EASTER CHALLENGE PART 2

I'm doing an Easter Challenge..... I asked people to take me out of my comfort zone and suggest subjects for me to paint over the Easter Holidays, as I am not doing anything else.  Here is my next batch

Chicken - Debbie Nolan.  Guess what kind of egg I was eating.  Just for research you understand, for this painting.

Easter Bunny - Ngaire Magalotti - an Aussie friend on facebook.  Actually the orange in reality is really bright.  Transparent Orange

Farm Equipment - Pamela Williamson.  Far too tight painting this, wasn't happy with it at all

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury and the photograph is by Theresa Jones on PMP. - Idea from Sue Caton.    Supposed to be a drizzling and misty day. I am having trouble linking this to the photographer so apologise to her and will get it sorted as soon as I can.

Hat and gloves of the old fashioned Easter kind.  - Celeste Bergin.  Thanks for bringing back memories

Chicken - Dana Mallon.  A chicken mad lady suggested this one.  It is done in Brusho!

I do hope you are having a brilliant weekend and are not feeling too sick with eating loads of chocolate.

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

FRANCE & CHALLENGE ME

Have been cruising in the South of France.  Zis was a wonderful 'oliday.  Beaucoup de sunshine and beaucoup de wonderful places to visite!  My objective was to do one sketch each day, even if only 5 mins. Here are a few sketches followed by an Easter Challenge. More of that later .....

Tourancon - A Medieval Castle and sketched whilst the boat was moored.

Avignon - I was singing "Sur le pont D'Avignon..." as I was sketching this bridge that is not complete

Within the walls of this hospital in Arles,  Van Gogh stayed and painted.  It is called Espace Van Gogh now!

Avignon from outside the city walls.  You can see the Palace where Popes used to live at one time, based in France.

Now then time for a Challenge.  Last year I asked you for subjects to paint over Easter, as I have, hopefully, four days to myself to paint (hubby is off playing or watching Golf).  So bombard me with ideas and take me out of my comfort zone yet again.  I so enjoyed it last year, I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and get on with my paintings.  Any subject at at all.

Sorry I haven't been looking at your blogs, but will be back up to date soon.

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.

INGRID'S BEAUTIFUL FLOWER

Not very often I feel like painting a flower.  So when I saw this, and Ingrid Ormestad said that I could paint it, I couldn't resist.  Most of you may know I don't like painting flowers.  Well - I enjoyed this one, just a little bit, and it's not too bad.

Thank you http://ingridormestad.blogspot.co.uk. A beautiful artist. Do go to her blog and look at her 30 day challenge paintings especially.

BRUSHO WORKSHOP (MINE) !!!!

Yes, you read that right.  I was bludgeoned into doing a 2 hour workshop at our little art club, Churchtown Art Club (we are on facebook check us out).  After people had seen me having fun with Brusho they wanted to try it for themselves. So having plucked up the courage to say I would, I set about organising a plan of compaign, as I didn't want to let them down.

Because there was only two hours, I decided I had to fit in as many techniques as I could. So after explaining what Brusho was and showing some of the work I had done, to show them how versatile it is, I decided to do a pen and wash, which would incorporate wax on an elephant, and some silver birch type trees out of a dark background to demonstrate the use of bleach. You can also just use it like watercolour.

I was soooo nervous I started out by telling them that if they had constipation, then volunteering to do a workshop would work wonders!!!

Ok, so this is how we did it.  We drew an elephant in thick permanent ink (pens from the £1 shop), used wax candle for highlights on the ephalump, and for the grasses.  Sprinkled - sprayed - tilted.  Done and dusted Brusho did it for me.

Second was using pure thick bleach.  Taking care to cover clothes, using separate container for water and old brushes.  We sprinkled (through a hole in the top of the brusho containers) - sprayed - tilted NO DRAWING FIRST - dried and then whoosh, in with brushstrokes of pure bleach, and as if by magic the tree trunks appeared, then some thicker branches and because we had no fine brushes, used cocktail sticks for the thin branches - plus some imagination.

Considering we had to share 2 boxes of brusho with 8 people, it worked really well.  There was quiet concentration and laughter.  They seemed to be having fun. I have had more recruits, and now have to do another two.  Yikes!!!

Please, if you are interested in seeing a quick demo of this wonderful medium, check out Joanne Boon Thomas's Brusho Secrets, ( it shows a short video). There is a DVD and ebook, which are both easy to follow and inpsiring and shows the versatility of this medium. Good pressie to yourself! I had been on a day workshop with her, and used some of the techniques, she generously passes on to all her students and also her enthusiasm for a new and exciting way of painting.

