am-art

Charcoal Jug

2012-01-28T18:31:00.003+03:00

Charcoal on Rives.

Charcoal Pot

2011-11-07T23:29:00.001+03:00

Working with charcoal to revitalise a flagging artistic spirit.

Meadow

2011-07-17T17:44:00.004+03:00

Meadows bordered with trees, filled with wild flowers, the warmth of the sun and smell of grass filling the air - my idea of heaven!

Getting to Grips

2011-06-26T16:18:00.005+03:00

Amazed to find myself painting for the second time in one week - this is beginning to become a habit! Its so nice to wake up in the morning and find myself really looking forward to working on something.

“It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”

Old Chinese Proverb

Landscape

2011-06-23T18:36:00.006+03:00

Oil on Canvas, 16" x 16"

Finding my feet, slowly .....................

Trying to learn to be patient, not only with the paint, but also with myself. Suffering from that one two steps forward, one step back but hoping that taking it slowly will bring greater rewards.

Trees as usual causing me heartache.

"Patience is the companion of wisdom."

Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)

June and Another Month Gone and a New Blog

2011-06-09T16:18:00.003+03:00

So I haven't posted for a month - great excuses coming up - new blog with just sketches on (so I have been posting, just not here), been on holiday for a week in Bavaria (gorgeous) and I have been preparing for a new piece coming up which is a bit like climbing a mountain!

A Year? Already? Well, almost!

2011-05-18T18:52:00.007+03:00

"Pestle and Mortar"
Charcoal on Paper

I can't believe it's nearly a year since I last posted on here. I've been suffering from major loss of inspiration and drive but am determined to strap on my pencils/brushes/pastels, climb back into the saddle and face that blank paper/canvas.

The only thing that I have done in the past few months apart is a little vague doodling and reworking of some past paintings.

Baby Boy

2010-08-16T20:10:00.003+03:00

Watercolour on Paper.

A small commission for a friend. Fun to do. Waiting for a verdict before I decide on a background. I find watercolour quite frightening as it feels as if I have little to no control over this medium. As a result I am not as experimental as I would like to be. Terrified of creating a disaster. Would love to be much splashier. Of course not having the environment to splash around in either doesn't help me to be freer with the paint.

On the Horizon

2010-07-19T20:25:00.004+03:00

Continuing my self-portrait exploration.

Its not what I intended but its a step on the way. I need to think more about the concept before I start instead of just diving in. I'd really like to say more about me, the person I am, my dreams, possibly with a quirk of humour hidden among the messages. Still maybe this says more than I thought ............

Self-portrait exploration

2010-05-23T13:18:00.004+03:00

pencil on paper

The self portrait is an exercise that so many artists seem to undertake and much as has been written about the self-portrait. It is said of good portraits that they speak about the sitter in some way. I read recently that there is a bond between artist and his subject yet in many instances they have only just met and at best the artist will only know the person superficially. Yet with the self-portrait, the artist is depicting the one person that he/she knows above all others.

I seem to have spent an excessive amount of time staring at myself in the mirror over the last week. There have been moments when I have been reduced to giggles over features that have been the subject of family legend to moments of wondering whether it would be possible to have other parts of my face surgically altered. Mainly this has been no more than an exercise in drawing from life. Not perfect - more practice required!

I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. Frida Kahlo

Eggs

2010-05-12T09:19:00.004+03:00

Pastel on paper

A small part of our household goods arrived last week including my pastels, some paints, panels and paper. Great delight to be reunited with them, followed by a more than a little trepidation and procrastination. There is only so much alternative living (where you do the alternative rather than doing what you are supposed to be doing) you can do before you have to bite the bullet and get down to it.

Egg studies - to get my feet wet with colour. The deceptively simple shape of eggs provides complex possibilities for colour, shadows and light, reflections, warm and cool tones.

The Eyes have It

2010-05-05T09:25:00.003+03:00

Charcoal on Rives

It's been a while since I posted on this blog but 7 months of living in a hotel room was a little stifling of artistic inspiration. We are settled for the next three years in Frankfurt, Germany. Great sigh of relief to be back in Europe and out of harm's way. Still limited in art materials as all my "stuff" is still on route from Pakitan via Bangladesh! Long story! Still I do have charcoal and paper.

I have a couple of ideas brewing for major projects and as I let those take form I am doodling and these eyes are a product of those doodles.

One of the joys of being back in civilisation is finding a wonderful art store and have been told of another that is supposed to be even better. On a short drive out from the city, the landscape already looked promising in terms of subject matter. The brilliant acid yellows of the rape seed flowers were

New Photo Blog

2010-01-01T23:16:00.007+03:00

I decided to set myself a project for the new year - though I wasn't really sure what form it would take. The New Year dawned early for me, in time to catch the new dawn and with it came my idea of doing a photo a day blog and at the end of the year I will compile all the photos into a book.

Please stop by to visit my new blog A Photo A Day

Shades of Autumn

2009-10-26T21:59:00.005+03:00

Benefits of being stalled in Washington is getting to experience autumn for the first time in several years. Amazing colours everywhere (enhanced by great sunglasses!) - dark reds, dusky pinks, brilliant oranges, acid yellows, purples and many shades of green from lime to darkest evergreens.

Room with a View

2009-10-22T14:43:00.005+03:00

Its been a long time since I have posted anything - usual hiatus between postings when I am without my art materials. We are on the move - leaving Islamabad, Pakistan in early August and are currently in the States before going on to our new post.

The extended stay in the States sent me out to the art store to buy some supplies for something to do.

The view from our hotel room is of a street lined with trees and high rise buildings. The sun strikes the buildings on the right side of the street late in the afternoon, with shadows cast across the street from the trees.

Recommended Show

2009-09-25T23:13:00.003+03:00

Landscape with a Modern Edge
Group Show

Opening Reception at the Newberry Gallery in Santa Monica

Saturday Evening, Oct 17, 2009
7 - 10 pm

Hefferlin, Fort Apache Reservation, 2009, oil on archival board

Melissa Hefferlin
Robin Purcell
William Wray
Daud Akhriev
Michael Newberry
Cathey Cadieux
David Scherrer

Landscape with a Modern Edge is a show of paintings, watercolors, photos, and pastels by contemporary artists expressing their unique visions through rethinking the landscape. Fresh color harmonies, modern subject matter, and inventive compositions are the themes guiding the selection for the show.

Little Owl

2009-07-16T15:06:00.004+03:00

One of the few pleasures here has been the gardens - not only the beautiful trees and bamboo but also the birds that live there. There are dozens of kites (types of eagle/hawk) to be seen daily circling lazily in the sky or perched along the roof, the brilliant lime green parrots who seem to always be in pairs when in flight or up to a dozen at a time perched in the trees. Some tiny little black feathered birds who sing with amazing volume for such a little creature. Crows by the millions and enough to invoke memories of "The Birds". In the spring there were what appeared to be a flock of butterflies - what is the grouping for butterflies? - that turned out to be miniature birds (measuring about an inch in height) by the dozen, flitting between shrubs.

And this little owl that we discovered on one of our after lunch strolls around the gardens. Today I finally remembered to bring in my camera and he posed nicely for me. My lens really wasn't up to the job but even so these came out better than I hoped considering. This little man lives high in a hollow in a tree with his wife and family and usually stands guard against the tree, his feathers so perfectly camouflaging him against the bark that you can only really see him if he moves his head or blinks his big eyes. On tiptoes he might just measure 6 inches!

Backboard

2009-07-15T18:43:00.003+03:00

I haven't posted anything for months - been in a hiatus. Working on tweaking a number of pieces by "warping the negative space" and finding the method extremely interesting.

The Backboard is one piece that I have produced - somewhat more graphic than my previous pieces. I was drawn to the shadows and shapes here more than anything.

We are back to that time of year with another move looming - 22 days till we get out of here and I can't wait. The summer has been very hot with temperatures ranging from 100 to 116 degrees. The monsoon was supposed to arrive last week and as yet has not shown itself. Its like nature is waiting for it to arrive - all the trees are stressed beyond belief, the leaves are curling and grass has shriveled and burnt ochre in the sun. News from India is of only 25% of the normal rainfall and the fear is that the rain just wont get here.

Vertical Limits - Charcoal

2009-05-24T11:00:00.003+03:00

I've been rather tied up with a lot of stuff lately but have been working away slowly at this charcoal - a version of Vertical Limits that I did in pastels when we were in Saudi Arabia. Its been nice getting back to the subtlety of tonal values.

Seeing Red

2009-05-05T15:27:00.005+03:00

Still playing with the red paper and reflections in the glass topped table. Using red paper has been a real test for me, pushes your way of thinking way of center and away from what you thought stood true.

I've just ordered some other coloured papers and it will be interesting to see how they are to work with. I am particularly looking forward to using the green.

