EASTER CHALLENGE PART 1

Been busy so far, thank you for your challenges on here and on facebook.  I usually have 4 days to myself while my hubby spends his time at the golf club.  But due to unforeseen circumstances this is not the case this year (much to my dismay much as I love him)  So undaunted I have tried to fit in your challenges, between spending time with him.

To this end I have traced some for speed, and worked smaller than I normally do.  Nothing larger than A4.

Here's the first 5 for your perusal.

Annette Goatley's challenge a talking carrot! Sorry 'link' maker not working.

Annie Arkwright from Accringoton - card shark or Ace of Hearts, or is it money slipping through her fingers? Beverley Wells   and sorry Bev my 'link' maker isn't working.  

Chris Owens - a line of marching children

Sue Clinker - Chinese Year of the Sheep.  Hope that symbol does mean sheep!  And sorry Sue my link button isn''t working.

Jacquie Finney - Camel in a sandstorm

Whatever will I end up painting today?

Hope you are all having a Happy Easter or a Happy Anything at all.

NUTRIBULLET & A LITTLE MIRACLE & A DRESS

Well here is the minor miracle as far as I am concerned.  I DO NOT eat greens.  And this has always been a concern.  Even now, when I am in my mad but mature years.  So I got a Nutribullet.  Don't these things always sound good on tv?  So I wasn't expecting much I have to say.  But it is so easy quick and cleaning a doddle.  BUT I have had green leaves mixed with fruit 4 days on the run, and didn't know I was eating them.  I am so proud of myself, and so chuffed with the machine.  It inspired me to pick up my brush and paint it.  I am being careful to still have a very balanced diet (Doc orders) but who would have thought it.  Me eating me greens!!!!!!!!!!!!

I go to a little club called Churchtown Art Club (read about us on facebook) and we had a sketching day.  I call this a w/c sketch and it looks like a dress for an 8 ft woman. It was draped over a ladder. No drawing.  Must take more care next time.  Perhaps she is a lady baseball player that wears it, ha ha

Have a lovely week, keep warm if it is winter where you are.  It is hailing at the moment and cold. Take care xx

EASTER CHALLENGE

Well I have been overwhelmed by the interneters who have given me subjects to paint over the Easter.  And here are the ones and whipped through yesterday.  The hardest ones, though, are ready and waiting for me.

Helen H Trachy - Woman cleaning windscreen with broom.  This is no ordinary woman it is Me Grand Friend Annie Arkwright.  No ordinary broom for her!

Carol Davidson - Horse.  Actually it is Polly Panicking Painting Peoples Pictures

Beverley Wells - A banana that doesn't look like an ordinary banana painting - took ages thinking about this one, and created a kind of stained glass window. Brusho.

Rita Vaselli - she had seen on facebook a picture of real sheep but they had been coloured and also online there is a page about William The Lurcher, so asked his owner if I could paint him and here is the combination.  William dreaming of sheep and sheep having nightmares about William

Carol Hodge - Cream cake (no calories in this one)

Gill Fox and Martine Weare - I combined one here.  A nighttime scene with the moon and a painting in one colour - here I used Indigo.

There are a mixture of sizes from postcard size to 15 x11" and the challengers are from Blogland and Facebook Land, so thank you all for taking me out of my comfort zone.  All except the bananas are in Watercolour, the Bananas are in Brusho!

I'll be back with some more of these challengers.

Happy Easter everyone

A to Z CHALLENGE L - P

More from my self inflicted A to Z challenge.  Seen or heard on tv in alphabetical order, and now being painted in alphabetical order. We are currently watching a programme called Italy Unpacked, where a chef and an art critic travel around lovely Italy.

Ok you guessed, they were at a fishing harbour.  And what did I see but an 'L' for Lifebelt

Yuk, next thing the chef is cooking 'M' Mussels slimey things

Can't remember the link here but it's food again and 'N' Nuts (which is what I am doing this challenge)

Need I say more 'O' for Orange which was a pain to get right and is very flat now I come to look at it!