I would like to say a big THANK YOU to her for all the fun I now have using Brusholicious paint.

POLLY'S FIGHTING TEMERAIRE

Been neglecting my lovely bloggers, and here's the reason why.  I have been engrossed in a Labour of Love. I bought a canvas 2 yrs ago with the aim of trying to paint my very favourite painting - Turner's The Fighting Temeraire.  It has taken me 2 years to pluck up the courage to attempt it.  You see, every time I go to London I spend ages just sitting soaking in this beautiful painting.  I would love to buy it, but it's not for sale! So, I thought I want to see it every day, so why don't I do one for myself.

I very rarely paint in oils, so painting dark to light was difficult.  I used water soluble paints (no turps or lineseed mess) and an imperial size canvas.  I had forgotten you have to wait for each layer to dry, so I had to be patient (difficult for me).  I ran off in four pieces the painting from the National Gallery for copying. I loved looking at every brush stroke of Turner's, trying to see how he painted. Wondering at the colours, the imagination.  I suspect using his finger a lot and sweeping strokes then tiny delicate brush strokes.

Now I soaked in the painting, enjoying every brush stroke, mixing juicy colours with care.  Sometimes I painted a large area, sometimes just a few strokes at a time.  I enjoyed every second.  I wanted to do the very best I could.

The only thing I may change is the sky over the sun, which is too dark.  Otherwise it is better than I could have hoped.  I am so relieved and pleased.  Now I can see it every day.  I can't wait to go to London and see it in pure light and all it's glory.

I want to have it with me when I go to  arty heaven, so that I can show it to Turner, and he can give me a critique of his painting, that I painted from the heart.  Now wouldn't that be something.

BRUSHO BAGATELLE

While I have been battling away with Abstract I have also been brushoing, if there is such a word.  One quite intricate for me and a flower (yes I said flower me no like painting flowers - oops bad english) and one a challenge which turned out better than I expected.

I painted a Bird of Paradise flower in my A-Z challenge as Xotic flower for 'X' but thought it would make a good brusho painting, because of the vibrant orange.  The bleach wouldn't complete take out the blue, so it has left a lovely texture that was quite by accident!

This is Sharon Whitley's Challenge for February, photograph by Gary Jones
Was going to to it in watercolour, but Brusho called and I listened. Great fun.

Have a lovely week and remember Spring is round the corner for us Northern Hemisphere people.

ABSTRACT & TEARS ON MONDAY

Tears on Monday, because our class of 20 years has come to an end. If I hadn't 'clicked' with Marion, the teacher, I probably wouldn't have still been painting.  This wasn't a follow my lead/demo type of class, but a gentle persuasion type of guiding class. Marion has the most brilliant eye for colour, tone etc etc, just as a good teacher should.  She gave me so much and changed my life.

However, Marion does like her abstracts and I have tried over the years and given up or rebelled or whinged.  As I knew the class was approaching it's end I decided to be a good little girl and do some abstract (but I still whinged).  The idea was to use in your face colours, no white (last one there was white - naughty me).  (3 in your face colours)

Just plain squares the orange original pink but painted over with orange complimentary colour to blue

Tuscan hillside,sort of

I've called this Spot the Rabbit

The final painting. Entitled Viola!  Painted over Gesso (a la Jane Minter) then scaped over the top with sandpaper to bring back the white and the words stencilled in.  There you are!

We are all still keeping in touch occasionally by the way. Marion is going to critique what we have been doing on our own. Oh, and we will be having wine and food too, sounds good to me.

Thank you Marion  and my lovely Arty Farty Friends for all these fun filled but educational classes.

ANNIE ARKWRIGHT SKATING TEAM GB

My friend Annie Arkwright, was in the ladies skating final last night at Tholympics in Russia.  She looked as pretty as as picture in her Oxfam cut down dress, that she altered herself, and her designer Welly Ice Boots.  The whole outfit being finished off with a soft fur trim (not real fur of course).  Annie danced to the music 'She's a Lassie from Lancashire'. She managed a few nearly steady steps, then the crowd went wild as she did a triple salko, purely by accident, while spinning out of control, which was followed by an elegant nose dive and two balletic belly flops.  In fact, she had that many deductions, that she got an all time low score which was -60 points.  She should make the Guiness Book of Records.

Eee Annie lass tha tried tha hardest, but it weren't enough on the day.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.  And think of Annie and her devastation at letting GB down.