Welcome to Polly's Blog

Welcome to Polly's Blog
Watercolour, humour, this and that

Wednesday 2 April 2014

FAST AND SLOW, LARGE AND SMALL

I've been painting animals recently, elephants in brusho, which you have seen before, and here is a small snail, his name is Sebastian. I painted him because I came across a poetry book I won for being first in poetry when I was at my first school.  I saw this poem called The Snail's Dream by Oliver Herford.

A snail who had a way, it seems,
Of dreaming very curious dreams,
Once dreamed he was - you'll never guess!
The Lighting Limited Express!

And I thought, ah ha, never painted a snail before, so here he is.  I won't paint one again, actually I can't stand them, but actually their shell is quite interesting.  I used wax to try and get the sense of texture and a shiney, slimey body.



And next is Sharon Whitley's Monthly Challenge a Tiger.  This one was a difficult one, so kept putting it off and painted it on the very last day of March.  The photograph is quite stunning and is by Gary Jones, Wildlife photographer.  And I thank him for sharing this photograph with us.  If you look at her blog you will see a link to their website, where you can see her wonderful birds and animal paintings  and  Gary's wonderful photographs. Called Portraits of Nature



And today I am off, with a good friend of mine. to learn to paint like Turner, at the Lady Lever Gallery in Port Sunlight.  Now there's a lovely village.







25 comments:

  1. Both really lovely Polly as I've told you already. Though interesting to see the first few steps here with your tiger. It is always fascinating to see how an artist works through their gorgeous paintings.

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    1. Thanks Laura. I often would love to know how people progress through their painting. and for once I remembered to take a photo to share my underpainting with others. In saying that I don't always do things the same way. ha ha

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  2. I love the little snail and cute poem that inspired it! I follow Sharon and her husband's work and recognized the tiger right away. You did a beautiful job and I enjoy seeing the various stages of your work.

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    1. Thank you Celia. Afterwards thought I should have made a snail cartoon of him speeding. I think it's so nice of Gary to share his photographs with Sharon for her Challenge.

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  3. I like the way "bossy "as you did the snail ... and so tender as you painted the tiger (all this at least for my own eyes ...)
    A reverse of characters that works well, dear Polly!
    A snail authoritarian and a tiger with a tender heart, only you could paint so brilliant!

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    1. Thanks Rita. Perhaps you are right in your observations. I did paint the snail quickly and the tiger very carefully, i enjoyed painting him.

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  4. your posts are a bit like mine Polly - always something different I never know what you are going to show us next! your take on the tiger painting is fabulous

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    1. Thanks Lorraine. I know what you mean. Your next subject is always a mystery. Couldn't outguess you if I tried.

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  5. Terrific work Polly. The snail is perfect with the light background. I wonder what he is looking at? Hmm! So nice you try such a variety of subjects. Thank you for your visit to my blog and for your always appreciated comments. I am so glad you liked my letter to my friend. Happy painting! Looking forward to what you get up to next! :)

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I would get bored painting the same thing all the time and love to paint something new. And I look forward to seeing what you paint next in your lovely style.

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  6. What a contrast in subjects, the snail body does look slimy (one of the reasons I find them disgusting).. and the Tiger looks so regal… master of his domain. Thanks for sharing a glimpse into how you did the tiger.

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  7. Great works Polly, you even made the snail look wet and slimy :-))

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  8. You really paint a bit of everything. I love the snail and you did a great job on the tiger!

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    1. Thank you Joan T. I do get bored painting the same things. Thanks for your visit

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  9. We were in France on Monday ... now there's a nation that knows what to do with snails LOL!

    Seriously, I hate snails but love your portrait of Sebastian. Did you know that the name Sebastian means 'revered' 'loved by all' Well, I can tell you we have some little 'Sebastians' in our garden who have chomped their way through all the rhubarb leaves so they aren't revered in Whitstable LOL

    Love the tiger ... I have a real soft spot for the Big Cats

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    1. You are lucky living so near France. Bet you smuggled a multitude of Sebastians in your bag to eventually eat, so I have no sympathy with you if they eat your rhubarb leaves. Thanks for the meaning of Sebastian - it is totally wrong on this occasion.

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    2. No room for Sebastians in the car .... too many bottles of vino ;-)

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  10. two outstanding paintings...it is difficult to say which one I like best..they are both fantastic! LOVE the tiger---maybe because I am just such a huge fan of cats of all sizes. You handled it so sensitively.

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  11. Polly - your snail is beautiful...you really captured a variety of colors and such a great idea using wax for the texture. The poem really sets it off. As for your tiger it is awesome...you used such a soft touch for such a lovely creature. Hope you learned all you wanted at your workshop. Have a beautiful week.

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  12. Hi, Polly, good work!! I admire Sebastian who dares to live on with mortgage. Tiger is wonderful & very interesting to see your process. thank u (sorry 4 lazy hands, but a bit painful now). thank u 4 your humor, 2!! xx sadami

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