Shadowy Corners

2009-05-03T10:25:00.005+03:00

pastel on paper
I have been in an artistic ditch for a while but hoping that is past now and that I am back into the groove.
This was quite fun to do and I limited myself just to catching the way the light fell and not letting myself get too caught up in the extraneous details outside of the light.
The time off since my last post has given me space to think about artwork in general. Some decisions made about what I am aiming for and my enjoyment in creating which I was in danger of losing.

Red Paper

2009-03-31T12:24:00.003+03:00

I haven't posted for quite a while - suffering with daily headaches has dammed my artistic flow somewhat.

I fell in love with some pastels that Michael Newberry did on red paper and as I had some in store its been kind of lurking out there that I might play with this a little. This is my first attempt. It was really hard to think of red as being my darkest colour when the objects I was using had no red in them at all. Definitely a new way of thinking. I really liked the way this came together and the abstract forms in the composition.

Rear View Mirror

2009-03-17T17:04:00.005+03:00

Core of a Rose, graphite on paper, 4" x 4"

Its funny how when you look back at work you did years ago a lot of it makes you cringe but other pieces still feel right. This piece leaped out at me recently because I have been thinking about abstracts and expressionism increasingly. I have to admit I am now really enjoying colour but monochrome still has a real magic for me - especially in photography.

Determined to get back to some serious work over the next couple of days after suffering a block in my creative urge.

Pansies

2009-03-14T09:20:00.003+03:00

Had a great time early one morning when I arrived at work taking photos of these pansies. I think pansies are the most endearing flowers, they seem to have little faces. Pansies are typically only about 4 - 8 inches tall which meant grovelling at ground level on very heavily dew-laden grass (I had muddy knees all day!). Fortunately not many people arrive at work as early as I do or I would have been very embarrassed! The last picture was an accident but I love the way it came out - extremely overexposed. It's almost like a watercolour. The second last is the same flower at the correct exposure. Now I would like to try and get this sort of effect on purpose.

Jeanette in Watercolour

2009-03-12T16:00:00.005+03:00

My second try at Jeanette in watercolour (the first while I was happy with the my application of paint was not quite right proportionally) - I am a total novice with this medium and find its unpredictablity both delightful and confounding at the same time. This is only my third portrait in watercolour (the first is here) if you include my first attempt on this particular one and I'm quite pleased with how I am getting on with the medium.

I'd love to have a go at pours as mentioned by Billie Crain and demonstrated by Nick Simmons. One thing that really appeals to me about this kind of use of the medium is the freedom and dynamic quality to painting. I find myself leaning more and more to a more expressionistic way of painting.

Happy to say that I sold "Strawberry Cheesecake" this week. Interesting that I had just had some notecards printed and was showing them to a colleague and she bought the painting from seeing it on a notecard. A marketing technique?

Springtime

2009-03-10T09:54:00.002+03:00

As promised some spring photos - didn't spend much time taking these, would have liked to have much longer but was lucky enough to catch the bumble bee making his rounds. The blossom is just about to come out on the citrus trees so there will be more pictures of that when it opens. I need to take a telephoto lens in too because there is one tree that I can't get close enough to take photos of the flowers but with the telephoto lens I might be able to get some closer shots.

Jeanette

2009-03-05T15:18:00.004+03:00

March's offering to the portrait group to which I belong is a portrait of Jeanette, wonderful and talented artist, printmaker and maker of delicious jewellery. Not sure how much more I will do to this, maybe a little tweaking. Seeing it here I wonder if I have her nose at the right angle. Trying to decide if I might experiment a little and try a watercolour version.

Spring is well underway here in Pakistan - I'm taking my camera with me tomorrow to take pictures of the lovely flowers and blossom that is bursting out all over. I even have sweet peas flowering in my garden which seems very odd to me as in England they are a summer flower. The bottle brush trees are starting to bloom and I expect that next week they will be totally covered in flowers.

Finding a Path

2009-03-01T18:32:00.005+03:00

7ft x 4ft, ink on paper

February was a bad month for me - shoulder injury stopped me in my creative tracks and I have been finding it hard to get back in the groove now that I have some mobility back. I am determined though that March will see me back in full production and experimenting with new ideas, direction and projects.

One thing that came to me in the quiet moments this month was that I was in danger of forgetting why I was doing art - and that is because I love it and its fun. I really don't want to lose the fun of it and I think I need to get the play and experimentation back to get the joy back.

Robin Neudorfer has been feeding me sites that have lots on how to get the creative mojo flowing (thank you Robin) and many have amused me as they are me to a T.

Here are a couple of them - worth a read if you are in not leaping out of bed in the morning ready to be creative.

Get off your butt - 16 ways to get motivated when you are in a slump

7 tried and true ways to stifle your creativity

I have one lovely thing to keep me going for the next few months and that is being part of a sketchbook exchange. I am really excited to be a part of this with 8 other artists from around the world. More of that in days to come, I am sure.

The Road not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

...Robert Frost

Herbaceous Borders

2009-02-22T18:08:00.005+03:00

4" x 4", coloured pencil

Painting the Forth Bridge

2009-02-20T12:55:00.004+03:00

The Forth Bridge is a cantilever bridge that stretches over the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The story goes that painting it is never-ending - as soon as one coat is finished the maintenance crew goes back to the beginning and starts all over again. I begin to feel the same way about this painting. The back wall is still too warm, I need to cool it down to push it back especially on the right side.

Doodling through Recovery

2009-02-18T09:49:00.005+03:00

Doodling, nothing serious. Been out for the count in a drug induced stupor for over a week. Trying not to overdo it and set back shoulder recovery.

Lake Reflection

2009-02-11T10:57:00.009+03:00

I've been considering ordering new canvases or panels - can't decide between the two. I have to start thinking about this long before I run out because or the time it takes for things to arrive. The question then raised some others in my mind. What sizes to order? Typically I paint on square or pretty normally proportioned canvases. But I am also drawn to oddly proportioned canvases - the long and skinny ones. I have come to the conclusion that the subject dictates the proportions of the canvas/panel that you use. I do wonder if more experienced artists have a permanent collection of differing sized panels and canvases - what sort of expense does that entail? I daresay its much easier when you have a ready source and can just buy a few at a time but with delays in postage I really have to buy at least a couple of dozen at once. I know I said that already - the postage delay thing.

So panels or canvas? I really like the boing factor of canvas, the spring back. But I do begin to think that I would be better off working on panels at least for smaller pieces. I have studied what is available on the market and am somewhat swamped by the choices - wood panels, gessoboard, linen covered panels, cotton canvas covered - both wooden and hardboard - the choices are endless! In my student days we used hardboard, nailed to a wooden cradle, sanded lightly with a fine sandpaper and primed with acrylic paint. One artist that I have been studying lately uses unprimed canvas and she stretches them over hardboard after the painting is completed. And Bonnard used to stick unstretched canvas on the walls and painted a number of pieces at one time (his methods are very interesting and worth reading about). I still haven't come to a conclusion about what to do. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Old Seascape

2009-02-09T14:29:00.005+03:00

Seascape, acrylic on panel (seriously old piece!)

I may not be creating but I have got down to a number of things on my admin list (getting good at one hand typing!).
Ordered business cards with image on one side and name, website and email address on the other.
Also postcards and greeting cards.

A number of people have suggested I try left-handed work (I am very right-handed) and as I am going to have some extra time. Might turn out that I work better that way. Doodled an apple this afternoon in CP, discovered that I can't even draw a straight line , so "colouring" was decidedly outside the lines! I think abstract might work a little better! MRI results were severe bruising, ordered to rest it completely. Hopefully will be a fast recovery.

THANK YOU to everyone for your good wishes.

Injured

2009-02-08T17:29:00.003+03:00

No art today - I've done something excruciatingly painful to my shoulder (the right one, my painting arm of course!) and now have my arm in a sling. I'd like to say that it was doing something extraordinary, but it wasn't - just taking laundry out of the washing machine. My husband says I should try painting with my left hand. Who knows what that will look like! Maybe I will start a whole new trend!

Lots of time to read now, catch up with blogs. And no excuse on not doing computer based work like ordering business cards, postcards and the like. Though typing one hand is a little tedious.

Captive Light

2009-02-07T06:12:00.007+03:00

pastel on paper

I was struck by the shadows from the bars at the windows. The light that came through the glass was much cooler than the light that came through the open door.

Linda Blondheim gave me this blog award - Big smile! I really enjoy Linda's blog. Her honesty about her art experiences is without any pretense. She shares her experiences and problems with such generosity. Thank you Linda!

I'm supposed to tell you 7 things I love

1. I love artists who willingly share their experiences so others can learn.
2. I love chocolate.
3. I love my family - across the world, from England to the USA, Australia to Iraq.
4. I love this glorious planet with its amazing sights and colours.
5. I love the seaside - empty beaches with rolling waves.
6. I love to create.
7. I love to a good cup of tea.

