'Two Pots and a Mirror'

'Two Pots and a Mirror'

6" x 6"

oil on board

My grandaughter bought me this little pot out of her own pocket money :)

Then she asked me if I would paint it! So here it is, just for her, two pots for the price of one! I like using mirrors for the abstract shapes they can create, but not round ones I've decided...they're very tricky! It's been an interesting exercise exploring once again all the different tones and colours of grey you have to use to achieve white. Half closing the eyes is an invaluable way of identifying values, I can't recommend it enough.

'Mushroom Study'

6" x 6" 

oil on board

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I enjoyed painting this little mushroom study this afternoon. I knew I only had a limited amount of time so I chose a simple subject for a quick study. It does look very 'mushroomy' so I'm happy with it :) I used a warm orange for the ground colour and then worked over with a palette of burnt sienna, yellow ochre, ultramarine and titanium white which were enough colours to mix a range of warm and cool greys - warm greys for the mushrooms and cool greys for the cloth.

'Kerry'

'Kerry'

6" x 6"

oil on board

This is Kerry, another of my class members. I do hope you like this Kerry! I used a slightly different process with this painting. I roughly drew the head onto the canvas using a turpsy mix of burnt sienna, but instead of continuing with the painting immediately I let it dry overnight. I completed the painting today using a limited palette of cadmium red, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cerulean blue, ultramarine and titanium white. Faces are so fascinating to depict and to capture the uniqueness of a person is immensely satisfying! 

'Alison' finished!

'Alison'

6" x 6"

oil on board

I managed to get back to 'Alison' this morning and make the necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, the paint had dried and I was unable to work wet into wet which was disappointing. I think for a while at least, I'm going to use linseed oil again instead of the fast drying impasto medium that I have been using so that if need be, I'm able to return to a painting a day or two later and hopefully the paint might still be workable. 

Anyway, here she is all done and dusted! 

Paintings with cherries!

'Jug with Lemons and Cherries'

12" x 16"

oil on stretched canvas

This afternoon I've been busy adding cherries to these three paintings! Have a look and see what you think. In the painting above 'Jug with Lemons and Cherries' I'm happy that the composition is now complete both in terms of space and of colour.  

'Green Apple with Jug'

6" x 6"

oil on  board

In 'Green Apple with Jug' the cherry becomes a compelling focal point. And along with the two red leaves, it creates a triangle in space which again leads to a stronger composition. 

'Delicious Biscotti'

8" x 8"

oil on board

Before I added the cherries to 'Delicious Biscotti',  the biscotti looked a little lonely and were crying out for something to sit next to them! However, now I'm glad to say, all is well, and again I feel the composition is complete. 

A school ma'am self-portrait!

Self-portrait

6" x 6"

oil on board

Another solemn self-portrait! My intention was to paint a slightly happier version but alas here I am again looking stern and sombre, a bit like a school ma'am...hmmm you want to try concentrating plus holding a perpetual grin for two hours solid...not an easy task!! There are a couple of adjustments that need to be made to the painting but on the whole I'm not unhappy with it. 

'Two Paintbrushes and a Tube of Raw Sienna'

'Two Paintbrushes and a Tube of Raw Sienna'

6' x 6"

oil on board

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First painting of the year! A painting about painting! At present, painting for me is about the craft, the materials and honing my skills. In the recent months I have gone back to basics, working from observation taking subjects from the immediate world around me and rekindling my passion for paint. It is very satisfying making a painting that describes the subject in front of you, and at the same time tells a story of the abstract elements within the composition. It goes without saying the importance of the relationship between shape, colour and tone of the subject. But equally important is the consideration of the division of space within the picture plane and the shapes and patterns that the composition is making in relation to it.  

I would like to take this opportunity to say thankyou for taking the time to look at my art. 2013 will see many more paintings and I hope you will enjoy following my progress.

Below are details of my next Life Drawing Workshop for which I still have lots of places left (I'm usually almost full by now...maybe it's post-Christmas lethargy!)

Sunday 13th January 2013

10.30am - 4.30pm

The Village Hall 

Sturton by Stow

LN1 2AE

Cost is at the bargain price of £20!!!

If you are able to make it that would be fab! It would be great to see you there! 

Please contact me asap if you would like to reserve a place.

'Mince Pie and Coffee'

'Mince Pie and Coffee'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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I seem to have eaten more than my fair share of festive mince pies just recently! For the last couple of weeks we've managed to munch our way through quite a number in our 'run up to Christmas' classes! So I thought it appropriate that I should make a painting of the humble but very traditional mince pie! I spent an hour and a half on the painting Wednesday afternoon and finished it this afternoon (no painting yesterday as I finally went Christmas shopping having decided that I couldn't procrastinate any longer!) I'm happy with the painting and at last am becoming used to painting on a small scale. It's been tough to acclimatise to scaling down as my natural way of working has always been large (at one time I was working to the scale of 12' x 4'.) But making small work has alot going for it, it's fun and not so precious as it's quicker to make and therefore you're always moving on to the next piece...and that means more practise and more practise means of course faster progress.  

If you're celebrating this weekend, have fun!!

'Pomegranate and Fork'

'Pomegranate and Fork'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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Phew...this one took all my powers of concentration! The inside of pomegranates is something I'm not that familiar with and on cutting it open I realised just how complicated it is! But...oh so beautiful! Literally crammed with colour and pattern. I hope I've done it justice. 

