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Recent Posts
New video about lustre painting and magazine articleThe other week I posted a video explaining the techniques and… »
Porcelain painting and other arts in ThailandThe second post in a series about my trip to Thailand last year.… »
My porcelain feature in Swiss magazine Art and PorcelaineI'm sharing another magazine feature of my award winning porcelain… »
My porcelain feature in DECOR-magasinet from NorwayLast month I was interviewed by Editor Margrete Tennfjord for a four… »
Floating in my freedom, Abstract expressionism on porcelainFinally finished this new painting on porcelain this week, "Floating… »
Expressionist landscapes on canvas and updatesI've been really productive over the past few weeks, I've been… »
We are Soldiers of Love, Ingrid Lee, 2013 porcelain vaseI started this porcelain painting We are Soldiers of Love, late last… »
Challenge of abstract expressionist lustre on porcelainThe challenge of abstract expressionist lustre on porcelain is where… »
Finishing and starting new projects on porcelainIt's been busy few weeks, so I haven't had much chance to paint… »
Demo via skype in St PetersburgIt was 4.30 am in Melbourne and I presented a ribbon embroidery… »
Abstract expressionism on porcelain
Progress of lustre painting on porcelain
What’s on my mind
Never be afraid to be yourself…
I think I should get this tattooed on my forehead or somewhere that I won’t forget this, or maybe put it in my make up case, so I see it every morning….. 
“Never be afraid to be yourself, because in the end yourself it’s all you’ll ever be.”~
(Don’t know who wrote this…sorry!)
Roses on porcelain in lustres
Change of plans…I was going to do one large rose, as shown in the photo in this morning’s post…but now that I’ve had time to think about the techniques and application I was going to do on the single large rose. I think that the design and styling will be contrived and not ‘alive.’ So, I have decided to create a series of 4 plates which incorporate a rambling spray of roses in lustres on porcelain, from photos of my beautiful roses from my garden which I photographed this year. I have decided to make the plate ‘full’ and bountiful, reflecting the heavy rococo design work of much of the interiors which I observed in Catherine’s Palace. Still maintaining a modern and contemporary style with the use of lustres and brighter colours, than classic porcelain design.
Clearly the light captured in the photos of my roses is in Australian light, and this is the only light and colour I work by, so it will be an interesting interpretation. To capture a more alive feel to the artwork, I have chosen to stick to the impressions of the roses, rather than a realistic study, but still trying to capture as much ‘light’ to the work. I have been planning in my head all day the blending possibilities…let’s see how things go! The less control over the outcome of lustres- the better they work.
Getting inspired for pink roses…now to stop dancing in my studio with Beyonce, back to painting….I want those pink boots
Experiment with lustres and roses
I’m experimenting with my new lustres to see the colours and approaches to some ideas I have for another exhibition piece. This is a free handed design in impressionist style, completed in one firing. There will be more layers of work to be completed. The colours used in this firing are Ruby Red, Pink and Light blue (my lustres are from Interdec Australia, Fay Good brand)…in various layers of dilution and blending.
Here is the first fire result:
This is the rose I will do for my final piece….this rose is from my garden.
Painting of First Night in St Petersburg….Step by step
This is another of the 13 paintings I’ll be taking for my exhibition…so I thought I’d share with you the step by step photos so you can see the development of the painting. This painting was totally inspired by the photo I took during my first evening in St Petersburg, Russia, see more on this blog post.
The finished artwork (it is still difficult to capture the transparency of the layers of gold work with a camera).
"First evening in St Petersburg," 2012. Ingrid Lee, Acrylic on canvas, 76.5cm x 61cm.
This painting is one of delight and wonder as the magic and life of this city sparkled before me. I love the technique of using gold paint as a beautiful metallic base for my artwork and I also mix this rich hue with other colours to highlight the energy and light of a subject.
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Close up of finished painting:
Gold roses on porcelain…progress
I have not had time to post on any of my blogs for weeks!!!! I’m madly painting for this exhibition. I’ve shared updates of paintings I’m taking to exhibit in St Petersburg on my facebook fan page for Ingrid Lee Artist…please like the fan page if you want to receive the updates there! So I have some spare time on my painting break to share this porcelain piece I’m working on.
The plate is 14″ (35.6 cm) oval…I’ve this plate with designed Mitsouko roses which I grow in my garden, as the main feature of this piece. This painting was inspired by the gold work at Catherine’s Palace, on my last trip to St Petersburg in 2011. Roses featured on much of the furnishings, so I decided on a contemporary design, with my favourite roses. The pen work is in burnishing gold, and the other roses will be completed in raised paste and scrolling, reflecting the rococo styling at the palace. For those of you who don’t know much about porcelain painting, the brown paint will fire in a kiln to a rich gold colour .
I’ve just finished the pen work..paste is next. I will share the final result shortly.
Some other photos of the progress of this design:
I use contrast of value and texture to create natural definition where possible.
Here are my roses ( MITSOUKO rose Large double flowers of mimosa yellow, with pale pink edging; defines Mitsouko as a soft and feminine beauty. With Guerlain soft fragrance of violets and raspberries Mitsouko™adds wonderful soft colourings to the Parfum Collection)
Have a peek at my exhibition work
Just sharing a peek at my exhibition in St Petersburg, Russia. The exhibition is about my journey to St Petersburg, which began with my quest to enrich my artistic soul. My new kiln arrives this week, so I’ll share a little bit of my porcelain artworks in a few weeks. And be sure that I’ll share more about the exhibition, with full pictures in a few months time, once the exhibition has started.