Did manage to do a couple of things on my list today and am going to do another one as soon as I finish this post. Nice to feel some of my weekend tasks are accomplished. Of course the ironing is yet to be done. I've taken to listing my tasks in the smallest steps that way I don't feel that I have failed to do something because I didn't complete the whole thing. Baby steps make miracles!

People Sketches and Sketching

2009-02-06T18:52:00.007+03:00

Some sketches of people. I have to admit that I tend towards pictures that don't have any people in them. But I do quite enjoy sketching people - especially when they have their backs to me! I'm a people watcher, nothing like sitting in busy places like airports and city centers watching people hustling and bustling about.

Someone gave me this photo they had taken of me sketching out in the gardens. bad repro as my scanner is not connected and I had to take a photo of the photo!

Weekend tomorrow and lots of work planned.
1. Hoping to play with the new pastels and do some painting too - plein air if the sun is shining.
2. Need to order some panels (decisions to be made over which sort to get - input welcomed) and a wet canvas carrier too.
3. Admin time too - no escaping that.
4. Also need to think about a sketchbook for the sketchbook exchange I have joined. To make a homemade one or to buy one? Another question!

That will do for a start.

Happy Friday everyone!

Other Loves

2009-02-05T20:38:00.007+03:00

I've been blog reading today instead of creating - that and designing my new house and tidying my "studio".
I'm taking Katherine's "thinking is work" to heart. I've a number of ideas going on in my mind and I'm trying to decide how to bring them to fruition.

This bamboo grows in the lower part of the compound at work. I am a keen gardener (job of my dreams would be to be a landscape gardener in the style of Diarmuid Gavin - the Brit readers of this may know him). And bamboo is one of my favourite plants, it is incredibly sculptural and can add structure while retaining an untameable quality. It grows like a weed (preferably plant it in a container sunk into the ground to contain its roots) - and comes in many shapes, colours and sizes. There are two different ones here that I have seen - one that is yellow and has green stripes on it that look like paint dribbles . And this one which grows to about 50ft high and was so fat that I could not encircle one stem with both hands!

Another love of mine is needlework. I have been sewing as long as I have been painting. I remember making dolls clothes when I was 6 using the scraps from a dress my mother made me. I also embroider and have long wanted to learn long and short embroidery. I started this iris on a scrap piece of fabric. Now of course I wish I had done it on something better! Still its good practice. You use several colours of 6 strand embroidery silk and start with 2 strands of one colour and then when you move to the next you use one strand of your first colour and one strand of your second. And then the next shade will be two strands of your second and so it goes until you have a very subtle change of colours like shading with paint.

New Pastels

2009-02-03T18:58:00.006+03:00

Half of my birthday present arrived today - yes I know its late but better late than never. A lovely box of hard pastels. I just love the way these colours all look in the box. Now I have to figure out how to use them! I've read some interesting techniques lately and I want to experiment a little an see how they work for me. Not sure if what I want to do will work with Mi Teintes paper I'm going to have fun playing! Also received a couple of new colours to add to my oil paint collection - mineral violet and quinacridone gold.

Transport for getting around work - if you are too lazy to walk!

There was a feeling of spring in the air here today. Though there was a slight ground frost this morning by lunchtime it was lovely and sunny and wonderfully warm without being too hot. Its amazing how nice weather can put a smile on your face. Several locals were out gathering firewood. There is a lot of development near work and they were out collecting up the chopped down branches and piling them into huge mounds and tying them onto the back racks of their bicycles. Down by the river people were out doing their washing and draping the wet clothes over the branches of trees that lean over the water. Cars were lined up being washed. The batting nets were up and cricket practice was in full swing - I've never seen two or three games being played in such a small area! I wonder if the outfielders get muddled as to which ball they are supposed to be playing with! On our street business was as usual - a policemen praying on the pavement, his washing draped on the guy ropes of his tent. Neighbours sitting on their haunches, drinking tea and passing the time of day. Boys kicking a football on the street, guards leaning against the walls, their weapons slung over their shoulders.

Bedside

2009-02-02T15:26:00.004+03:00

pastel on paper

I have mentioned several times recently my struggle with trees. Admittedly in paint and a desire to make a recognisable painterly tree. Today Jeff Smith posted these really wonderful trees on his blog in pastel.

Staircase

2009-02-01T18:54:00.005+03:00

I've had one of those really frustrating days - had a list made of things to do - managed to do two of them. HUGE pile of ironing done including all the sheets! And I ordered my supply of walnuts and brazil nuts from my favourite supplier. Apart from that nothing done on my list.

Could not get myself motivated to do any art at all ................. well, I started several things. thought about a lot of things and did nothing at all. I've got a number of ideas brewing and as a result can't decide what to start with.

One thing I have been thinking about is having a separate blog for my sketches. I can't decide whether this would be a good thing or not.

Poolside

2009-01-31T17:42:00.006+03:00

Today was plein air day - I ummd and ahhd as to whether to go and was given the push by my husband. Had a lot of fun - time flies painting outside!

I really wanted to try painting with a limited palette but I am not sure that I succeeded. I still had way too many colours on my palette! cadmium Yellow light and medium, cadmium red light, alizarin, ultramarine, white and sap green. I regretted not having my favourite payne's grey or black. And no I didn't do a colour study! But I did do a value study. Not so sure how accurately I kept to that as I was just really aware of how fast the shadows were moving.

Colour Studies

2009-01-30T18:01:00.003+03:00

Colour studies, 3" x 2"

I really begin to see the value of colour studies the more I do of these especially if you are wanting to become more painterly, as I am. By working small it reduces the amount of detail you can include. I like the idea of giving enough information to the viewer for them to recognise what they are looking at but leaving enough out that they will have to create whats missing in their own imagination.

Vertigo

2009-01-29T18:33:00.008+03:00

Colour studies, average 3" x 2"

Working on pulling together some ideas that have been bubbling - its going to mean a lot of experimentation and play in order to pull it off. Feeling a bit like stepping off the edge of a cliff as I am not sure how to even start. And I suffer
from vertigo!

Autobiography

2009-01-28T19:02:00.003+03:00

Acrylic on Panel.

In rescuing files on my computer I found this image of a painting I did in my first year in University for a project called "Autobiography".

I've been reading on a couple of blogs about studies and it has echoed what I have been reading in books lately. Without exception they all emphasise the value of doing studies, both value (tonal) studies and colour studies before starting on the painting proper. Personally I find it hard to do a study before I start painting. i just can't wait to get in and paint. I might make a quick pencil sketch to work out composition but that will be it. I would be interested to know how many people do any kind of study before they start painting - particularly plein air.

Rose

2009-01-27T19:52:00.005+03:00

Graphite on paper

I belong to the same portrait group as Jeanette Jobson and she has recently posted her version of Rose. This is mine - I need to tweak the face a little and work on the hand. Bad photo!

Orange and Black

2009-01-26T11:39:00.007+03:00

oil on canvas, 10" x 10"

I've had a lovely day off today - didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped but on your birthday its good just to chill a little! I have been really enjoying doing reflections so thought I would tackle this mug again. I thought lemons were hard to paint but they are not nearly so hard as oranges - who would think that something that has such an incredibly simple shape could be so difficult - way harder than an object with lots of detail. i might go back tomorrow and neutralise the colour in the far orange a little - might be a tiny bit too warm at the moment. Need to sleep on it and see what I think tomorrow. I'm thinking of trying out these setups with the mug in pastel too.

Mixed Set-up

2009-01-25T11:17:00.006+03:00

Pastel on Paper

Normally when I set up a still life I clear everything else out the way. I'm not sure why but I have seldom done a still life with multiple objects. Today I dared myself to just switch on the lamp and draw what was just sitting there. So here you have it. One problem was that my cup of tea was in the foremost mug and having set myself the dare I didn't dare move it to drink the tea! I love that mug - I bought it at the National Gallery of Art in Washingron, DC last summer. Every time I go there I treat myself to something out of the shop - they have wonderful things. This mug says on it "A line is a dot that went for a walk - Paul Klee" (he is one of my favourite artists).

Mt Vernon

2009-01-24T16:47:00.003+03:00

Summer of 2006, a trip to Mt Vernon. There is the most wonderful walled garden - a lovely haphazard garden with a beautiful orangery and this lovely little summer house.
Doing a lot of homework for the ArtBiz course with Alyson Stansfield, assessing directions and options. Also reading an enormous amount on various blogs about marketing and painting theory.
I did update my website today, something that I have set myself to do every month now so that it doesn't get too out of control.
Also considering going back to a working journal for research and experimentation in order to decide on a direction to take my artwork. Beginning to feel that I have been doing a little of too many things and want to find something to concentrate on Time to go back to take a step back and consider what comes next.

Cosy Places

2009-01-23T19:51:00.004+03:00

Just a doodle from my bed.