Of course, to cook  the chef needed 'P' for Pans - they were big chunky heavy pans, but I thought they were boring to paint so picked this limey coloured one.

And yes, honest, I did wait for them to crop up in correct order.  So much so that I lost the plot in the programmes I was watching, I was so busy listening and watching for a letter.

I am enjoying this challenge, for various reasons.  It is making me paint things I wouldn't normally paint.  I am trying the odd colour that is not one of my most used colours. Painting small and large. Using small and big brushes, different colour mixes and most of all experimenting with different techniques and textures.

I must admit that the next batch was difficult to catch something in certain letters and took a while before I had the final letters of the alphabet. Q, U, X, Y & Z. but I managed it!!!  In a fashion.

Have a wonderful weekend to all my blogging pals.

BRUSHO CRAZY!!!

Brusho crazy is what I have been this last week.  I have Joanne Boon Thomas's ebook and DVD Brusho Moments, at last. So, armed with my brusho, brushes, bleach and enthusiasm, and fear of a change in the warm weather (I wanted to paint outdoors as I am a very messy painter), I had fun, fun, fun trying out some of the exercises, and then painting without the safety net of the book and DVD.

Exercise mixing the powder in the palette like watercolour.  See how vibrant the colours are. They don't fade like watercolours

This was drawn with a stick and ink and spraying method

Well I am over the moon with this one! Some negative painting here.  This was following a superb red poppy that was demonstrated by Joanne.


Money well spent if you ask me.  I have had a ball.  Got more ideas in my head but need to set up the cold garage, which is away from the house, as a makeshift Brusho studio.  Buy some thermals and fingerless gloves.

THE END OF RED!!!!

Boy did I have a good time painting things in my new vibrant semi opaque Daniel Smith Pyrrol Scarlet. Thanks people for your challenges.  Here are the last of them. Will it really be the last of my red subjects ........... for now yes.  So here they are with the names of the challengers.

 Scarlet Woman from Lyndi Lou Lou I have named her Scarlett Pyrrol the Prima Ballerina

Then you get one bright spark that says something odd like Blood, and this is what I came up with. Thanks Keith Hornblower!

 Red Shoes (chickened out and did only one) Sharon Whitley and Joan Violet Stretch

 Tomatoes, Beverley Wells

 Red Wellies, yep done this week and it's not really worked, but I don't mind showing you any way.  My challenge as I suddenly thought of something red that I hadn't done.

These were included in the nickers challenge from naughty Beverley Wells.  

Well this shows you what fun you can have with just one colour.  I was experimenting along the way with layers, mixing slightly with other colours, dropping a little of another colour in, using it neat and trying to assess the strength and opacity of this delightful colour.  Now I am redded out!!!!!!!!!  Now I need a glass of red wine (oh no haven't painted that, but then it isn't this bright red, oh dear what am I to do).

ENGLISH BREAKFAST

What is in my head is a surprise to me sometimes. Well I wanted to paint a full english breakfast.  Don't ask me why. I only have one when on holiday in a hotel, and not this big I may say.  Too many calories by far.  Was quite a challenge but for once I am pleased with the outcome!  Funny how the things you think are going to be a problem sometimes give you the most satisfaction.

No calories when you are just looking!  But you can't smell that lovely aroma.  Ah well.......

CHOCOHOLIC

Yes, I'm a chocoholic! So what did I decide to paint today  ...................  ?

Copied from a brochure where you join a chocolate club. How dangerous would that be? I couldn't paint from real chocolates, they would have been eaten in no time.  The shadow hasn't worked on the left of the white chocolate so must add that.  Good news is we had some chocolates, it being Sunday, after our dinner, they were our absolute favourite little chocolate squares from Friars in Keswick (The Lake District).

What are your favourite chocolates?