look is quite attractive, perhaps I will do a completely monochromatic piece one day! Colour blocking in: This stage goes quicker. I put in some base colours and make sure that the skin underneath the lace is approximately the right colour. Now I get the small brushes out, a synthetic or sable size 1 brush and start hatching the skin and begin the lace pattern. I'll end up getting lost in all those curly black lines! To be continued!!

Still lots of tweaking to do on this but I wanted to share anyway. Part of a larger commission. Oil on canvas.