Virtual Sketch Date - Peeled Tangerine

2009-01-22T20:03:00.006+03:00

This is this months Virtual Sketch Date image How many media can you put in one sketch? Started with graphite but I didn't like it - so I added some colour pencil and then some watercolour and finally a little pen! It was nice to take a day off serious painting and just sit in front of the TV and doodle.

Also I doodled some tools my husband has lying around (he's rebuilding computers after he blew up my PC) and particularly liked the adjustable spanner (wrench). I love hardware stores - especially the power tool section. I've always wanted a router - with all the extras. What an amazing piece of hardware! One of my ambitions is to learn to make a dovetail joint, but the traditional way, no power tools. Do you have a secret ambition?

Jefferson Memorial

2009-01-21T20:49:00.010+03:00

Oil on Canvas, 8" x 8"

My first contribution to the "Different Strokes from Different Folks" Blog run by Karin Jurick. I've been looking at this image for a week or so, ummming and aaaaahing about whether to try it out. I have to admit that its not an image that I would normally paint. But it is one of my favourite DC monuments and that probably swayed my decision. I had planned to paint it last night but an inauguration got in the way and by the time that was over it was nearly midnight so I had to put it off a day!

I approached Katherine Tyrrell at Making a Mark for help on blogging and selling art on the internet and she very kindly agreed to give me some advice which is in the form of a new blog! (No not just for me but for everyone!) I am sure that her advice and the links she gives us are going to be very interesting and I for one plan to make it a regular part of my day to devote to marketing and promoting my art sales.

Tony Hart - Thank you!

2009-01-20T15:18:00.005+03:00

The Spinnaker, Portsmouth (got tied up with inauguration viewing today and got no art done!)

A sad day today hearing that one of my childhood heroes had died - Tony Hart. Tony Hart used to present first Vision On, Take Hart and Hart Beat - wonderful art programmes for children on BBC television. One of the highlights was the gallery where Tony showed artwork sent in by children. And of course Morph who helped out - you just had to love that little plasticine character. Very inspirational and I wonder how many artists today owe their start to Tony Hart's encouragement. The link is great and I remember watching that particular episode!

And just for fun. Not sure if this is me at all! "Mischief is your middle name, but your first is friend. You are quite the prankster that loves to make other people laugh."

I am a
Snapdragon

What Flower
Are You?

Four Quarters

2009-01-19T16:04:00.005+03:00

pastel, 25" x 19"

I think this is the end of the road for this poor orange - its beginning to dry out and shrink around the edges!

Three Parts of the Whole

2009-01-18T13:47:00.006+03:00

25" x 19", pastel on paper

I posted this a couple of hours ago and have come back to add a little writing after spending an evening doing research on blogging, feeds (RSS versus Atom), marketing and generally getting tied up in knots not knowing how to make the next step.
A lot of wonderful advice out there:-
Linda Blondheim has some wonderful thoughts about thinking about directions to take in these hard economic times.
Cindy Davis also had some interesting ideas on what artists do wrong.
Beth Hayden runs a blogging workshop and just in her description of her blogging toolkit give great ideas.
Alyson Stansfield is a font of knowledge for marketing strategies for artists (I'm currently taking a course with her and learning heaps especially about what I am not doing that I should be doing!

If anyone has any others to share - please feel free to do so! :-)

Three Quarters Mutiplied by Two

2009-01-17T05:54:00.007+03:00

Pastel, 24" x 16"

Oil on canvas, 10" x 8"
I can see looking at this photo that I need to tone down the rear quarter of orange - the colour is too saturated and brings it foreward.
Both these pieces were fun to do and it was interesting doing the two pieces with different mediums. I really like the way the pastel glows.

Watercolour and Bear

2009-01-16T18:04:00.004+03:00

I'm procrastinating - making phone calls, getting started with painting, studying and while I procrastinate I doodle - watercolour paint tubes and a little teddy bear.

Urban Sketching

2009-01-15T18:15:00.005+03:00

A sketch for today. Sun was shining it was lovely and warm sitting in the sunshine for twenty minutes sketching this. Put the colour in when I got home. Taking a night off oil painting for some admin time. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice studio time for the more practical stuff. I really enjoy the geometric shapes of buildings and the cast shadows that form in hidden recesses.
Where I was sitting is a rose garden and its very odd to find roses blooming in January! I'm hoping to get a couple of blooms to paint this weekend as the weather forecast is not promising for plein air.

Green and Black

2009-01-14T19:01:00.003+03:00

10" x 10", oil on canvas
Tempting fate by putting another apple in this set-up. Quite enjoying playing with green here - never thought I would hear myself say that! More fun with the reflections.

I forgot to say yesterday about how I came by the apples. The wonderful secretary in my office, Maria, bought them for me. Because of security we really are not encouraged to go out shopping and so we rarely get fresh fruit of vegetables. I asked Maria if she could possibly get me some green apples when she went to do her weekly grocery shopping. She told me that her children were fascinated by my wanting them for painting and insisted on helping pick out the best apples. Anything that was not a perfect apple shape was rejected.

On the way to work today we passed a scene that reminded me of how grateful we all should be that have homes and running water in our houses. Men washing in a puddle by the side of the road. I've grown used to the men in the river. This reopened my eyes to the poverty. Its funny how we begin to become blind to things we see on a regular basis. It reminded me of a lecture by a fascinating artist (Sorry I can't remember his name) who had done an installation piece using famous newspaper photos and how at first it seems so horrific and then after you have seen those images over and over again that you become immune to their image.

Black and Green

2009-01-13T18:57:00.005+03:00

10" x 10", oil on canvas
Working with a limited palette of viridian, cadmium yellow light, cobalt blue, alizarin and titanium white. Applying more paint and using a larger brush - the problem as usual was not tweaking with a tiddly brush at the end. I have to get over the idea that all edges have to be neat and tidy, that I'm working toward suggestion more than detail. I read again last night that by leaving a suggestion you engage your viewer more because they have to fill in the gaps. Very pleased with the reflection of the apple in the cup.

York II

2009-01-12T20:06:00.006+03:00

I love reflections in still water, slight ripples disturbing the reflections so they just shimmer.

Trees and Garden

2009-01-11T15:08:00.007+03:00

Today was another study day - studying trees and trying to work out how to paint trees so that they look natural but painterly.
I am struggling with trees. I'm not sure what the answer is but I feel it lies in brushwork and controlling the paint. The learning process goes on.

This morning the sun was shining through under the trees and over our garden wall, highlighting one side of the guardhouse at the front gate. The chairs are where our armed guards sit and have their tea on sunny days. The 18" metal spikes that surround the property are a constant reminder of the security threat, along with the double layer of metal bars on every window

Chocolates

2009-01-10T17:09:00.005+03:00

I did get out to paint plein air today but I have it posted on a private blog for critiquing so just some sketches today of chocolates. I've given myself the evening off practical work for more study and note taking.

I've been carefully studying other artists landscape work and in particular their brushwork. Sargent is a wonderful example of outstanding brushwork. It all seems to be about suggestion and letting the viewer create their own interpretation from the information given. This is the painting of Sargents for which I had been searching (Thank you, Karen, for finding it. Jeanette, the one you gave me is very similar and is as good an example) which shows how he masterfully demonstrates this suggestive quality (I had in particular been drawn to the silverware on the table). One of the books I recently brought says that you should paint according to what your eye sees - if your focus is on one object that is what should have the most detail while the peripheral objects should be more suggestive with only as much detail as is necessary to reveal them as they would appear in your field of vision.

I've also been reading, both in books and on blogs, about minimising the tonal values in a plein air landscape to 4 or at most 5 in an attempt to simplify the landscape. Severtal artists advocate doing a thumbnail tonal value sketch and also a thumbnail colour study. Kevin McPherson (Landscape Painting Inside and Out) suggests using a large brush and doing 2" x 3" thumbnails using the the closest colours to the landscape. Vicki McMurray (Mastering Colour) also suggests colour thumbnails to check the balance of the picture. Both if these, I feel are things I need to include in my practice as I am sure they simplify the actual painting process. Lots to chew over and absorb!

Some wonderful snapshots on my drive in to paint today - the soldier sitting on a chair in a tented camp with towel draped around his shoulders, his friend giving him a haircut and there were boys playing cricket in our street, the wickets set up either end of a very short "22 yards" were concrete blocks!

Chiquitas Cosiendo

2009-01-09T15:49:00.008+03:00

10" x 10", oil on canvas

I took the reference photo for this painting at Valle de Bravo in Mexico after we had been to see the Monarch butterfly migration (Unbelievable sight!). These two young girls were dressed in traditional dresses and sitting in the dappled shade of the trees, embroidering. I have to admit that I am not normally drawn to pictures with people in and this would not normally be something that I would paint under any circumstances. But yesterday in the absence of having done any sketching from life, I sketched from this. When I came home from work this evening I was totally exhausted and had to push myself to my easel. Having already produced a tonal drawing I thought I was already halfway to the painting and so I set off on yet another experiment. And here we are. I bore in mind all that I had read lately about distances being thin transparent layers and foreground being thicker opague paint.