'Spotted Umbrella with Apple'

'Spotted Umbrella with Apple'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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Sadly I have to say goodbye to my lovely spotted umbrella :( It has without a doubt seen better days. But I must say, it has served me well. (Thinking back to the water-logged non-summer just gone it's no wonder it's worn out!)  I'm happy with the painting. It's the first one I've made using my new shadow box. The box keeps the light constant so it's now not a race against time as the light moves round or disappears altogether! 

Photo without glare!

'Baubles in a Dish'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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As promised here is a shot of yesterday's painting without the glare of the artificial lamp light. I took this one in natural light although I was still restricted to photographing indoors as the teeming rain prohibited me from taking the painting out of doors which is where I prefer to photograph work. 

By the way...there were some very interesting pieces emerging from the class this morning. Can't wait to see how they develop next week! 

Green Apple with Jug...and Poinsettia!

'Green Apple with Jug'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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Today I made a little alteration to this painting and added some leaves of a Poinsettia. I kept noticing the empty space above the jug and felt that there was something missing in the painting. I adore Poinsettias for their colour...and the magical touch of its red brings the painting alive. 

'Green Apple with Jug'

'Green apple with Jug'

6" x 6"

oil on board

I'm always impressed by the 'greenness' of Granny Smith apples, it makes them look so fresh. I used burnt sienna as a ground colour which still peeps through in places and helps to bring warmth to the painting and I introduced lemon yellow back into my palette to capture the cool greens of the apple. The uncropped 'duo' of objects standing alone and isolated from each other seems to work in this piece.  

'Turquoise and Blue'

'Turquoise Bracelet on a Blue Cloth'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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My painting for today...'Turquoise Bracelet on a Blue Cloth'. In this painting I was exploring the 'clash' of the blues. My camera hasn't quite picked up the full contrast of the warmth of the blue of the cloth against the coolness of the turquoise. It's an intriguing colour combination because although there is a definite 'clash' between the blues, at the same time, they also each enhance the richness of the other. 

A tricky painting!

'Tea and a Chocolate Digestive'

oil on board

6" x 6"

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Staying with the 'food' theme, I began this painting yesterday and finished it this afternoon. I have to tell you though that it turned out to be a tricky painting. Why is it some pieces go like a dream and some are just...well, plain argumentative! Yesterday the plant pot was white, but I concluded today that the painting was too white and I changed the colour of the pot to pink which I'm now satisfied with. So here you have it, 'Tea and a Chocolate Digestive'...how very British!

Homemade plum jam!

'Plum Jam'

6" x 6"

oil on board

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This gorgeous plum jam was a gift from a neighbour...yes, another gift! I know, I'm very lucky to have such kind neighbours who provide me with lovely things to eat AND subject matter to paint! I don't think I've mentioned this before but at the moment (the last four paintings) I'm using a much reduced palette of Cadmium red, cadmium yellow, ultramarine blue and titanium white and I'm surprised at how little I have to compromise on colour. Before I begin a painting I mix a lump of bistre (very dark grey). This is useful as a base for greys (particularly useful for flesh colours) as it can be adjusted easily towards warm or cool grey. It can also be added to a mix to mute or darken the colour. I would recommend exploring a very limited palette as you are forced to push the pigments to their limit, so you learn alot and quickly.

Just to change the subject... I would like to thank the ladies in my class today for working so hard with the project I set. We were working with tonal values matching colour to tone and they were sticking, cutting out, collaging...there were some very successful results so well done to all!

'Sasha on the beach' small version

6" x 6"

oil on board

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Remember in an earlier posting I mentioned that I was thinking of making a very small version of a 48" x 48" painting? Well...here it is! I painted it this morning. It was an interesting exercise as it was like working in reverse of the conventional way, by making the final outcome first and the prep study second. And of course, this little version was very, very much quicker to execute than the larger version! 

Sasha and Doug at the exhibition

'At the Show'

oil on board

6" x 6"

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This is a painting of my daughter and husband made from a photo that I took with my phone camera at the exhibition opening last week at Gallery at St Martin's. It was a great evening with a great turnout. The wine kept flowing and needless to say a merry time was had by all! Thanks to all those of you who came along and who helped to make it such a successful evening. And thanks too to the other artists in the exhibition Janis Mitchell, Jo Slone, Jenny Hammerton and Carol Butler...it was a pleasure to 'hang' alongside you! 
Getting back to the painting...this is the smallest figure painting I have attempted but I'm happyish with the outcome and plan to do more as I enjoyed introducing a bit of narrative into the work. There was quite alot to include in the composition. I wanted to keep it painterly and on such a small scale it became even more about mark-making and the old adage that I'm always spouting in my classes, 'less is more'. 

'Self-Portrait August 2012'

oil on board

6" x 6"

This is the smallest portrait I have ever attempted and it went better than I expected. By the way, I'm not always so glum! It's the concentration! The good thing about self-portraits is that you don't have to worry about whether the sitter is happy with the outcome, you can paint the truth warts and all! And another advantage is that the sitter is always available when the artist is! At the moment I'm thinking that I might have to darken the left side of the face a little more but I will look at it again tomorrow morning. For now, it's time for pasta!

'Peaches in Morning Light'

oil on board

6" x 6"

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The halved peach had begun to go squidgy and when I cut it open it had started to discolour inside. It was an interesting grey green colour in places, so instead of eating it I painted it. Tomorrow I am looking through my work and selecting pieces for the two group shows I'm involved in, both of which run in September. I'll post the exhibition details nearer the time.