To put all of the artworks for this exhibition into context for you, here is an excerpt from the publicity information I’ve written about my artwork.
……..My journey revealed more than heart and soul. It encapsulated an element of connectedness to the art of history, to time and place, to people past and present, to music and feelings, and as a result, to a greater sense of enlightenment….
Overview of Art works:
The artworks I have created since my first journey to St Petersburg are acrylic paintings on canvas and contemporary designs on porcelain. The canvas paintings are reflective of my experiences in St Petersburg and the interwoven threads and connections of my passion for this city.
I believe the journey of the artistic soul is a life long experience and St Petersburg is hopefully one of many in my growth and evolution as an artist. A place which was initially of just imagination and dreams, which finally became a reality, so my art could reflect my personal expression and interpretation of my immersion into the heart and soul of a city.
I’m sharing two paintings, but these paintings are not finished, and the photo quality is not good because I’ve used my i-phone….but they are a peek! When all of the artworks are completed, I will share high resolution photos.
Here is a close up of the bottom corner…these colours a little more accurate..but the bottom corner is painted with gold, and many of the highlights throughout the painting are in gold blends also, but again it is difficult to capture with i-phone.
My delivery of porcelain supplies arrived this week! Lustres, burnishing gold and texture reliefs…..all ready to start my plates which will be in contemporary designs to reflect the historical essence of Catherine Palace and St Petersburg.
Spotlight on me on Friday Art Share!
Always nice to share a feature article on oneself! Check out this Spolight on me on Friday Art Share at Fiona Stolze’s site Inspired Art And Living. While you are there, check out some of Fiona’s wonderful Silk painting on her facebook page and the other amazing things she’s involved in. Thanks Fiona for the opportunity to share my work with your readers 
Creating art in art with porcelain and ribbon embroidery
This project was finished last year, where I creating art with porcelain and ribbon embroidery, but it entailed a lot of problem solving along the way. Sometimes I like to create a mini artworks within an artwork, so I painted a small porcelain shoe with raised paste roses and gilding, added gold pen work rose buds, and filled the opening of the shoe with a bouquet of silk ribbon embroidered flowers to complement the paint work. All of the colours in the embroidery bouquet reflect the colour you see reflected off the gold paint and off the white white porcelain which is why it is more harmonious. But this project wasn’t going to be as simple as I thought!!
Here is the porcelain shoe
Gold Roses on porcelain shoe, Ingrid Lee
Detail of raised paste rose
Ribbon Embroidery
Here are the silk ribbons I’ve used….they are hand died silk ribbons by ColourStreams.
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These are one of my favourite ribbons to work with. I wanted a dramatic effect with the ribbon roses, so I chose this gorgeous colour of Aubergine silk (13mm)…it is varigated in the deepest black purple, then blending to silver grey and golds. I felt this colour would set the mood of the piece and make it a striking feature of the overall piece.
The small gold roses where made with colourstream gold (7mm) hand died silk ribbon- a very fiddly job.
Initially I thought the design would just comprise of these rolled roses in large and small ones…but I realised it wasn’t going to work. The overall design would be boring and the beautiful colours of the roses would be lost to a poorly constructed design.
So how did I solve the problem?
I decided I needed another texture to lift the central design, so I added some white organza rolled ribbon roses, and the I made a pale blue rose which was to look like it had opened to full bloom- like a blown rose. Glass beads were added to add lift to the design.
Here are some photos of the development and sewing together of the embroidery bouquet:
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Here is the finished piece:
Silk ribbon roses and handpainted porcelain shoe, Ingrid Lee
Do you think the design is successful of mixing the two mediums?
See what I’m teaching in St Petersburg!
Just a quick post to show you what I’ll be teaching in my masterclasses for ribbon embroidery in St Petersburg, Russia. I will be teaching at Maria Shiliner’s beautiful boutique Needlework DeLuxe in St Petersburg. It is wonderful to share and show my art as a guest artist, and is a wonderful stepping stone for my work here in Australia.
The first course is of roses and forget-me-nots, inspired by the rococo artwork I visited at Catherine’s Palace when I went to Russia last October. The roses are almost life size, the whole design is 22 cm x 32cm. Each flower is hand built with dyed silk ribbons, and the leaves are ribbon stitched onto a lovely blue damask fabric- I fell in love with the Blue Room at Catherine’s palace (here is the video I made)
This is the other course- I’ve just used my promo flyer I designed the other day…..You might remember this piece from earlier posts, again hand built roses and pansies with silk ribbons..the original art work was sold at Christmas.
I’m looking forward to teaching these projects and seeing Maria and all of her beautiful ribbons, and especially meeting more people who are passionate about ribbon embroidery and sharing ideas!
Not my usual painting
I’ve been painting and creating lots of artwork lately, for my masterclasses and for my exhibition….but this is a painting which is not my usual thing, and has nothing to do with my exhibition work…really I think I listen to too much Adele while I paint! Funny what you internalise! Think I’ll choose some different tunes and stick to classical with no lyrics
Now back to painting important stuff!
“I’ll make you cry until your heart bleeds black.” Acrylic on canvas, Ingrid Lee.