The weekend and another promise to myself that if the sun is shining I WILL be painting plein air! I need to dig out some warm socks and jacket because it was decidedly nippy this afternoon and if I had been anywhere else I would have said there was snow in the air. The driver did tell me that there is over a foot of snow where his family lives in the Himalayan foothills.

After lunch my husband and I usually take a stroll around the compound and enjoy the lovely gardens and trees, taking a few minutes from our desks. On several past weekends he has told me about some green parrots with long tails that he has seen in eucalyptus trees near his office and as I had not seen them I began to tease him, telling him he was hallucinating. Today, on our stroll, I saw them from a distance as they flew off, a shimmering emerald green in the sunlight. We have wonderful birds here - there are always kites and hawks flying around (one that stands guard on top of the main building), hoopoes that remind me of my childhood in Kenya, and many other birds that I had not seen before. I've yet to see any wild animals, unless you can count the cows that meaner freely down the main roads!

Revisiting Missouri

2009-01-08T14:21:00.006+03:00

I came back to this reference today to put into practice some things that I have been reading about. Slightly different crop this time. I'm much happier with this version and feel that I am beginning to make a breakthrough with bringing my foregrounds forward and pushing back the background. The tree also seems to have more substance and I feel a lot happier about its structure. Sketching priorities for the next few days is to do some work on trees. I am also very happy that there is a feeling of early evening to this piece. I do need to work on my brushstrokes more, looking at other artist's work I'm aware of what a difference the use of different strokes makes to a piece.

I've been trying to find a picture by Sargent that I had seen a while back (dining table with silver dishes on it) - if anyone knows the one I mean I would be very grateful if you could give me a URL. Its been driving me crazy not being able to find it!

New Year's Resolution 8 - Practice techniques.

White on white

2009-01-07T10:22:00.014+03:00

10" x 10" (Lousy photo I am afraid, despite my best efforts and it being daylight)
Another experiment - battled with this - but its definitely an improvement on my last try of white on white. I can see that I am having problems with the deepest shadows. My instinct tells me they are the same but looking at the image I am not so sure they can be. Determinedly not using tiddly brushes in an attempt to keep loose. I can see that this is going to be one of those subjects that I keep coming back to, even if only to see how I have improved.

Today is the start of Alyson Stanfield's Blast Off course that I have signed up for. Robin Neudorfer gave me the link and after a lot of arguing with myself I decided to bite the bullet and see what I can learn to get my artwork out into the public arena. I'm determined that this year is going to be a breakthrough year.

New Year's Resolution 7 - Take every opportunity presented this year.

Two Pairs

2009-01-06T20:19:00.006+03:00

6" x 8", oil on canvas.
Today I did some colour studies. Single Japanese pear place on red, blue, green and yellow ground. I was aware that I got less and less loose with each one - maybe doing them all in one session was pushing it a little. It was really interesting to see the different colours that appear on the pear. The pear itself is a very pale creamy yellow and reflected the ground colours beautifully. The red was seriously in your face - nothing subtle going on here and the glow on the pear was brilliant. The blue fabric is a pale coeruleum pashmina with touches of pale lilac and paler turquoise and the pear shadow hues became much more subtle and soft. For the yellow I used a yellow top - quite a bright yellow - and the pear was almost camouflaged on it. The shadows seemed much darker though than they had on the blue. Finally for the green I used an olivey green sweater as my ground but in the light it became quite a golden colour and it seems like its only in the background that it shows as green. The shadows and lights were much cooler with only touches of warmth showing on the edges of the pear and at the stem. Interesting exercise and I learnt a lot. They look pretty cool all together too! I'm beginning to feel much more confident about moving the paint around the canvas and doing wet in wet. Another step forward!

New Year's Resolution 6 - Make notes of lessons learned.

Today was extremely chilly and there was frost on the ground - the first frost I have seen in years! All the locals were wrapped in their blanket/shawls and when my husband asked the driver why they wear blankets and not jackets, his response was that jackets are much more expensive at ................ $8.50 whereas a blanket/shawl costs only $3 or $4 and is much more useful because you can also wrap it around your head and across your mouth like a scarf as well as it covering your body and your hands. A jacket, however, only covers your arms and body. The soldiers guarding the road outside the Pakistani Parliament were dressed in greatcoats similar to the ones that used to be worn by British soldiers, their hands shoved deep in the pockets and then scarves wrapped around their heads, like a ladies headscarf, with their berets perched on top, kalashnikovs slung across their shoulders. Quite a picture.

One thing that is noticeable here is how few overweight people you see. They are also small. I am only 5' 5", very average for the western world, and here I am an amazon woman and tower over all but one person in my office!

Genalgualcil

2009-01-05T16:00:00.004+03:00

Genalguacil is another of those gorgeous Andalucian pueblos blancos and an artists dream. Within this small village is an amazing art community who show their work throughout the village and once or twice a year hold an exhibition with their studios open to the public. I've not been fortunate enough to have been there at that time but my mother tells me its a delight! When you walk through this archway you come to a wonderful open plaza in front of the church and, if my memory serves me well, the view from here goes all the way to Morocco across the straits of Gibraltar. (Sorry for lousy photo - will retake in daylight on Wednesday).

The more I paint white the more I want to explore it - the different shades you can achieve and still create some very subtle difference. Just looking at my palette after one of these paintings shows the wonder of white. There is such an incredible subtlety and depth in areas that are close in value but shimmer with colour. The trick is in keeping the colours clean and not muddying them - now that I would like to learn! Doing the pastels has really helped in being able to see those differences in areas that at first look like they are one plane of colour but on closer inspection dissolved into multiple hues.

New Year Resolution 5 - explore areas of interest.

York

2009-01-04T09:18:00.006+03:00

Today just a sketch - from York.

My father was a champion clay pigeon shooter - he won competitions the world over. He had a theory that anyone could hit the first clay - the action was instinctive. He said that after that it would all fall apart because you would try to think about what you had done and repeat it and but the results were invariably a miss. From that point you had to learn how to shoot. I think that this also applies to painting, at least for me. On successful days its intstinct - I don't think about what I am doing, I just apply the paint. The problem arises the next painting when I try to think what I did the last time and repeat the prescription and it just doesn't work. Either the mood is different or the change in subject matter changes how I react. Today was one of the days when I tried to recreate whatever it was that worked yesterday and just couldn't quite capture it.

Back to work tomorrow and dreading it. I've had the most wonderful 10 days at home, painting and doing artistic research. I'm going to try and do sketches in my lunch half-hour (weather permitting) and come home ready to paint.

New Year's Resolution 4 - Sketch regularly.

Bowl of Sunshine

2009-01-03T15:08:00.021+03:00

oil on canvas, 20" x 16"

I had all sorts of intentions today to go and paint plein air. I spent at least an hour yesterday evening packing up watercolours, brushes (both oil and watercolour0 pencils, drawing pens, water, jam jars, plastic plates to act as palettes, kitchen towl, an old tea towel, two canvases (carefully organised cardboard to protect these) and woke this morning to a deluge. The best laid plans of mice and men ..............

So still life it had to be. Now I have long held that I paint best when I am listening to music and it really is important what music I am listening to. I love things I can dance around to (pictures of Anita prancing around with palette and brushes in hand!) and my new favourite art music is Gabriela and Rodrigues. They play this funky flamenco type music - great beat! So this is what you get when you paint to their music.

I had such fun painting this though it started off badly. I washed the canvas with alizarin and rubbed it into the canvas. That in itself was hard as I had gessoed this canvas and sanded and gessoed and resanded until the surface was completely smooth. And boy does that surface suck up the paint. I then blocked in the main colours in thick paint and then painted into that layer. A real wet in wet challenge! I'm afraid its not a great photo as the wet paint is reflecting light - will try for better tomorrow.

New Year's Resolution 3 - Find enjoyment in everything you do.

6 O'clock Shadow

2009-01-02T13:36:00.004+03:00

The name is a misnomer - it was two o'clock but I prefer the play on words! We have a covered back balcony (the sides are just wooden bars with netting) and in the afternoon the sun shines through and makes wonderful shadows with the bars. Ever since we arrived here I have wanted to draw it and thought there is no way I would ever be able to work quickly enough to catch the light before the shadows change. Of course there is no way but I took a tip that Mary gave me (I believe she got it from Michael Newberry) to lay in the shadows first. The colour of the light didn't change much but the shadows moved across the floor very quickly. So having worked out where the shadows were it was much easier to then concentrate on the light. Second question was how much of outside detail should I include and I decided that as it was the shadows on the floor and side net wall that interested me most I would just give a suggestion to what was outside. All in all I am pretty pleased with the way this came out. I tweaked it a bit once I got it inside.

New Year's Resoltion 2 - Keep website updated regularly.

Lake Sinclair

2009-01-01T11:54:00.005+03:00

A couple of sketches from Georgia.
New Year's resolution No 1 - Do some art every day - even if only a sketch.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T14:28:00.003+03:00

Watercolor and pen from my sketchbook. Two of my favorite drinks!
I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! May your 2009 be filled with happiness.

Mid-Summer Missouri

2008-12-30T06:56:00.005+03:00

In an attempt to get more painterly with landscapes I have started by painting from a photo I took in Missouri a couple of summers ago so that I can get to grips with the main concepts. Stage one, draw in your main shapes and block in the colours being careful about values. Stage two define the blocked colour shapes. For once I got a decent amount of paint onto the canvas (and all over me).

Another three hours on the chair today - and according to the oracle its coming along nicely though I have to admit to having some doubts at the moment. We'll see how it looks in the cold light of day, tomorrow.

Comfort Zone

2008-12-29T07:46:00.019+03:00

Spent a few hours this morning putting on more colour on the chair - begin to feel it coming out of the grisaille now. I'm experiencing something quite strange here - the colours should be the same value as the grisaille - and when you get it right its like there is no colour because it just melts into the picture. And then stand back and bingo its coloured. Looking at this photo I'm not sure that the colour is quite accurate as the distant arm is not nearly such a warm orange IRL.

My Christmas present to myself came today - some books on painting. I am inspired!!! Lots of tips such as painting 2" x 3" colour studies, daily practices, and all sorts of wonderful colour advice. I am in heaven!

Alexis

2008-12-28T14:18:00.005+03:00

Today I wanted to experiment - not really sure what I am doing when it comes to watercolour. I know the background isn't quite the way I want it but will wait until it has completly dried before I decide if i will continue deepening the background. I'd really like to have puddles of colour overlapping the hair but I am a little cowardly about throwing the paint around. Also wonder how much more I can push the tonal values in the face.

Jennifer

2008-12-27T12:09:00.005+03:00

From my sketchbook
A day of fiddling around and not getting anything done.

Lemon

2008-12-26T16:03:00.005+03:00

6" x 6", oil on canvas

Christmas Memories

2008-12-24T05:43:00.008+03:00

Today is my son's birthday - he is 22 today (I'm really not sure how he got to be that old because I swear I'm not much older!).

I was thinking today about childhood memories of Christmas. As a child we always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve (my father was Danish and it is the Danish tradition) - my mother would do the decorations in secret, locked away and it wasn't until we went to sit down for our Christmas dinner in the evening that we would be allowed to see what she had done. It was like magic when the door was opened and the Christmas tree was decorated. Dinner traditionally was goose with mashed potatoes, peas and red cabbage, and dessert was rice pudding. An almond (just one) is placed in the bowl of rice pudding and then everyone is served and the person who gets the almond recieves an extra little present. After dinner we would unwrap presents - the person who had won the almond present would pick the first present from under the tree. And then that recipient would pick the next present and so on. And just so we would have a taste of English Christmas, my sister and I would wake up on Christmas morning to stuffed stockings at the end of our beds.

When my son was born on Christmas Eve, I was determined that his birthday wouldn't get lost in the excitement of Christmas so we always had a proper birthday party for him with family. He always thought he got the best birthday because it was presents two days in a row! Our tradition on Christmas Eve went from birthday into Christmas late in the evening. We would read the Christmas story out loud, each member of the family reading a section. And then I would read "'twas the Night Before Christmas" to the children before tucking them into their beds.

Now they are grown and its been several years since I have had Christmas with any of my family but there are things I still do. Christmas is not Christmas to me without rice pudding and every Christmas Eve I read "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

I'd like to wish all my friends and their families "Merry Christmas" and may you all have a peaceful loving Christmas.

Sketchbook

2008-12-22T18:46:00.005+03:00

From my sketchbook.

Not enough time for anything else today - up to my ears in Christmas cookies. Why do I let myself get distracted with things like that? And tomorrow I wont be home until later as there is a Christmas get together that I could really do without. But then FREEDOM and 11 days off - woohooo paintbrushes, here I come! I'm making a list of things I am going to do during that time

1. Work on the chair
2. Do some pastels
3. Daily paintings
4. Plein air

Jubrique

2008-12-21T12:46:00.005+03:00

oil on canvas 9" x 12"

The white villages of Andalucia are incredibly picturesqe, brilliant white houses cascading down the mountains, their terracotta roofs glowing in the Mediterranean sun. My mother, sister and brother-in-law live in Jubrique, one such village, and we have been lucky enough to visit them there a couple of times in the last few years. Painting this makes me want to go back soon to paint plein aire. I'm still finding green a real challenge - maybe time to make a colour chart and try out mixing different greens.

Report Card

2008-12-20T08:39:00.003+03:00

No art to show today. Not that I haven't painted. I have. All day long. Work is having a competition for decorating doors for the holidays. Our office is open plan so we are using our reception desk as our "door". It is about 40 inches high and has a ledge on it. today I spent the day painting a fireplace on unstretched canvas to put under the shelf area which will serve as a mantelpiece. Woking with the canvas on the floor was extremely tiring. My back aches and my knees are agony! Yesterday we made a Christmas tree from green card (in true Blue Peter fashion!) and also some candles that we will put on our "mantelpiece". Tomorrow I must make stockings to hang off the ledge.

I read on Tina Mammoser's blog today about looking back and evaluating the past year and thought that that sounded like a good idea. The year started for me with my making a lot of resolutions about creating regularly but got off to a very slow start! I was struggling with finishing the grisaille of the chair - at least now I am putting the colour on that (note to self - 2009 will see the end of the chair painting!), I did a few pastels and not a lot else until October. I did sell 5 pieces this year (four pastels and a drawing) so that was a bonus.

Things learned - I'm suddenly much more comfortable with using colour, I understand more about how it positions itself in space according to hue and value. A lot of the things I learned with pastels I am being able to put into my oil paintings and find that surprisingly - they work! I made a commitment to a painting a day and have by and large kept to that for the last month - admittedly there have been a couple of days when I have painted but not completed a painting but sometimes its nice to feel you are doing something of substance.

I've set myself some goals for the coming year that I'm not putting into writing yet - if they work out I am sure that I will be saying more. I'm planning to get out and paint plein aire - one of those feel the fear and do it anyway things. I also want to investigate getting work on Imagekind and other selling avenues.

We will be moving again next year so I have to plan how I will get over the hiatus of a couple of months without materials - or maybe put together a travelling art box to take with me - just leave the clothes behind!

So an early end of year assessment - progress made, more to make, but feeling very positive about the direction in which I am headed. It just remains to say thank you to everyone for their continued support - its great to have you along fro the ride!

Yellow Thread

2008-12-18T20:22:00.004+03:00

Another colour exercise. I have these cotton reel pictures sitting next to each other and they make an intersting block together with the differences in colour and positioning of the reels.

More Chair

2008-12-17T15:48:00.005+03:00

More work on the chair today. A little scared of rushing it. I am still sure I am not putting enough paint on the canvas. I'm not sure about the warmth on the closest arm - it seems a little too warm - daylight check required.

This morning when I got to work I decided to spend the time that I normally surf the net before the day starts (we always get to work about 45 minutes early) walking around the football pitch to get some exercise. The sky was amazing and I took my time to analyse the colours. We had had a huge storm in the night and the remnants of the storm clouds lingered and were being stroked by the rising sun. Wonderful brilliant glowing oranges and yellow with deep violet clouds and the palest blue early motning skies. With each lap of the track the sky had changed. Spending half an hour on analysis made me realise how incredibly quickly light changes at that time of day. After my 30 minutes my cheeks were glowing and my nose,ears and fingers were frozen and I was ready to crawl back into a cosy bed and not at all like going to work.

Colour on "Comfort Zone"

2008-12-16T18:06:00.027+03:00

I worked on the chair tonight - I don't know what came over me but I looked at it as it leant against the window and my palette was freshly loaded and lo and behold colour has been put on the canvas! I'm pretty sure that I am not putting enough paint on the canvas but at least I am over my fear of working on this. Having spent so many months on the grisaille the terror of ruining it was seriously hampering any advances on this piece. I've become very philosophical about it though. I've decided to face this project as a learning curve, not as a masterpiece. Anything that I learn doing this is another piece (please excuse teh pun!) in the jigsaw of my art education. It becomes even more urgent that I get a daylight bulb when such subtle colour changes come into play. One interesting discovery is how I can picture the chair so precisely in my head. All those hours of studying it and doing the pastels has it locked in my memory. We will see what Michael has to say!

Lemon Juice

2008-12-15T15:04:00.007+03:00

oil on canvas, 8" x 10"
I should stop trying to photograph work at night! Its a total lost cause! Still here is today's still life and once again the colours are not quite right. The background is definitely not that dark! I think the lemon is much richer IRL. Another thing about painting at night is that I am never sure what the picture will look like in daylight. I wish I worked a night shift so I could paint in the daylight! If I could only find a decent daylight bulb! Someone once said to me not to worry about painting at night and what the picture looks like in daylight because very few people hang their pictures in direct daylight.

I heard today that the portrait of "Leon" arrived safely and that he was very pleased with it. He has promised me a photo of it when its framed.

"I just received the portrait. Unbelievable. It is stunning. I am seriously and utterly impressed. I cannot begin to thank you. I’ve no doubt my Mom will cry when she gets it."

The Ronda Valley

2008-12-14T08:42:00.007+03:00

The sun refused to cooperate today and was doing that really annoying "now I am shining, now I'm not" thing so today's painting was from a photo I took when visiting my mother and sister where they live in southern Spain. Ronda is one of their nearest sizeable towns (they live in the isolated white villages in the Andalucian mountains). This is the view north from the bridge in Ronda - the most amazing view down the canyon to the fields and vineyards beyond. Ronda is one of my favourite little towns in Spain and despite the tourism it has maintained a wonderful charm. The history dates back to the Moorish conquests of Spain and the buidlings are old and picturesque. (photo of the painting is not quite accurate - the background is more neutral and the rocks to the right are much brighter but try as I might I cannot get an accurate photo.)

I have for the past two years, not allowed myself to paint from photos (except portraits) and I know that I have learnt an enormous amount in working from life. I've been very aware of the limitations of photographic references but recently I have read a lot about using photos as a tool. On one site an artist said he only ever uses photos he took himself because he knows the space and the photo acts more as an aide memoire than anything else which made immediate sense to me. While I will continue to try to work predominantly from life, I will forgive myself, on days like today, when I use a photo reference.

Plein Aire

2008-12-13T09:46:00.023+03:00

I really wanted to go and paint plein aire today but I have too much to do at home (those horrible domestic things that get in the way of painting) so I stayed here but determined to at least try something new. This is the view off my back balcony to the neighbours house behind us. There were nice shadows cast off the angles of the house which is white. Trying to get distance into each step back in the building was interesting and working with white walls and trying to create some difference between those closest and those further away but still in full sun was difficult.

Last night was the first night I have missed my daily painting in over three weeks but I was totally exhausted when I got home from work. Its funny how quickly something can become a habit. And how quickly you can lose them! (Guilt here about not working out! Something had to give!). I'm trying to decide whether to go with canvas panels or stretched canvases for my next order. I do really like the "boing" factor of a stretched canvas, but thinking about how quickly daily paintings are going to add up bulk-wise if I do them all on stretched canvases.

Vineyards

2008-12-11T21:19:00.004+03:00

I needed to do something different tonight - hard day at work called for something expressive. Trying to keep in my head all that I have learned in the last week but finally being overcome by colour. If I have it right, the greatest contrasts in value should be in the foreground and the further back to the horizon you go the less difference there should be in tonal value - so you could have equal tonal values of orange and purple in the background but in the front you should have your darkest and lightest colours. It was fun to really let go with colour. Now to find a way to use colour but with more control. The colours are not quite right in the photo, the sky is much paler and less overcast looking.

Today I had to go out to from work to buy flowers. Flowers here are extemely bright and gladioli seem to be the favourite flower - and in every shade, bright gaudy oranges and yellows, pinks and reds. My favourite flowers are all white and I find the colours a little garish here. After the drabness of the Middle East though, it is a refreshing change to see so much colour. Roses are still blooming at them moment and even in my own garden I have roses by the dozen. Unfortunately I also have marigolds which are one of my least favourite flowers along with carnations and gerbera daisies.

Paint Box

2008-12-10T14:44:00.007+03:00

I knew I should never do it - I put black back on my palette and bang its all over the place! It makes it too easy to do darks and I had just got the hang of creating dark tones using other colours. Lesson for the coming days is to remember that black needs to be used with restraint.
I'm a real Brit and drink gallons of tea everyday - when I'm at work its an excuse to get up from my desk. But when I'm at home it's a break to walk away from a painting and then come back to look at a piece with fresh eyes. The only problem is that I then immediately see things that need doing and I put down my cup of tea and it invariably gets cold and I end up drinking rather tepid tea. One thing that I have not yet managed to adopt, from my new American side, is drinking iced tea - tea should only ever be very hot, served with milk, strong and preferably in a large mug. The other thing that I have been known to do all too often is to clean my brush in my tea cup!

I tidied my "studio" today (it is really the upstairs landing)and it seems a little more ordered and things are easier to reach. I have discovered that I have a number of mid size canvases and also two large ones which immediately set me to thinking what I could work on largescale. Time for that journal to come into play to work on some ideas.

One thing that I am going to have to find time for is some admin - Website, thinking about selling prints etc etc..... I really resent losing valuable paintng time to this sort of thing but its one of those things that really has to be done. What I need is a secretary! Or to give up my day job! My to do list is growing by the minute.

Dusky Rose

2008-12-09T07:41:00.005+03:00

When picking out my subject for today's little painting I was a little surprised to find that nearly all my lipsticks are almost identical in shade! Its not even as if I wear lipstick that much - it never stays on, I put it on and then a few minutes later it seems like its gone. I read somewhere that someone had figured out that over the average woman's lifetime she will eat over 6lbs of lipstick. If each lipstick weighs at most 2 ounces that is 48 lipsticks! And for all those millions of women in the thirld world who have never even seen one, that means that some women must be living entirely off lipstick!

I was thinking more about sketchbooks this morning and was reminded of the journals we had to make in art school. Quite a high percentage of our final grade was on our journals as they were supposed to show not only our process in exploring concepts but our research into other artists, our philosophy and conclusions we had come to. There was a guy called Gary, on my foundation course (wonder whatever happened to him!) who was a sculptor - produced an amazing final piece at the end of the year with multiple steel oscar type figures holding up a square stone block on their heads. His journals were as beautiful as his artwork. He wrote everything on a typewriter using something like tracing paper and then tore out the words of the main sheet and stuck them in his journal over the drawings. And then there was Debbie (she went on to do a year designing fabrics for DKNY) who did wonderful fabric designs and her sketchbook was filled with the most amazing stuff. A good journal was judged by how fat it was - you were supposed to stick flyers from all the exhibitions you went to see (seeing other contemporary artists work was considered extremely important), pages of magazines, little sketches you had done on other papers, bits of anything and everything (leaves, pressed flowers, fabrics, paint charts, etc etc). These were definitely all working journals though rather than decorative pieces. Though they seemed like very hard work at the time, now I think that there were many benfits to this kind of working journal.

Unwrapped

2008-12-08T11:10:00.006+03:00

Working with blue underpainting proved more difficult than the magenta did. Very hard to get cleaner colours for the icing. The extemely subtle colour changes in the cupcake case were very hard to do and not revert to using tiddly brushes.

I'm trying to get myself to do more sketching so this is todays - ok yes, I did it from a photo - excuse? Em..... none!
I remember reading in "Five Quarters of the Orange' by Joanne Harris about a recipe book, created by the main character's mother, which is illustrated with little drawings and paintings and the idea captivated me then. And of course it would be a great way to capture my crazy nomadic lifestyle on paper. Since then sketchbook/journals seem to have taken off as an artform and I love seeing snippets posted on blogs. Its a bit like peeking through a window into people's lives. Not sure I will ever get my sketchbook looking like that but i'll give it a go! There seems to be as much to learn about creating great sketchbooks/journals as there is to doing any other artwork - mixing media like ink and watercolour, coloured pencils and an abundance of other media. And then there are the sketchbooks themselves! I have moleskines - both waterolour and drawing. And then I've seen homemade sketchbooks and I wonder about whether I should try to do one of those. There are whole books written on creating journals. I got some great tips from Billie Crain on putting together a watercolour sketch kit so I will do that tomorrow to take to work with me on Thursday. I already have coloured pencils salted away at work - now all I have to do is put pen/brush/pencil to paper ....................

Any tips on journalling/sketchbooks welcomed.

With A Cherry On Top

2008-12-07T14:57:00.007+03:00

Also had great fun working this landscape - I need to take another look at it tomorrow in the daylight as I think it needs some tweaking.

Its a very long time since I have done a landscape - I think this is the first in around 3 years. Landscapes were my first love in painting and painting this reminded me of that. Two of my favourite artists are Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud. I love Diebenkorn's abstract landscape Ocean Park series. And Wayne Thiebaud paints deliciously coloured landscapes (he also paints cakes and pies!)

Gold Thread

2008-12-06T17:24:00.006+03:00

oil on canvas 6" x 6"
Another colour experiment. I started with a purple and cerulean ground and then worked into that with colour. More paint on the canvas this time.

Also have had this idea in my head for a charcoal for a while and after reading Stacy Rowan's post about seeing things that you want to do and filing them in your mental pending file I decided that the time had come to do put this one on paper. I've long been fascinated by drapery and classical images of fabric folds and white fabric in particular. So here is the start - still toying with the idea of the bowl and chair. The bowl is one of the copper ones I bought last week at a bazaar. I would like the spotlight to be on the fabric with everything else in the neutral block.

Red Thread

2008-12-05T20:44:00.007+03:00

oil on canvas, 6" x 6"
The first of my "homework" - I'm sure I'm still not getting the paint on thick enough (that is SO hard for me, I want to scrape off and leave minimal paint on the canvas! I'm using cotton reels as they are nice solid blocks of colour to work with while I learn this new way of painting. It involves starting with a dark wash over the canvas. You then "erase" the paint for the most highlighted areas and then paint into the ground from dark to light. As I see it the image here on the computer I can see that my top ellipse on the gold thread in the background is not right but, in my defence, I was concentrating more on colour than anything else in this exercise. I am very pleased with the muted colour in the front yellow reel and its shadow. This was very definitely a different way of painting and I was aware mid way through that I was not thinking about accuracy of depicting s but was engrossed in colour and light. I'm not quite at the Fauvist point but feel I am heading in the right direction. One of my instructions for these lessons was to paint as if using a palette knife and not to draw with paintbrush. If you want to learn about how this method works I really recommend Michael Newberry's tutorial .

At the end of our road is a police post - I was struck this week that this would be normal in many cities until you think that the policeman has his tent pitched right there on the pavement/sidewalk and in the morning when we head out to work, his laundry is hanging from a line strung between the tent and trees a few feet down! Police and Army both are "housed" in tent villages in what is the "posh" end of town. Among large villas that would be the envy of many western towns are these little encampments, complete with guard posts and little snack shacks. At one of the security posts that we passed today I was surprised to see smoke billowing out from the inside the post and when I looked back I was even more surprised to see that the soldiers had lit a fire INSIDE the post which couldn't have been more than about 4 ft square!

The Last Bite

2008-12-04T21:25:00.004+03:00

oil on canvas 6" x 6"
Today's daily painting is the last bite of cherry pie from last night's slice (yes, I did eat it - the first ever cherry pie of my life!). I started out with the fork on a plate but after failing to get my colours together I abandoned the plate for a flat work surface.

I've been set some homework so my next few small pieces are giong to be a little whacky and a real test in many ways. Not just because of the colour I am going to use but also because I have to paint with thick paint which is something I find very hard! Not sure if its the Scrooge in me or the control freak!

Sweet Cherry Pie

2008-12-03T21:08:00.011+03:00

oil on canvas 8" x 8"
Not sure about this one - think I am going to have to do a little more work on it after I have left it a bit. For some reason this was a real struggle and I can't figure out why. It strange how some days putting paint on canvas is as easy as pie (sorry!) and on others its like doing battle with the enemy.

The Perfect Mix

2008-12-01T18:20:00.004+03:00

Another manic painting session with more running up and down the stairs. Its one way to get some exercise! Beginning to get a little panic struck about my shortage of canvases. Going to have to think seriously about making my own canvas boards.

Great delight with the mail arriving today - the friend whose portrait I just finished sent me a care package of chocolate, and delicious chutneys in interesting shaped jars - can see a bunch of still lifes coming from these.

Still researching the Fauvist movement and am intrigued to look at Matisse's work and see it develop. So many artists get stuck in a groove of what sells and that stops them from growing. I love to see the progression and hope that my work too will develop in that way.

I have been thinking of books that I own from my University days and have a bizarre longing to go back and read them even though at the time I found them rather ivory tower-ish and rather obtuse. In particular I would like to reread John Berger's "Ways of Seeing".

Intersting picture for today - the driver of a motorbike wearing a helmet and full protective biking clothing (a rarity in itself) while his wife sat side-saddle behind him in a bright pink shalwar khameez with the scarf prettily draped over her hair. I'm fascinated by the multitude of colours worn by Pakistani women after the monotony of black abayas and niqabs of the middle east which are rarely seen here. Girls at work wear brilliant colours - lime greens and bright oranges, some patterned in modern designs while others are traditionally embroidered with silks and sequins. One thing that had intrigued me is how they keep the scarf draped all day - and then I was told that its all down to safety pins! So much for that!

"Colours, like features, follow the changes of the emotions"Pablo Picasso

Crazy Mix

2008-11-30T05:29:00.008+03:00

Nothing like painting ice-cream to make you paint fast!! I think someone on the outside looking in would have been rather amused by my running up and down stairs with a choc-ice. I painted a bit then took it back down to the freezer while I worked a bit more on building up the painting, then running back downstairs to pick up my model and work for another few minutes before having to return it to the freezer. I gave up after the third time and just ate the it!

A quick pastel - its hard to do anything outside because of the security situation here. But the golden light on the changing leaves just wouldn't be ignored. I'm really not at ease doing anything like this so it took a concentrated effort to try and pull this together.

I've been looking at the Fauvist group of artists in my research on use of colour and have found a lot of what Michael Newberry had talked to me about - using cool colours for distant objects to push them back. So for example - a red object in the distance to use magentas and more blue reds. Matisse is a master of colour and uses its hue to move objects in space as does Derain. I was delighted to find that Dufy, who is a favourite of mine (such happy, cheerful paintings!, was also a fauvist. What a great art movement.

Deborah Ross kindly commented on my blog and so I went to take a look at hers and she was talking about a poem she had read but then couldn't find. I thought I would have a look and see if I could find it and came across this - not sure if it was what she was looking for but it realy spoke to me..... I also found through Deborah's blog the Sketchbook Project which has wonderful things going on. I wish I had found this sooner as I would love to have taken part in the latest project but with mailing times to and from here it would leave me less than a month to fill up and entire sketchbook and I am not sure I could do that! Going to keep an eye on this and maybe join in something else.

"From the start, From my Heart, That's really art!"
Randy Vanlandingham

Colour

2008-11-29T11:38:00.014+03:00

I recently made a list of my favourite artists and wrote down why I liked their work - the artists are many and varied in style, Monet, Bonnard, Seurat, Macke, Thiebaud, Diebenkorn, Hopper, Rothko to name a few. The predominant theme that ran through my little discourse was colour. It struck me as strange that something that I find so difficult myself, is what I love in other's work. I discussed this with Michael Newberry in my mentor session last night and decided that I need to use colour more as a concept within my work. So I have gone back to revisit the cotton reels as they are nicely brightly coloured and will use these as a base for a few more small works, experimenting with colour in seeing how it positions itself in space according to its hue and saturation.

Today I went to a bazaar of local handicrafts which was very interesting. Wonderful sight of hundreds of Persian, Afghani and Pakistani rugs spread over the grass. The majority of the carpets are reds and blues but amidst them there was one that stood out in the crowd (no I didn't buy it)- it was a Tabriz carpet from North-Western Iran, 80% silk, 20% wool. In each of the four directions that you could look at it, it took on different colours. One way it was the most delicate pale steely blue, in the opposite direction it was apricot, from one side it was pale silvery and the final side a deep goldy colour - just unbelievable. The tufts were very fine - about 800 knots to the square inch. The central panel was a snake design, interwoven snake-like emblems, very different from any other rugs I have seen. And the tufts were cut at different lengths in the pattern so there was the added textural differences. Just absolutely beautiful.

I may not have bought that, but I did buy three copper pots, one large with a brass base, rather rustic, the middle sized is engraved all over the outer surface and is slightly over an 1/8th of an inch thick and the smallest one was unpolished - a sort of old pewter colour. I love the warmth of the colour of copper.

It is rare for me to be out in the middle of the day - during the week I would be at work and on the weekend at home, so it was quite a novelty to be outside those two places. Now we are in late autumn it is dark in the morning when we leave for work and nearly dark when we get home so I have missed seeing how the landscape is changing with the coming of winter. The colours are wonderful, leaves are varied from a deep golden yellow, to a more acid yellow, burnished coppery pinks to deep apricot, and the most wonderful deep rosey reds. I'd forgotten how wonderful autumn can be!

Leon

2008-11-28T09:27:00.005+03:00

I think that I have finished this commissioned portrait. As usual impossible task of photographing graphite work and getting the paper to look white even in monochrome. I will try and get a better photo of this.

Quick pastel - really liked the way the light was spilling round the edge of the canvases leaning up agains the window.

Taking the plunge today and putting the chair back onto my easel - figuratively as I only have a lightweight easel here and it wont take a canvas this large. This is where I left off. I admit to a feeling of trepidation at getting back to this piece but I feel a little more confident about putting the paint on the canvas and I am sure Michael will pull me up short the minute I put a brush wrong!

Cleared out my "studio" space this morning and now just need to find a way to set up a good still life area as there is a lot of light in this space from large windows on two wall